A Pilot-Turned Poker Player on Starting a New Life in Mexico

Sneak Peek:

Teemu:    00:00:00    If you wanted to live free, this was the place. It's really hard to live here for four years and not start embracing the path of consciousness, right? At least to some degree. Expect to be screwed over every now and then. It's whenever you're in a foreign country, like yeah, people are gonna overcharge you and that's just part of the experience. Yeah, and you can't be perfect about it.  

Introduction: Welcome to Badass Digital Nomads, where we're pushing the boundaries of remote work and travel, all while staying grounded with a little bit of old school philosophy, self-development, and business advice from our guests.

Kristin:    00:00:40    Hey there, Kristin Wilson from Traveling with Kristin, and welcome to episode 253 of Badass Digital Nomads. I wanna thank everyone who wrote in to tell me about your experiences into Tulum after my podcast a couple weeks ago on Tulum, Mexico, the good, the bad, and the ugly. I mentioned that I would share some of your experiences here on the podcast. So I selected a few. First we have Lisa Hanks who said that she was in Tulum with her husband at the same time as me, and also had many similar experiences. She said, I used to love Tulum, and I've been there a few times over the years, but I was amazed at how different it was, even in just the past three years. Most importantly though, and shocking were the prices. I could not believe that the meals were just okay, but as expensive as California gone are the days of it being affordable to eat there.  

Kristin:    00:01:38    And although you can find places if you aren't eating near the beach or staying in the new neighborhoods like Aldea Zamá, which is where they stayed, then you can get some deals on food. She said they did rent a car, although they mostly got around by a bike everywhere, and the only time they used their car was to drive back and forth from the airport, or Akumal. If you haven't been to Akumal, that's a really cool beach where you can actually swim with sea turtles. So I also recommend that she said, although they were disappointed at some of the negative changes and they noticed a lot more garbage everywhere, the beach was still beautiful, she says, and the local people, as you mentioned, are lovely. You can still have fun. It's just that the spirit has changed a lot in the area. It's not as unique as it once was.  

Kristin:    00:02:26    She's not sure if she would go back again, other than to see Sian Kaʼan, the biological reserve, which they didn't look into early enough on their trip. As for the police, they didn't have any issues. But on her last trip with her friend, she did get pulled over at a police stop between Tulum and Holbox on the highway. They pulled her over and no one spoke English. So they were a little bit apprehensive and weren't sure what was going to happen. However, they didn't find anything in their luggage that they were looking for, and they let them go. So she said it was definitely a nerve wracking experience, but just good to know. Anyway, I love your podcast and enjoy listening to all your travel. She says Thanks for all you do. Thanks so much, Lisa, for sharing your experience. It's really interesting to hear that you had such a similar experience and even were pulled over once with your friend by the local police.  

Kristin:    00:03:22    So I'm glad that nothing shady happened there. And like you, I feel like I probably will go back as there is more to see. But there's definitely some pros and cons, some disappointing aspects, but still the people are great. The beaches are beautiful and yeah, there's a lot to see and do there. Jim Salzman rode in with some concerns about police corruption. He hasn't been there, but was just wondering what level of police corruption do I consider tolerable for nomad workers in general without knowing their gender height, race, age, nationality, ethnicity, et cetera. He said, if this situation is, as you described, and that police are using checkpoints to drain ATM bank accounts, then that's way too much of a risk for me. But I'm interested in your perspective. Jim, thanks for your question. I would say that no amount of police corruption is acceptable or tolerable, but I think there is some degree of different treatment for foreigners and tourists in different countries.  

Kristin:    00:04:33    Sometimes it's positive and sometimes it's negative, and sometimes it's very individual from your perspective. So if I refer back to my podcast interview with Eric Prince, the Minority Nomad, we actually did a two part episode a few years ago, and he's coming back on the show soon. So I'm very excited. But he, as well as many other African Americans in the United States really enjoy living abroad because they find it to be much safer and he gets pulled over way less, if not ever, when living abroad compared to living in the United States. So there's a lot of people facing discrimination in their own countries. So it, it's almost like a perspective of privilege that many of us from the US or Canada or Europe, if, if we haven't ever faced that kind of unfair treatment or discrimination before, the first time we might experience it is in another country like Mexico or Nicaragua in my case, or Costa Rica, or who knows where it, it's an issue that I think is facing humanity in general.  

