we used to write “hello, world” when we started learning a new programming language. since we’re not really meant to code anymore, this is my last chance to use that title, so i’m starting my blog with it.

i grew up in uzbekistan, and now i’m based in riga, building my startup with ai. ai makes the content, ai builds my apps, and they’re running google, meta and reddit ads. so i can travel, explore and do other things, like making this blog.

i was born in kokand, the heart of central asia, and the place where the first democratic republic in the region declared its independence, even though it only lived for a few weeks.

when i was a child, i dreamed of joining the airborne forces (desant). my parents supported it, and i got accepted to a private school that taught extra programs to help you get into a military university.

school photo with classmates, me in a camouflage uniform

but one day, i joined a group on ok.ru (it was the main social network back then) that taught you how to build websites without code. i tried it, and i got my first website published back in 2012. i was 10. the dopamine hit was different. then i wanted to style it. people on forums recommended learning css. then html, then javascript, and i got into something that gave me enough dopamine to survive. i lost interest in the military and chose the programming path.

black and white photo of me as a teenager

since i’m not from a rich family, i had to work to buy my first laptop, so i worked for a local seller. during that time, i more or less learned how sales work and how to negotiate with clients. but it wasn’t enough. once i got my first laptop, i decided to move to tashkent (2018) and started studying programming from the basics, strengthening what i already knew.

me in an office hallway in tashkent selfie in a classroom with “while there’s code, there’s bug” on the wall

i met wonderful people and learned a lot from them. i learned english and got my first international job as a full-stack typescript developer. since i’m from a second-world country (i love my country), most people didn’t even know what a developer was or what one did, so it was hard to find a local job. then covid hit and everything moved online. people and local businesses started to understand what the web is and who coders are, and a lot of people wanted to learn programming. so i worked as a teacher at a local study center for a year. oh, and that’s the cat i found on the street and adopted.

me standing by a lake with mountains behind working on my laptop with the cat i adopted me standing in the snow at night

later, in 2021, i traveled abroad for the first time, to saudi arabia. at that time i was working as a software developer for barq, a saudi company. i flew to riyadh and worked from the office for a few weeks. that trip opened my eyes. since then, in 5 years, i’ve traveled to 20+ countries.

holding an fc barcelona flag at a stadium in riyadh selfie high above riyadh riding a horse in the desert

2 years ago, i moved to latvia for my studies, and i still live there. it’s a beautiful country with nice people. i’ll write another blog post about it. that’s it for now.

hello, world.