Tag Archives: Alica Dusil

Family, Gabriel Dusil

Family • Photo Restoration • 64 • Dusil • 50th Anniversary of our Emigration

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• Today commemorates the 50th anniversary of our family’s emigration from former Czechoslovakia. It would also have been my dad’s 77th birthday. On this day in 1969, over a year had passed following the Soviet Union and members of the Warsaw Pact‘s illegal occupation of Czechoslovakia. Our departure would have been immediately after the invasion, but with my mother being eight months pregnant, my parents felt it would be safer to leave a year later.

• Our departure was shrouded in tremendous secrecy, with only the most trusted members of our family and friends knowing our plans.  The local authorities could have found any minor excuse to prevent us from leaving the country. For this reason, I prefer to categorize our departure as an “escape”, even though we legally left the country with all the necessary paperwork.

• I want to thank my mother and father for their tremendous bravery and steadfast convictions in believing that we would have a better life in the West. Our departure may be the obvious choice in hindsight, but at the time, it could have been argued that there was no clear winner between the political doctrines of capitalism and communism. Two more decades were necessary to prove which was better. The collapse of the iron curtain and the end of the cold war at the end of the ’80s put a definitive stamp on that debate.

• When I was eight years old my father was driving me to our animal hospital where he worked as a veterinarian. During our drive, Taci decided to explain communism to me. I vividly remember him articulating the horrible regime from which we escaped, with a heavy heart. In these few minutes, he created a hypothetical analogy for my young mind to understand – “If Canada were to become a communist state, then our veterinary business and our house would be taken from us. In fact, every citizen in the country would not be allowed to own any business or property – the government would take ownership of everything.  Even at eight years old this resonated with me. More importantly, I recall the sadness in his heart, while explaining this to me, because he had to leave behind many friends and family who continued under the repressive and totalitarian communist regime.  As he took the final turn to the animal hospital he concluded by saying, “Unfortunately I will probably not live long enough to see the collapse of communism, but with any luck, maybe you will see it happen”.  Both came to pass.

If you are interested in other posts of our emigration you can find their links here:

62 – Košice · Vaclav, Robert, & Robert Sr. Dusil
68.Oct – Košice · Vaclav & Gabriel Dusil
68.Oct – Košice · Iveta, Stefan, Valeria Kende, Vaclav & Gabriel Dusil (back yard)
69.Oct – Paris · Sona, Roman & Gabriel Dusil (park)
69.Oct – Paris · Roman, Gabriel & Sona Dusil (park bench)
69.Aug – Košice · Eva, Gabriel & Vaclav Dusil (Slavo’s back yard)
81.Jul.12 – Burlington · Cezar, Eva, Gabriel, Vlasta, Alica, Sona, Valeria, Roman & Erika Dusil (Ali’s birthday)
81.Dec.24 – Burlington · Roman, Gabriel, Vlasta, Sona, Alica, Nuri & Cezar Dusil (Christmas cousins)
88.Dec.24 – Burlington · Vlasta, Gabriel, Roman, Alica & Sona Dusil (Christmas)
99.Sep.25 – Prague · Annika, Alica, Sona, Karin, Roman, Gabriel & Roland Dusil (wedding)
  • I love you, Mamička
  • I love you, Taci
  • I love you, Googičko
  • I love you, Pumprdlik
  • I love you, Trpaslik

Bio

• CEO • Strategist • Entrepreneur • Speaker
• Photographer • Designer • Creativist • Writer • Blogger
• Teacher • Trainer • Geek • INTJ • Father

Gabriel is a seasoned sales and marketing expert with over 25 years in senior positions at Motorola, VeriSign (acquired by Symantec in 2010 for 1.25 billion US$), SecureWorks (acquired by Dell in 2011 for 612 million US$), and Cognitive Security (acquired by Cisco in 2013 for 25 million US$). He is a blockchain entrepreneur, with strengths in international business strategy.

Gabriel has a bachelor’s degree in Engineering Physics from McMaster University in Canada and expert knowledge in crypto incubation, cloud computing, IT security, and digital video technology. Gabriel also runs his own company, Euro Tech Startups s.r.o.

Hobbies include photography, video production, motion graphics, digital graphics, photo restoration, carpentry, martial arts, traveling, blogging, and trying to be better than yesterday.