Kristin:    00:05:46    And you know, you might receive discrimination as an Asian student living in Australia or as a 23-year-old white female living in Nicaragua like me, or as a middle-aged Canadian man going on vacation to Tulum, whatever it is. So it, it's something to be aware of. I don't know what the solution is. If I did I I would run for president or some political office. But it's just something to be aware of. And not just from your own perspective of traveling internationally, but also being cognizant of the experiences that local people are having within their own countries, and then also other covariates from your country going to those same countries internationally or indigenous people within their own country. Today's interview came together in such an interesting way. When I reflect on it, I met a girl on the Nomad cruise who happened to be in Tulum while I was there.  

Kristin:    00:06:55    We reconnected and she invited me to an event in Tulum. One of her friends, so she's from Finland, and our guest from the podcast today is also from Finland. And she introduced me to him when we were in Tulum. They met through some digital Nomad coworking group. I didn't talk to him much while we were there. He was mostly salsa dancing, very well I might add. But then I did invite him on the podcast later and really enjoyed our conversation. It's a short one at 34, 35 minutes, but his answers to every question were so thought provoking and valuable. So I'm really excited to share this episode with you today. Quick note, the days are counting down until the deadline to sign up for our group trip to Costa Rica this August 9th through 12th. You can join us using the link in the show notes, and if there's any early bird spots left when this episode airs, then make sure to grab the last one.  

Kristin:    00:08:01    Ever since I started Traveling with Kristin back in 2018, I've been wanting to do a group trip. I've done a couple of meetups over the years, but this will be the first time that I'm able to spend a few days hanging out with podcast listeners and YouTube subscribers and like-minded people from our community in Costa Rica where my living abroad journey started. So it's gonna be such a special trip. It'll be a lot of fun watching sunsets, sharing meals hanging out together. So I really hope that you can join us for a long weekend in Costa Rica. And again, you can find that link at the top of the show notes or if you're on your device right now, you can just search Trova Trip, Traveling with Kristin, or Traveling with Kristin Costa Rica. And then Trova, T-R-O-V-A. That's the tour provider Trova Trip. And it will  

Kristin:    00:08:54    come right up and you can reserve your place today. And without further ado, let's get into today's episode. Also, there is some profanity in this episode, so be aware.

Podcast Interview:

Kristin:  Hey, I'm here with Teemu and his beautiful loft in Tulum, and we're just gonna chat a little bit about how he ended up in Tulum. He's been a resident of Mexico here for a few years, and I met him the other night at a local event. And I'm just fascinated by all of the people that have been moving to the Tulum area from all over the world. He's from Finland, but I can tell from speaking with him that he's definitely integrated a lot with the culture here. Right after this interview, he's hopping over to a salsa class. So <laugh>, let's get started. Yeah, welcome Teemu. Thank you. Teemu Alanen, Teemu. Okay. And so tell us a little bit about, uh, your background in Finland and how you ended up with the travel bug and decided to move abroad.  

Teemu:    00:09:59    Okay, so we go all the way back to 2009 when I graduated as an airline pilot. It's my first education. And uh, that was a really bad time to graduate as anything because that's when we were in the previous recession. So I trained with Finnair, which is our national airline kind of a thing. And uh, their head of pilots, uh, came to our graduation and said that, okay, uh, we're not gonna be able to employ you anytime soon. So like, you gotta figure something else out, uh, while while waiting. So if you can get a job at another airline or you have university degrees that, uh, that are only half done, go ahead and finish them. Like use this time productively 'cause there's gonna be some waiting. Yeah. And, um, well I kind of did what I was told and I started taking online poker.  

Teemu:    00:10:43    Seriously, <laugh>. So, 'cause I had been dabbling with poker already when I was in school. So, but that was the time when I kind of threw a question onto the universe that could I someday be good enough in poker so that I could just travel the world, have a laptop with me, and make a living on the road playing online. And a year later I told my mom that, okay, I'm not gonna go to work anymore. I'm gonna be a professional poker player from now on <laugh>. And you can imagine that my mom was very, very happy <laugh>. And uh, that was 14 years ago. So yeah, I've been a professional poker player for almost 14 years now, <laugh>. And that's my, um, that's my main, main means of making a living. And, um, that, uh, directly also got me here. So I've lived in Malta, for example, for several periods of time.  

