I was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia in 1978 to a middle class family. As a teenager, I went to school and pursued various hobbies just like everybody else. Although I tried different sports including soccer, wrestling, and martial arts I took a special interest in bodybuilding. On January 1, 1992, my father, one of the best St. Petersburg athletes took me to the gym for the first time. That is when my passion for bodybuilding began and I realized that it was my calling. My father turned out to be an outstanding coach. Soon I began to participate in various national competitions. In 1997, I surprised even myself by winning the German Open, a prestigious international competition. In 1998, I became the best in my category at the World Junior Championship. This accomplishment was very important to me because I became the first Russian athlete to win this competition. Also, at that time, I graduated from the College of Bodybuilding and Fitness with a degree in personal training. After winning the World Junior Championship, a lot of changes happened in my life. I got married and began to consider financial stability of my family. Unfortunately, at that time in Russia, bodybuilding was a sport not profitable enough to support a family. That is why I decided to stop training and to go into business. Although business did not bring me much money, I gained from this experience in a different way. I learned how to effectively communicate with different people. I learned how to plan ahead and become more practical. I often think that business and sports are very similar. Two years of entrepreneurial experience taught me how to manage my time effectively, to be receptive to those around me and to be persistent in reaching my goals. However, these few years without bodybuilding in my life taught me that, first and foremost, I am an athlete and will always remain such. At the beginning of 2002, the Russian Bodybuilding and Fitness League founder gave me the opportunity to return and I started preparing for the upcoming European Championship. I agreed almost immediately and began my quest to become an absolute European champion. Truthfully, many people did not believe in my comeback into competitive bodybuilding. Sometimes even I hesitated and felt insecure about my own abilities because too much time had already passed and too many great opportunities have been missed during few years. But at this point I also realized that bodybuilding was my passion and I could not exist without it. I was dedicated to preparing myself to the toughest challenge of my life - the upcoming European Championship. With my family's support, I became an absolute European champion. But this is only the first step in my career as I envision it. Now as a pro bodybuilder, I have set only the highest goals for myself and I believe that my contribution to bodybuilding will make it a more popular sport in Russia. Bodybuilding has a great future in Russia that I believe is very soon to come.