Family, Pets

Family • Photo Restoration • 52 • Mamička • Farm

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• Introduction by Eva Dusil • Editing by Gabriel Dusil • 2014 November

• The first two years of middle school were hard on me. We learned about farming, agriculture, and how to work the land. But my studies had little to do with animals, and that demotivated me. I was immature and undisciplined. It also aggravated my teachers, and subsequently upset my mother. She frequently had to come to school to smooth things over. I was bored with sitting in class when all I wanted to do was be on the farm. By the third year I found my calling since we were finally allowed to spend time on the school’s farm. I loved to be around the horses. I befriended one of the shepherds and many of the farmers. I was in my element, but quickly learned that the horses were not bred for the aristocratic activities that I had imagined. Instead, once they were mature they were sold to co-ops for farm labor.

• One summer my father kept pestering my mother, asking why I was spending so much time on the farm. He didn’t know what I was doing, or even if I was lying about my whereabouts. Most teenagers my age spent their days at the city pool. I did as well, but then went to the farm in the afternoon. By this time my father had retired. My mother eventually had enough of his nagging and told him to go see for himself. So he dressed up elegantly and accompanied me on this one and only visit to the farm. It was the closest he had ever come to such a grassroots lifestyle. When we arrived he talked to the farm employees and I showed him how I taught a mare to kneel, rear up on her hind legs, and kick on command as I tickled her rump. He was amused and it satisfied his curiosity. Then he watched as I disappeared into the distance on my dappled horse. My father had an excellent sense of humor so it became a running joke, among family and friends, that his daughter was more interested in four legged animals than the two legged kind.

• Mamička

If you missed other Mamička posts, you can link to them here:

• Digital Photo Restoration

• 5 minutes 41 seconds

71.Dec - Bampton · Eva Dusil (gallbladder surgery)
71.Dec – Bampton · Eva Dusil (gallbladder surgery)
72.Jul - Orlando · Eva & Gabriel Dusil (Disney World)
72.Jul – Orlando · Eva & Gabriel Dusil (Disney World)
78.Oct - Kitchener · Eva & Vaclav Dusil (Octoberfest)
78.Oct – Kitchener · Eva & Vaclav Dusil (Octoberfest)
74.Dec.24 - Burlington · Stefan Kende & Eva Dusil (dinner)
74.Dec.24 – Burlington · Stefan Kende & Eva Dusil (dinner)
74.Dec - Burlington · Eva & Alica Dusil (bedroom)
74.Dec – Burlington · Eva & Alica Dusil (bedroom)
73.Sep - Brampton · Gabriel & Eva Dusil (1st day of school)
73.Sep – Brampton · Gabriel & Eva Dusil (1st day of school)
73.Dec - Burlington · Eva & Gabriel Dusil (Kwanas skating)
73.Dec – Burlington · Eva & Gabriel Dusil (Kwanas skating)
91 - Burlington · Karol, Inchy & Eva Dusil (guitar)
91 – Burlington · Karol, Inchy & Eva Dusil (guitar)
95.Dec.24 - Burlington · Gabriel, Eva & Alica Dusil (christmas)
95.Dec.24 – Burlington · Gabriel, Eva & Alica Dusil (christmas)
99.Sep.25 - Prague · Eva & Gabriel Dusil (wedding ceremony)
99.Sep.25 – Prague · Eva & Gabriel Dusil (wedding ceremony)

 

71.Dec - Bampton · Eva Dusil (gallbladder surgery, premiere pro)

Bio

• CEO • Strategist • Entrepreneur • Speaker
• Photographer • Designer • Creativist • Writer • Blogger
• Teacher • Trainer • Geek • INTJ • Father

Gabriel is a seasoned sales and marketing expert with over 25 years in senior positions at Motorola, VeriSign (acquired by Symantec in 2010 for 1.25 billion US$), SecureWorks (acquired by Dell in 2011 for 612 million US$), and Cognitive Security (acquired by Cisco in 2013 for 25 million US$). He is a blockchain entrepreneur, with strengths in international business strategy.

Gabriel has a bachelor’s degree in Engineering Physics from McMaster University in Canada and expert knowledge in crypto incubation, cloud computing, IT security, and digital video technology. Gabriel also runs his own company, Euro Tech Startups s.r.o.