Teemu:    00:11:32    And I've lived in Sweden and stuff like that. But this is like the first time I'm a nomadic full-time. So I left Finland in August 20th, 2019. And, uh, first it was London, then India, then Thailand. And then those time zones are really bad for poker India and Thailand. 'cause it's, I play on a European European server and that's busiest when it's evening and night in Europe. And that's daytime here. So I eventually chose, actually I chose Mexico for time zone largely 'cause I can have a normal schedule here. And, um, also the climate is nice and I like language and Latinas so.  

Kristin:    00:12:10    Yeah. Are you playing on poker stars?  

Teemu:    00:12:12    I used to, that's where I start. That's kind of where I started, but not, not anymore. So I play on Win Max, which is a French Spanish site.  

Kristin:    00:12:20    Okay. So the people you're playing against, are they in France and Spain or international?

Teemu:   Mostly, yeah.

Kristin:  Okay. Mostly, this is so funny, but our mutual friend Jenna mentioned that you played poker, but I didn't tell you that I own this company called Poker Refugees. Oh, have you heard of it, <laugh>

Teemu:    00:12:37    I, I have actually. Yeah, I have.  

Kristin:    00:12:40    Yeah. I did that for almost 12 years. Right. And actually just closed it last year to go full-time with my other relocation services and Okay. And YouTube. So yeah, for 12 years I helped poker players <laugh>,  

Teemu:    00:12:54    The, so did you start when the poker Black Friday hit? Yeah, before?  

Kristin:    00:12:57    Yeah. I started literally right after Black Friday. Okay. And I helped people move to Malta Yeah. And  

Teemu:    00:13:04    Fly to Carmen, which is right next door,  

Kristin:    00:13:06    All over the world. 

Teemu:    00:13:08    Okay.  <laugh>. Yeah. I have, uh, I, I mean I never needed the services myself, but like I, I am Yeah. I have heard of. Yeah. Okay, cool.  

Kristin:    00:13:15    It's a small world. It's a small world <laugh>. It's a small world. So, uh, did you plan when you first left to, you know, go to London and travel a bit and play poker? What, did you think it was going to be a long term thing? Or did you think you would just go for a few months or a year and come back?  

Teemu:    00:13:30    Um, well my original plan was to settle, settle in London. 'cause um, poker and crypto is how I make money. But my main passion is performing arts, especially musical theater. So London is the center of musical theater in Europe. So I thought that, okay, I wanna do more musical theater and bigger, so let's set it up in like, let's lay down roots in London. And I also love the city, but my, my main place in the ecosystem is not necessarily on stage. I've ridden a musical back home in 2016, 2017. And, um, that, that's more my path is, is writing and, and creating like stories. And I don't need to be in London for that. And like, a lot of things happen to happen in a certain way for me to actually leave London and end up here. And, um, yeah. I I was intentionally leaving Finland for a long period of time. Yes. Okay. But I did not, I was not planning on Mexico.  

Kristin:    00:14:25    So how did you end up in Mexico?  

Teemu:    00:14:28    I was in Thailand in January, 2020 with my now business partner. And, um, it was just a really bad time zone. And I wanted a change of environment, change of time zone. And one of my long-term students in poker, he is a Mexican guy. We've known each other for over 10 years now. And we hadn't had any contact with him for three years. So I, I was looking like, okay, this area of the world, where do I go? I was looking at Miami first, but the rents were pretty high. And, uh, and so I zoomed out on the map and then, you know how when you zoom out on Google Maps, it's gives you some random city names, or not random, but it shows you, shows you some city names. And for some reason it showed Playa Del Carmen, which is right next door from Tulum.  

Teemu:    00:15:13    And I was like, oh, I was supposed to be there in 2015. Like we, we had a plan with three other poker guys to get a penthouse in Playa, um, for three months. But I decided to go on a full, full, uh, full-time musical theater training instead. So that plan got canceled. So I see Playa del Carmen, I'm like, oh, I was kind of supposed to be there, I wonder where my Mexican friend is. And I text him like, Hey, uh, where in the world are you? And he's like, Playa del Carmen. I'm like, okay, this is okay. A little bit too convenient. Like, I'll be there in a week or two. And, uh, the rest is almost history. So, um, we were in player for three weeks. We came to Tulum for a couple of, like, Airbnb stays from one night to two nights.  

