Posted Length: 600 words – Reading time: 2 min
Madis is a legend in the Magento Community. It’s all about him on our reviews on Magento Connect. He’s been receiving love letters from thousands of Magento stores who he helped out solve their checkout issues. I haven’t met him yet but got very intrigued about his whereabouts.
Madis is a Digital Nomad. He travels the world, got a stable job and enjoys everything that life can offer. What’s his secret? I was so intrigued by this guy that I had to find out and share it with you:
Tell us about yourself
My name is Madis Männi, I was invited to OneStepCheckout company by my childhood playmate Anton Siniorg. My current role is providing support for One Step Checkout and implementing Magento customizations. Right now, I’m also chipping in on the development of our extension for Magento 2. I work remotely and it gives me a lot of freedom.
I have worked lots of time literally under bushes on tropical islands, fighting the sun reflection and trying to distinguish what’s on the screen. Currently I am based in Portugal. The reasons for coming here were surf and the very diverse and mellow City of Lisbon.
Where are you based?
Since I joined OneStepCheckout, I have lived
British Virgin Islands
4 months in British Virgin Islands, living on an organic farm, windsurfing, spearfishing and sailing, falling asleep in the forest to the overwhelmingly loud crickets (I love that sound). (Photos here)
8 months in culturally very homogenous Saint Lucia that vibrates to high energy soca beat, getting to know what is “Vibes” and what it feels like to be “Irie”. (Photos here)
3 months in Kamakura, the Japanese Surf City. Everybody should experience Japan. You are not prepared for THAT! 😉 Japan is extremely safe, cultivated… and weird.
2 months surfing in the remote and clean east coast of Taiwan. I wonder if anybody realises that China can be like that? Just rainforest on one and ocean on the other side. As natural and unpolluted as I’ve seen anywhere. (Photos here)
8 months now in Lisbon, Portugal. Mainly working, riding motorbike, enjoying the one of a kind people. Only after being far away, I came to the understanding that paradise as a geographic location at this moment in time is Europe. It is so because of the education, diversity, well functioning economies and freedom in any sense imaginable. (Photos here)
-
- Japan
-
- British Virgin Islands
-
- Saint Lucia
-
- Tuamotu
What is your favorite place
Tuamotu
My favorite place in the world is the Tuamotu islands where I was cultivating Tahitian pearls for 2 years just before I joined One Step Checkout. Nothing compares to that peacefulness of people’s minds, isolation, unpollutedness, blue color of the sky and ocean, and the little beautiful green islands in the endless water. (Photos here)
The high and lows of your nomadic lifestyle
The disadvantage of my lifestyle is that I cannot take people with me when moving, so mostly I make new friends at each place but now I see myself going on a 2nd round, and then hopefully I’ll have some old friends to do stuff with.
The most memorable recent experience was going on for lots of months and it was the symbiosis of music and daily life in Saint Lucia. Music is what feelings sound like and if this is what their minds sound like, I want to be part of it!!!
Your secret for maintaining such a good work life balance
The secret for maintaining a certain work and life balance is certainly a very individual affair. For me it means being as spontaneous as possible, trying to stay fit, sticking with young minded people, paying attention, keep learning and trying to make decisions based on experience. Most of the time my “territory” feels completely uncharted and it can be very confusing … and also fun.
You know all the things you always wanted to do… ?
You should go and do them! 😉
July 2016, Lisbon