About me

My name is Franek Przeradzki. I’m a traveler, freelancer and the father of Lion. True story. His middle name is Thor. I have a Master’s degree in Sociology from University of Warsaw, Poland. Studying, including a failed romance with a PhD program, took about 10 years of my life, and it was quite a ride. In that time I did many things – not all of them strictly related to sociology, but all of them helping me pay for my extensive and adventurous travels. These experiences have made me uniquely qualified and in possession of an unconventional skill set. And this is on top of being fluent in Polish, i.e. one of the world’s ten most difficult languages.

Scuba and Freediving

I learned snorkeling way before I mastered swimming as such. Long summers at the Baltic Sea can do that to a baby. In 2000, still in Poland, I completed my first scuba diving course. In 2005, I got my PADI Divemaster certification in Dublin, Ireland, and 2 years later I became a NAUI Scuba Diving Instructor. This is the [NASA] astronauts’ diving school of choice, so it made mine a little easier. Since then, I’ve worked in the Baltic area, Croatia, Florida and Egypt. I dove with FBI agents, F22 fighter jet pilots, Tatra Mountain Rescue diving team, soldiers, firefighters and police officers, as well as hundreds of other diving enthusiasts. In 2018 I’ve became SSI Instructor, and in 2020 SSI Freediving instructor. I teach all kind of courses, from entry level to wreck and Extended Range technical diving. I regularly cooperate with DEEPSPOT (-45,4 meters) but you can also meet me underwater in Baltic (Hel), Croatia (Vis) and Egypt liveaboards. 

Skiing

I started skiing when I was 4 and never stopped. In fact I am doing it right now, as I write this. That is a joke. I became a ski instructor in 2004. In 2006, along with my business partner and friend, Olek Pobikrowski, we launched FREERIDERS, a company offering ski trips and so much more. Nowadays, I focus on freeride and ski touring, though I haven’t lost my on-piste skills. I also have experience in ski racing, starting at a junior level and continuing all throughout university years as part of the University of Warsaw’s ski racing team. Though I was done with racing in 2012, I expanded my interest in skiing. This time from a journalist’s perspective, as a writer for one of Poland’s biggest media companies Agora. I became the editor-in-chief of their ski website: nanarty.sport.pl, which allowed me to ski even more.

Traveling

Back in high school, I managed to go to Australia for a 3-month English course. For the first time in my life, I could actually experience cultural diversity, and it made me fall in love with traveling. In 2007, I managed to save enough money to take a gap year. I went to Florida to earn some more, and then ventured on a 11 month journey around the world. But this was only the beginning. Three years after rounding the world, I traveled to South America for 5 more months. Since I travel as much as I can, by now I have visited about 50 countries, but who’s counting… In some places I stayed weeks, and in others for months at a time. A few years ago, with my then-fiancée, now wife, Misia, we set up the Wielka Wycieczka/Grand Trip project. Now there are three of us, including my son, Lion, already – for his age – a seasoned traveler.

Content Production

I write, photograph and film with skill and flare. I am a true multimedia journalist, competent and confident in all formats. I write on travel and sports, both based on my experiences and that of others.  My texts appear regularly in Sport.pl, Gazeta.pl, Magazyn Logo and other titles, both online and in print. I do production of promotional materials for ski regions, automotive companies and other brands which seek people with my combination of skills and aesthetics.

Sports and Passions

Though realizing how banal it sounds, I do love living and experiencing all that life has to offer. Besides the passions-turned-professions listed above, I am also experienced in and enjoy rock climbing, mountaineering and sailing, and never say no to an opportunity to try my hand at something new. I speak fluent English and feel confident using it. Having spent almost 1,5 year in Latin America, I’m also a competent Spanish speaker.