I grew up in Leningrad, Russia. In 1991 I came to San Francisco, California, as a student. I was 19 years old at the time. In Northern California I attended community college and later transferred to the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, where I got my Bachelors Degree in Management Information Systems. My partner, whom I met at Notre Dame, got a job offer at a startup in McLean, VA, and we moved to the DC area in 1996.

I had a vision of creating a space which resembled a letter "O" 13 years before I opened the sPACYcLOUd storefront. I drew a circle and inside I added elements that I envisioned to bring together. I drew jazz performers, skateboarders, people drinking coffee and tea, live artists, kids playing. It represented a community of people with different backgrounds, ages, sexual orientations, colors, etc. The letter "O" stood for "One,” a space where people felt unity and felt free to experience humanity in a unique, non traditional way.

“…it was happy, child-like, spacy, and it flew its own direction…”

In 2012, I saw a cloud in the sky in the shape of an elephant. It was flowing freely in the sky, it was happy, child-like, spacy, and it flew its own direction. That is when sPACYcLOUd was born. I drew the cloud (see below) which became the first logo of  sPACYcLOUd.

Now, sPACYcLOUd has a physical space in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of DC, where my "O" vision is a reality. On any given day, you can visit sPACYcLOUd and taste Vegan and Vegetarian dishes, drink herbal teas or Cuban coffee, try out our low ABV brews from Eastern Europe and check out our products at the skate and hemp shop.

In 2015 the Kennedy Center organized "Finding A Line: Skateboarding, Music, and Media". The festival lasted for 9 days and each day was hosted by DMV (D.C./Maryland/Virginia) community members/organizations/companies, including: Palace Five, Pitcrew, Buhi World Skate Shop, Art Under Pressure, Grand National, Cuba Skate, ECRW/Dads Skateboards/Concrete Bombers, Jason Moran and The Bandwagon, sPACYcLOUd and Skate Girls Tribe (my unofficial not for profit). sPACYcLOUd day was dedicated to women in skateboarding and it drew a large crowd of participants from across the USA and abroad. The showcase included skateboarders of all ages and skill levels and turned into the largest gathering of female skateboarders in one day. We also had the most amazing DC based and International music artists including SEE-I, Candice Mills, Flex Mathews, and many others. This was my first project with the Kennedy Center and its success, I believe, turned out to be one of the reasons why I was selected to be part of the Kennedy Center Culture Caucus.

“I am looking forward to developing new skills, transferring my knowledge back into my community, and providing the sPACYcLOUd community with an opportunity to work on new exciting projects through the Kennedy Center Culture Caucus.“

I feel very grateful and excited for the opportunity to work with such a talented and inspirational group of leaders from the DC area. I am looking forward to developing new skills, transferring my knowledge back into my community, and providing the sPACYcLOUd community with an opportunity to work on new exciting projects through Kennedy Center Culture Caucus. Here is more about the Culture Caucus ==> https://www.kennedy-center.org/reach/culture-caucus/

The Universe has been very kind to me. I have been blessed to meet many wonderful people throughout my life journey who turned into my friends, mentors, and inspirations - and without whom I would not be here:

Dr. Roland F Koontz, my American father, PHD Nuclear Scientist, former manager of Stanford Linear Accelerator

Michael and Tamara Lang, co-founders of Woodstock 1969

Bryan Ridgeway, the USA Skateboarding board of Directors, responsible for integration of skateboarding authentically into the Olympics

Di Dootson Rose, Founder of National Skateboard Review from 1976 to 1979, skater and race organizer

Patti McGee, first professional woman skateboarder, first woman inducted into the International Skateboarding Hall of Fame, and, in 1965 at the age of 19, the first skateboarder to appear on the covers of both Life and Skateboarder Magazine. 

Dr Alex Paterson,  English musician and co-founder of ambient house group The Orb, the pioneer of ambient house music

This year, I am working on a new line of Hemp products as well as our new project, “Amster Morgan,” which launched in in January 2021. “Amster Morgan” celebrates Adams Morgan through art, history, activism, fresh merch, and cannabis. We are aligning with several partners with a mission to help each overcome the challenges brought on by the pandemic, build successful business, and find more ways to give back to our community. I am also hoping to put more energy into revitalizing the Skate Girls Tribe organization and continuing to empower women through action sports.