Teemu:    00:15:53    And there was something very special about Tulum. I couldn't really put a finger on it, but something really special was, was happening here. And when the world turned in the shits with COVID and I knew that, okay, it's time to choose where I sit out, the, the storm, whatever, however long it takes, I deliberately chose Tulum. And that plan was like, okay, let's be here for like three, four months or something like that and see where the world leads leads me after that. But the lockdowns were one of the best times of my life. It was incredible to be in Tulum for, for lockdowns. And I ended up building a life here. And then I adopted a cat <laugh>. So then, yeah, then I guess this is my base.  

Kristin:    00:16:32    What made it so great to be here during the pandemic. I mean, I know that that's when Tulum quote unquote blew up. Yep. And people started discovering it. But what was it like?  

Teemu:    00:16:41    There was a sense of, uh, a lot of digital nomads and Yeah. Expats kind of coming together in a foreign country going through the same global situation. So there was a, there was a very, there was a pretty strong like tribal feel to the whole thing. And Mexico, well Mexico as a country was open the entire time. Right. And also there was no bullshit with PCR tests or, or that fucking idio idiotic stuff at all. At any point. Yeah. And, um, yes, we had a full lockdown, like the main street was blocked for a period of time, but that was the first wave after that. There were restrictions, but you could live fairly normally in Tulum. And this became like a heaven for people who didn't wanna live in the, uh, draconian, covid, uh, covid structure of the Western end world or most of the world. Anyway. So if you wanted to live three, this was the place. So yeah, I just made home here, so. 

Kristin:    00:17:41   . Amazing. Yeah. I think where I was in Miami and Tulum, there were a lot of people going back and forth. Yeah. And I ended up staying there 'cause my rent was so high and I didn't wanna travel at the same time. Right. But it must've been a nice time to be here. Now, now that you've been here for a few years, can you pinpoint what it is that makes Tulum special and different compared to Playa El Carmen and and other places? 

Teemu:    00:18:06    Tribe.   

Kristin:    00:18:06    The tribe? 

Teemu:    00:18:07    Yeah.  The tribe. I have people here now that, that are similarly spirited as I am. And I have a, like I know a few people in Finland who would be like, tribe here. Yeah. But that's, that's very few. Almost everyone here is compatible in terms of how I see the world, or at least close enough so that, so that we understand each other and we vibe very naturally. So it would be that nowadays. And, uh, I mean Tulum is, is really nice when it comes to climate. For example, I would not want to live in Mexico City all year round because it's really cold in December and January. And they, their house insul ins installations are not great. Yeah. So like, the climate in Tulum is very nice all year round. 'cause my standard for a place which is livable, is after sundown I have to be able to drive around with my motorcycle only wearing shorts and a t-shirt <laugh>. And that's, that's, that's a, that constitutes a livable place when it comes to climate. Finland does not make the cut unless it's summer. Uh, but even Mexico City now, it's becoming nice. But, um, yeah, tum is really nice all year round.  

Kristin:    00:19:17    Yeah. That's your litmus test. Can I ride on my scooter with shorts on.  

Teemu:    00:19:21    <laugh> Yeah, exactly. After sundown. Yeah.  

Kristin:    00:19:23    So is your tribe a mix of people from all different countries?  

Teemu:    00:19:26    Yeah, there's some locals, but it's, it's mostly the, uh, the digital nomad, uh, sort of demographic who is at least on some kind of a journey spiritually. So I'm not super woowoo as I, as I would call them, but like, I'm, I've lived here for four years now, so it's really hard to live here for four years and not start embracing the path of consciousness, at least to some degree. 

Kristin:    00:19:53    Right. What are some of the activities or meetups that people come together around here in your tribe?  

Teemu:    00:20:01    Tulum is really big for men's groups. So that's something that I was introduced to in Tulum. There's, there's, there's a, there's a lot of men's groups here and I'm, uh, I'm part of Men of Means, which is one of the two biggest ones here. And um, that's a big, that's a big part of my, my life now. So it's an online tribe officially. But a lot of the key people are here in Tulum. So it's easy. Like there's a lot of convenience factor to have live meetups with the other founders and, uh, and the head coach. So that would be one. Um, and then there's a lot of conscious events that might start with the cacao ceremony and then some conscious connection games. And then there might be a concert and stuff like that. So you just don't really have that in in Finland. Right. Or, or like, yes, you do, but you gotta find it and it's not very common so. 

