I was born in Kalinin, Soviet Union (now known as Tver, Russia) in 1982. It wasn't as bad as you might think. I remember delicious meals consisting mostly of beets and mayonnaise, the smells of my father's cigarettes and a delicious, sickly sweet beverage called Kvas, and walking to school in the snow from September to mid-May. Seattle reminds me a lot of home because we also have damp weather and value trollybuses.

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My mother put me on the ice when I was three and that is where I have spent the rest of my life. When I was 16, I emigrated to Israel and continued my figure skating career - expanding from singles to pairs. When I moved to the States, I began my coaching career starting in Palm Desert, then Portland, and now Snoqualmie. My family and I are very happy to be here, and I am very happy to be working in a community so in love with skating! I feel right at home!

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I named my business Machina Adoma as a nod to the Soviet hockey of my youth and the two countries I come from. The Soviet national hockey team was lovingly called Krasnaya Machina which means Red Machine in Russian (adom means "red" in Hebrew). Their determination, talent, and most of all their workmanship - their dedication to success and the hard work that gets results - inspired me during my skating career. It inspires me even more now that I am a coach. Hard work and determination always deliver... though perhaps not always exactly what you were wanting, but they always take you someplace better than where you were before!