Name: Steven Moskwa
Location: Brisbane, Australia, Queensland
Claim to fame: Hosted over 500 Couchsurfers
It was 2008 and Steven Moskwa had just returned to his home in Brisbane from an eight-week holiday in Europe. He was listening to an interview on the radio where an American Couchsurfing Ambassador was describing his experiences with hosting and surfing. Steve thought to himself, “What a great way to meet other travelers and share their experiences”. He started hosting the very next week and has since welcomed over 500 Couchsurfers!
Steven is the definition of what it means to be an ambassador: spreading the word about Couchsurfing wherever he goes. On top of that he also manages the Brisbane Couchsurfing Facebook page and is very involved in local events.
“After joining I decided to immerse myself into the Couchsurfing community and attended events, organised events, hosted events and met lots of new and interesting couchsurfers who even back then had been surfing and hosting for over five years.”
In addition to be an all-around excellent host, Steve makes a point to introduce his guests to some of his native furry friends.
“I would have to say the look of amazement on each new Couchsurfer’s face when I take them to interact with wild kangaroos close to my home has to be my favourite [thing about hosting].”
The wildlife is just one of the reasons that millions of people flock to Australia each year. The friendly locals, breathtaking beaches, untapped nature and a distinct joie de vivre keep tourists and backpackers coming back for more.
Steven is also an avid traveler himself and has found his vacations greatly enhanced since getting plugged into Couchsurfing.
“I really value the camaraderie. When travelling I always try to attend the local city’s couchsurfing meetup or other events that are being hosted.”
Steven recalls one particularly memorable trip to New Orleans in 2016. His host, who was also an Ambassador, showed him all of the sights around the French Quarter and Bourbon St, plus a few impromptu bicycle rides. Had it not been for Couchsurfing, Steven is sure that his time in New Orleans wouldn’t have been the same.
Steven has much to look forward to- for the rest of 2017 he has plans to head to Singapore, then to the UK, France, Germany and Poland.
“I absolutely will be doing some surfing with couchsurfers I have previously hosted and attending as many fun couchsurfing events as I can fit in.”
Someone as experienced as Steven in both hosting and surfing surely has plenty of great advice. If you are new to Couchsurfing, Steven hopes that you won’t hesitate to get involved.
“Take some time to research couchsurfing.com and all the great information that it contains. Spend some time to create a profile which accurately represents you and your personality and values as this will assist you in finding hosts or surfers or both.
Couchsurfing is a wonderful community and I would encourage those who enjoy the experiences of surfing to also make their homes available to surfers when they are in a position to provide a safe place for others to stay when on their travels.”