Kristin:    00:20:53    What is the ethos of the men's group? Is it to support each other or? 

Teemu:    00:20:58    Yeah, so any kind of men's work at the core is a group of men sitting in a circle talking about life with radical honesty, radical integrity, and like actually speaking about emotions and, and being open and vulnerable. That's the core of men's work. Everything else is a detail. So these different men's group that operate out of Tulum all have cultural differences. Uh, but that's, that's a detail at the core. As long as men gather together and sit in a circle and talk about life once per week or something like that. Like, that's the core essence of men's work. And I, I believe that should be constitutional. Like that should be, that should happen. Women do that naturally. We don't, because you're supposed to be a fucking man and it's like, no, suck it up and, and grind and provide and be the rock to lean, like, be all of these masculine things, but  

Kristin:    00:21:49    A man robot.  

Teemu:    00:21:49    Exactly. And, uh, it's not culturally natural in most places in the world for men to get together and talk about life very vulnerably. So that's, uh.  

Kristin:    00:22:02    So it's like men just trying to be better men Yeah. And people and like a group therapy.  

Teemu:    00:22:08    Yeah. That's at the, that's the core, core essence I think.

Kristin:    00:22:10     I think that everybody should be in therapy <laugh> or, or have these connections. Yeah. It's super important. I love that. I have met a few men here that have told me that they're in men's groups. I just, you know, being, not being a man, I haven't been to any, any meetups, but, uh, yeah. That's so interesting. And then what would you say is the, the culture of Finland as you see it as a Finnish person, and what are the elements of the culture that you felt you didn't fit in with  

Teemu:    00:22:41    Woohoohoo? <laugh>, there's a lot.  

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Kristin:  What would you say is the, the culture of Finland as you see it, and what are the elements of the culture that you felt you didn't fit in with.  

Teemu:    00:24:38    There's a lot, 'cause it's in, in, um, social norms, Finland and Mexico would be like quite far, far on the opposite sides of the spectrum. So we, for example, in Finland, we don't do pleasantries. Like, hi, how are you <laugh> If if you add the, hi, how are you, uh, after hi, expect an actual response <laugh>, like, it's not pleasantries, it's not here every single time. I, I I do that in English or Spanish. I have to translate in my mind that, oh, the how are you is part of the hello, it doesn't mean anything. And it's, it's a little annoying. Yeah. But like, it comes with the territory. So there's, um, there's that we don't small talk in Finland much. It's uh, like you can have a dinner where there's a comfortable silence for a long time. No one's saying anything because no one has anything to say.  

Teemu:    00:25:26    So we don't break the, the air of silence just for the sake of breaking silence. And here it's like having a dinner with, with people is like, there's not a quiet moment at all, <laugh>. And that's a, that's a big cultural, uh, difference. Uh, we tend to communicate pretty directly and bluntly. So like, since we don't have plesantries, uh, or we don't really use them, like, we tend to go straight to the point. Whereas in Mexico, like you are polite and you go around in circles until you get to the point. And that is really fucking annoying sometimes. 'cause I just wanna get straight to the points in the name of, uh, being efficient in communications. And, uh, so there, there are differences like this. And also the, the dating culture is different. So Finnish women are very independent. And the default relationship dynamic in Finland is that of equality. And it's much less patriarchal than it would be here. 'cause here it's still, it's, it's more traditional gender roles. And I actually kind of like that. I, I, I lean more towards that now myself.  

Kristin:    00:26:33    And when you were living there before you moved to Mexico, did you feel out of place or did you just feel like you wanted to see more of the world?  

Teemu:    00:26:43    It was more about wanting to see more of the world. And I've always been a traveler more than, uh, I've always gone for experiences more than material possessions. So it was curiosity and exploration, but now it's more about fitting, not fitting in. So yes, I go to Finland for a couple of months every summer. And I also always go home for Christmas. And anytime I go to Finland, anytime I spend any kind of a longer period of time there, I find myself looking at rental apartments and, and like contemplating what it would be like to live in Finland again. 'cause the benefits of Finland or a country like Finland is that everything works. Everything works absolutely flawlessly. The systems are like foolproof. Oh yes. Everything is smooth sailing and everything works on time. And the infrastructure is in incredible here. Nothing works by default. Nothing works by default.  