Hobbies include photography, video production, motion graphics, digital graphics, photo restoration, carpentry, martial arts, traveling, blogging, and trying to be better than yesterday.

Family, Gabriel Dusil

Family • Photo Restoration • 45 • Dusil • Capitalism

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• Introduction by Eva Dusil • Editing by Gabriel Dusil • 2014 November

• When I was accepted at the University of Guelph to attend the Ontario Veterinary College, my mother had settled down with the assurance that I would finally finish my studies. It was my promise to her before we left Košice. Within a relatively short time I made friends in the dormitory. I was surprised how dedicated my classmates were to their studies. It was in stark contrast to the college in my home town, where few students would attend lectures. The atmosphere in Guelph was very collaborative, and everyone was ambitious. Students took their studies seriously. They knew that studying hard was for a better future. I realized how lucky I was that I was accepted into the program. My colleagues explained to me that the University of Guelph was one of the most sought after schools, and one of the hardest to get in.

• At the time, there were only two other universities offering veterinary degrees: Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and the Université de Montréal, Quebec. Candidates were admitted to the program based on their scholastic achievements – not based on knowing the right person in high ranking positions, as was the practice in Czechoslovakia. Competition into the college was fierce. Moreover, in those days less than 10% of the students were girls. Once I graduated I felt that a new phase in my life had begun. I was in a new country, speaking a new language, and part of a new economic and political ideology. I would finally become what I dreamed of since I was a child – to cure animals.

• Digital Photo Restoration

• 9 minute 42 second

 

71 - Guelph · Eva & Gabriel Dusil (Veterinarian, Main Building)
71 – Guelph · Eva & Gabriel Dusil (Veterinarian, Main Building)
71 - Guelph · Eva & Gabriel Dusil (Veterinarian, Macdonald Hall)
71 – Guelph · Eva & Gabriel Dusil (Veterinarian, Macdonald Hall)
71 - Brampton · Slavo Sykorsky, Vaclav & Karol Dusil
71 – Brampton · Slavo Sykorsky, Vaclav & Karol Dusil
73.Jun - Guelph · Eva Dusil (College of Veterinary Medicine, graduation ceremony)
73.Jun – Guelph · Eva Dusil (College of Veterinary Medicine, graduation ceremony)
73.Jun - Burlington · Eva, Gabriel & Vaclav Dusil (Veterinarian, Aldershot Animal Hospital front door)
73.Jun – Burlington · Eva, Gabriel & Vaclav Dusil (Veterinarian, Aldershot Animal Hospital front door)
74.Sep.18 - Alica, Eva, Gabriel, Roman, Vaclav, Vlasta & Sona Dusil (birthday)
74.Sep.18 – Alica, Eva, Gabriel, Roman, Vaclav, Vlasta & Sona Dusil (birthday)
76.Jul - Burlington · Eva & Cezar Dusil (roses)
76.Jul – Burlington · Eva & Cezar Dusil (roses)
76.Jul - Burlington · Cezar & Vaclav Dusil (garden)
76.Jul – Burlington · Cezar & Vaclav Dusil (garden)
76.Jul - Burlington · Cezar & Eva Dusil (garden)
76.Jul – Burlington · Cezar & Eva Dusil (garden)
80 - Burlington · Eva Dusil (Veterinarian, Aldershot Animal Hospital)
80 – Burlington · Eva Dusil (Veterinarian, Aldershot Animal Hospital)

75 - Burlington · Vaclav & Cezar Dusil (standing on hind legs, premiere pro)

Bio

• CEO • Strategist • Entrepreneur • Speaker
• Photographer • Designer • Creativist • Writer • Blogger
• Teacher • Trainer • Geek • INTJ • Father

Gabriel is a seasoned sales and marketing expert with over 25 years in senior positions at Motorola, VeriSign (acquired by Symantec in 2010 for 1.25 billion US$), SecureWorks (acquired by Dell in 2011 for 612 million US$), and Cognitive Security (acquired by Cisco in 2013 for 25 million US$). He is a blockchain entrepreneur, with strengths in international business strategy.

Gabriel has a bachelor’s degree in Engineering Physics from McMaster University in Canada and expert knowledge in crypto incubation, cloud computing, IT security, and digital video technology. Gabriel also runs his own company, Euro Tech Startups s.r.o.

