Sports & Lifestyle

Climbing

Mountain climbing is a passion of mine. It’s an emotional reprieve for the body and soul. In the mountains, everything is simpler. It starts with issuing a challenge to your stony opponent and ends at the summit where you get this incredible feeling of: “Yeah. I did it. I made it. I overcame the obstacles and my personal weaknesses.”

There’s just the mountain and you –nothing else. In the mountains, I frequently have epiphanies. I come up with new ideas and find solutions to different problems… Up there, the conscious mind works differently. It’s like a special state where you are more in tune with your subconscious; I should mention that many of my co-workers feel the same way. More than anything, I love sharing these experiences with the people I work with. That’s why mountain expeditions are an annual affair at Alpari. These trips bring us together as a real team; one that is prepared to reach new heights, both in the mountains and in business.

Running

This is another form of exercise I enjoy. When I warm-up for any sport, I like to start with a nice jog. It helps “wake up” the body. With running, you don’t need anything besides desire. Running works virtually all of your muscle groups and builds up your willpower and endurance. It makes it easier for your body to manage physical and psychological burdens.

Running has become an integral part of my training regime. I try to go for a run a few times every week – usually five kilometers or so, sometimes more. Running is also great for getting things off your mind and helping you think more clearly. When I run, I try to focus on ridding myself of all of the negativity that has been building up inside of me and just run. The process is rewarding.

Boxing

This is one of my main forms of exercise. I have been boxing for more than 20 years now. To me, boxing is more than a combat sport, a mere duel between two trained fighters; it is a battle with one’s own willpower. Oftentimes, the outcome of a fight is predetermined by a fighter’s strategy and technique.

In many ways, this makes boxing useful in the real world. By this, I’m not merely referring to being able to protect yourself and your loved ones – even though that’s important – but that boxing gives you the ability to make quick decisions in stressful situations. It teaches you to take advantage of your strengths and protect your weaknesses. It also helps you become aware of this simple fact: it’s not important whether you fall or not – all that matters is that you can get back up. I try to do a bit of boxing every morning as a warm-up. It helps me find my rhythm and gives me the energy and the confidence I need for the busy day ahead of me.

Yachting

The blue sea, the bright sun, the warm breeze, the waves’ salty spray – I think it’s pretty easy to understand the appeal. If you ask people from my generation, they’ll tell you when they were a child they either wanted to be a cosmonaut or a sailor. Man’s fascination with the sea is eternal and inescapable.

Facing the elements head-on and coming out on top – that is what life is all about. Then, of course, there’s the sense of freedom you get from the sea’s immensity. I even find that I breathe easier at sea. That’s why for me, purchasing a yacht was the fulfillment of a long-held dream and one of my deepest desires.

In my spare time I like to head out to the open ocean and create marine adventures for my family.

Cars

“…For what Russian does not love to drive fast? Which of us does not at times yearn to unsaddle his horses, let them run, and cry, “To hell with it all!”? At such moments a great force seems to uplift one as if on wings; and one flies, and everything else flies…”

It’s hard not to agree with Gogol. I love sports cars and driving fast. High speed – I guess this also describes my business. Even though I prefer more comfortable luxury automobiles these days, speed has always been, and always will be, in my blood.