Hobbies include photography, video production, motion graphics, digital graphics, photo restoration, carpentry, martial arts, traveling, blogging, and trying to be better than yesterday.

Family, Gabriel Dusil, Pets

Family • Photo Restoration • 34 • Dusil • Inchy

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• I walked to the Aldershot Animal Hospital every day after school. But one day was special. It was a fresh school year, and I had just turned eight. Michele Cieslik was working that day, and she told me that a litter of cats arrived. She asked if I wanted to play with them. Michele brought out a cage with four kittens. There were three orange and white males and one female. The kittens crawled all over each other, crying with a high pitched meow. I took one  out. Then another. Then another. I didn’t want to take them out at once for fear of mayhem. Then I noticed that the female was smaller than the rest. She was tricolored – white, orange and black. Her coat was more oily that her brothers. She also seemed weaker as they trampled all over her. I took her out. She clung to me with dear life, and started to crawl up my arm, then across my shoulder. Maybe it was because I was bullied at school, and needing to protect the weakest one. But I felt an immediately connection.  The funny thing is that I realized she wasn’t weak at all. She was feisty to where I felt she was compelling me to take her away from these bullies. She had a will to survive. After about a half an hour I put the kittens back in their cage, and brought them all inside. I showed Michele the tiny female kitten I fell in love with. She said I could have her if I wanted, and her name was “Inchy” – appropriate because of how tiny she was. When I got home my mom told me that someone left those kittens at the front door of the animal hospital that morning in a cardboard box.

• It was clear from the onset that our much larger alpha-male cat Puci, was the leader – rarely did Inchy challenge that. For years I had to feed her in the closet of my bedroom. Puci was so dominant he would often eat all his food and hers as well. Many times I had to scare Puci away so he wouldn’t steal Inchy’s food. Even still she remained very thin throughout her life. As small as she was, she wasn’t sick once, in her whole life.

• There were many evenings when I realized that Inchy wasn’t inside the house. So I would opened the kitchen door and call out to her. Usually within a few minutes she would come running into the house. In the winter I was most concerned. I never wanted her to sleep outside in the cold. Usually she came home, but there were a few nights that I would call her for what seemed like countless minutes. But she wouldn’t come home. Those nights my compassion overshadowed my realization that she was versed at taking care of herself. I tried to comfort myself hoping she had a warm and safe place to sleep.

• Dusil

If you missed the previous posts on Dusil, then click on these links:

• Digital Photo Restoration

• 6 minutes 19 seconds

88 - Burlington · Inchy Dusil (sitting)
88 – Burlington · Inchy Dusil (sitting)
88 - Burlington · Inchy Dusil (sleeping on white blanket)
88 – Burlington · Inchy Dusil (sleeping on white blanket)
89 - Burlington · Inchy Dusil (red blanket sleeping)
89 – Burlington · Inchy Dusil (red blanket sleeping)
89 - Burlington · Inchy Dusil (red blanket relax)
89 – Burlington · Inchy Dusil (red blanket relax)
89.Nov - Burlington · Inchy & Gabriel Dusil (studying)
89.Nov – Burlington · Inchy & Gabriel Dusil (studying)

• Postscript by Gabriel Dusil • 2015 April • This was our daily routine throughout my university years. I was studying and working on labs and reports on my IBM PS2, and Inchy cuddled with me everyday day.

89.Nov - Burlington · Inchy & Gabriel Dusil (studying w. Inchy)
89.Nov – Burlington · Inchy & Gabriel Dusil (studying w. Inchy)
90.Nov - Burlington · Inchy Dusil (studying with Gabriel)
90.Nov – Burlington · Inchy Dusil (studying with Gabriel)
90 - Burlington · Inchy Dusil (studying with Gabriel)
90 – Burlington · Inchy Dusil (studying with Gabriel)

• Postscript by Gabriel Dusil • 2015 April • If I wasn’t in front of the computer, I was in the library studying. Inchy was particularly good in helping me with special relativity, but she didn’t quite have a grasp of thermodynamics. In any case we were a great study team.

93.Jun.11 - Burlington · Inchy Dusil (garden)
93.Jun.11 – Burlington · Inchy Dusil (garden)
95.Jul.30 - Burlington · Inchy Dusil (relaxing)
95.Jul.30 – Burlington · Inchy Dusil (relaxing)

• Postscript by Gabriel Dusil • 2015 April • This is the last picture we have of Inchy.  She died a few weeks later.  My mom saw her outside, and brought her in. By this time she was deaf and very weak.

88 - Burlington · Inchy Dusil (sitting, premiere pro)

Bio

• CEO • Strategist • Entrepreneur • Speaker
• Photographer • Designer • Creativist • Writer • Blogger
• Teacher • Trainer • Geek • INTJ • Father

Gabriel is a seasoned sales and marketing expert with over 25 years in senior positions at Motorola, VeriSign (acquired by Symantec in 2010 for 1.25 billion US$), SecureWorks (acquired by Dell in 2011 for 612 million US$), and Cognitive Security (acquired by Cisco in 2013 for 25 million US$). He is a blockchain entrepreneur, with strengths in international business strategy.

Gabriel has a bachelor’s degree in Engineering Physics from McMaster University in Canada and expert knowledge in crypto incubation, cloud computing, IT security, and digital video technology. Gabriel also runs his own company, Euro Tech Startups s.r.o.

Hobbies include photography, video production, motion graphics, digital graphics, photo restoration, carpentry, martial arts, traveling, blogging, and trying to be better than yesterday.

Family, Gabriel Dusil

Family • Photo Restoration • 32 • Mamička & Taci

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• Introduction by Eva Dusil • Editing by Gabriel Dusil • 2014 November

• I met Vašek when I was 21 years old, in my freshman year of veterinary studies. He was in his fifth year at the same university. Without my knowledge my brother Csaba, who trained with Vašek in judo, suggested he ask me out. At the beginning of the 1966 Christmas holidays Vašek came to our apartment and asked if I would go with him to a New Years celebration. At the time I wasn’t very impressed, but I had no other plans. Between Christmas and New Years we went out a couple of times. It was exciting  because I was going to a restaurant for the first time in my life. Our New Years celebration began at Dom umenia in Košice. Vašek’s brothers, and their spouses joined us. It was a triple-date. We had a great time. We then went to Slávia, a famous restaurant in Košice. Vašek was very entertaining and funny – pretending to film our date. In one week I was in love with him.

Mamička

If you missed the other posts on Mamička, you can link to them here:

• Digital Photo Restoration

 • 7 minutes 40 seconds

66.Feb - Košice · Vaclav Dusil & Eva Kendeova (carrying #2)
66.Feb – Košice · Vaclav Dusil & Eva Kendeova (carrying #2)
66.Feb - Košice · Vaclav Dusil & Eva Kendeova (carrying #1)
66.Feb – Košice · Vaclav Dusil & Eva Kendeova (carrying #1)

• Postscript by Eva Dusil • 2014 November • These photos were taken in the yard where Vašek lived. It is the winter of 1966, soon after we started dating (happy memories).

• 4 minutes 13 seconds

68.Jun - Dresden · Eva Kendeova & Vaclav Dusil (honeymoon, railing)
68.May – Dresden · Eva Kendeova & Vaclav Dusil (honeymoon, railing)
68.Jun - Dresden · Eva Kendeova & Vaclav Dusil (honeymoon, monument)
68.May – Dresden · Eva Kendeova & Vaclav Dusil (honeymoon, monument)

 

• 7 minutes 54 seconds

67.Dec - Košice · Eva Kendeova & Vaclav Dusil (statue)
67.Dec – Košice · Eva Kendeova & Vaclav Dusil (statue)
67.Dec - Košice · Eva Kendeova & Vaclav Dusil (park)
67.Dec – Košice · Eva Kendeova & Vaclav Dusil (park)
67.Dec - Košice · Eva Kendeova & Vaclav Dusil (fence)
67.Dec – Košice · Eva Kendeova & Vaclav Dusil (fence)

 

 • 2 minutes 14 seconds

74.Jul - Burlington · Vaclav, Alica & Eva Dusil (baby)
74.Jul – Burlington · Vaclav, Alica & Eva Dusil (baby)
75.Jul.12 - Burlington · Gabriel, Eva, Alica & Vaclav Dusil (1st birthday)
75.Jul.12 – Burlington · Gabriel, Eva, Alica & Vaclav Dusil (1st birthday)
78 - Burlington · Eva & Vaclav Dusil (dancing)
78 – Burlington · Eva & Vaclav Dusil (dancing)

74.Jul - Burlington · Vaclav, Alica & Eva Dusil (baby, premiere pro)

Bio

• CEO • Strategist • Entrepreneur • Speaker
• Photographer • Designer • Creativist • Writer • Blogger
• Teacher • Trainer • Geek • INTJ • Father

Gabriel is a seasoned sales and marketing expert with over 25 years in senior positions at Motorola, VeriSign (acquired by Symantec in 2010 for 1.25 billion US$), SecureWorks (acquired by Dell in 2011 for 612 million US$), and Cognitive Security (acquired by Cisco in 2013 for 25 million US$). He is a blockchain entrepreneur, with strengths in international business strategy.

Gabriel has a bachelor’s degree in Engineering Physics from McMaster University in Canada and expert knowledge in crypto incubation, cloud computing, IT security, and digital video technology. Gabriel also runs his own company, Euro Tech Startups s.r.o.

Hobbies include photography, video production, motion graphics, digital graphics, photo restoration, carpentry, martial arts, traveling, blogging, and trying to be better than yesterday.

Family, Gabriel Dusil, Martial Arts

Martial Arts • Kickboxing at TapouT • 2 • Alica & Gabriel

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14.Aug - Burlington, Tapout Kickboxing (title)

• In December, I surprised my sister by coming home for Christmas. While in Burlington, Ontario, Canada I had the privilege to train with Alica at the local TapouT MMA gym, Tapoutburlington.com. This is the second of four workouts we had together. On this day we did some strength and conditioning, then we worked on a lot of sparing techniques, and had some fun with Jiu Jitsu. We also did loads of strength & conditioning with a lot of emphasis on core strength. Check out the video below.

• I love my sister, and I’m very proud of her. She is an accomplished artist, and has her own company offering Landscape Design & Horticulture services, you can find her website DusilDesign.com, here. I love you, Ali 🙂

Home - Signature, Gabriel Dusil ('12, shadow, teal, Gab)

 

 

 

 

• Martial Arts

If you missed my Martial Arts posts, please click on them here:

 

• 22 minute 34 seconds

 

• Ferus Fitness Fight Club in Burlington, Ontario, Canada

• These workouts are straight from the training sessions of Karel Ferus, who runs his own fitness club in Prague. Details can be found at fffc.cz.   If you live in Prague, or plan to visit sometime in the future, feel free to come and train with us.  If you are interested in  strength & conditioning, improving your core strength and cardio, or just want to learn some self defense, then come by for a lesson.  For more details feel free to leave me a comment below.

• Tags

Alica Dusil, Boxing, Burlington + Ontario + Canada, circuit training, conditioning, conditioning training, Dusil Design, Dusil Design & Landscape, dusil.com, dusildesign.com, Ferus Fitness Fight Club, fighting, fitness training + Prague, Gabriel Dusil, Karate, Karel Ferus, Kickboxing, Martial Arts, martial arts prague, Mixed Martial Arts, MMA, muay thai, Prague + Kickboxing, Prague + MMA, Praha + Kickboxing, self defense, strength + conditioning, Tapout, Tapout + Burlington, thai box, Thai Boxing

 

14.Dec - Burlington, Tapout Kickboxing (Alica & Gabriel, Day 2, premiere pro)

 

Bio

• CEO • Strategist • Entrepreneur • Speaker
• Photographer • Designer • Creativist • Writer • Blogger
• Teacher • Trainer • Geek • INTJ • Father

Gabriel is a seasoned sales and marketing expert with over 25 years in senior positions at Motorola, VeriSign (acquired by Symantec in 2010 for 1.25 billion US$), SecureWorks (acquired by Dell in 2011 for 612 million US$), and Cognitive Security (acquired by Cisco in 2013 for 25 million US$). He is a blockchain entrepreneur, with strengths in international business strategy.

Gabriel has a bachelor’s degree in Engineering Physics from McMaster University in Canada and expert knowledge in crypto incubation, cloud computing, IT security, and digital video technology. Gabriel also runs his own company, Euro Tech Startups s.r.o.

Hobbies include photography, video production, motion graphics, digital graphics, photo restoration, carpentry, martial arts, traveling, blogging, and trying to be better than yesterday.