Teemu:    00:27:34    I live in a, i I live in a villa and, uh, the two streets that lead out from here, this is not even a new area, but those streets are not on Google maps like this. You had a hard time finding this place.

Kristin:   I couldn't find it.

Teemu:   Yeah. <laugh>. So there's, there's completely like silly stuff like that. Like how is a street that's been here for years? How is it not on Google Maps? Stuff like that. Uh, so nothing works by default, but you can make everything work here. So you just need to find the key people. Like your life quality relies highly on how good is your cleaning lady and do you have someone to contact for every problem? Do you have a good motorcycle mechanic? Like, do you have someone who can come and fix your internet if it breaks down? Do you have a good handyman? Like all of these things. Yeah. So once you have your network of key people who you, who you contact, when something goes wrong, you're golden. But, uh, it takes a while to gather that network and, and find those contacts. And like finding a great immigration lawyer was, was a key step for me to get my residency because there are a lot of really shit ones. Yes. And then there's a, a few who are really good, but like finding the right people that's, um, that's, you kind of need that to thrive here.  

Kristin:    00:28:43    Is your lawyer local to Tulum or Playa?  

Teemu:    00:28:46    Uh, Playa.  

Kristin:    00:28:47    Can you share the law firm?   

Teemu:    00:28:48    Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Her name is Adriana Vella. Um, I don't remember the name out of my head right now, the company name. But I can, uh, for any show notes or whatever, I can, I can share the contact because that is something that a lot of people fall prey to dodgy immigration lawyers. 'cause literally the procedure that I took, uh, it cost me 800 bucks or something like that total. And if you don't know what they're doing, there are immigration lawyers in Mexico City, for example, who's gonna charge you $7,000 for the service. And it's just complete bullshit it's, uh, but the target market for them is people who come from American companies to work in Mexico for whatever reason and who just want it conveniently, uh, fair. But there's, um, there's a lot of little things that you just kind of have to kind of know and even then like expect to be screwed over every now and then. It's whenever you're in a foreign country, like yeah. People are gonna overcharge you and that's just part of the experience. Yeah. And you can't be perfect about it.  

Kristin:    00:29:45    So yes, I definitely <laugh> had that experience coming back. I was telling my mom on the phone, like, I remember now why I don't live in Latin America full time because it's just, of course I've only been here for a couple weeks, so I had to remember the learning curve of, I mean, I've been here before multiple times, but it's like every time you come back, you need to find your contacts, you need to get into the flow of things. I had to, my bank account was inactive, I had to reopen that they wanted a Mexican driver's license, Mexican residency papers wouldn't even let me in the bank without a Mexican driver's license. You know, I had to escalate everything to the managers. Yeah. And finally, you know, five days later I got my new debit card <laugh>. But things like that, that you, you don't, you just have to accept that some things will take longer than normal and you're gonna get different answers for things different times. And it is what it is. But at the same time, I really do appreciate what you said about, you know, the friendliness of the people. Yeah. And even the construction workers say Buen Provecho to me and they see me eating fruit salad outside <laugh> Yeah. Or something like that. And that, and that's really nice. So we end up being this kind of blend of, of different cultures. And now how many years have you been outside of Finland?  

Teemu:    00:31:06    Four and a half.  

Kristin:    00:31:08    Okay. So, and so I've noticed that there's kind of this arc of the expat or digital nomad. It kind of goes with the culture shock curve where when you first get to a place, it, it can be the honeymoon phase, but then there can also be a lot of friction and learning curve as you get to know the culture. And then people get to a point a few years in where they either leave or they stay and get more integrated and rooted in the community, or they wanna move back home or move to another place. How do you feel, like, what kind of phase of of life do you feel like you're in? Do you feel like you're here for the long term and, and integrating, or like you mentioned, do you think you'll move on to Finland or another country?  

Teemu:    00:31:53    I don't see myself moving back to Finland anytime soon. So the way I see it is that this is my base for the foreseeable future. So I don't have any inclination of moving out of Tulum. Uh, so I'm, I'm at a, I'm at a phase where I've gone through a lot of the cycles of like, at some point I was very certain that, okay, I wanna, it's time to leave Tulum and, and time to maybe go back to Finland or, or whatever. But now it's, now it's in a very sort of stable, I'm very happy here. And I've, my my tribe mostly consists of people who live here like super long term. 'cause it's, it's a little bit exhausting to meet someone and, and get to know someone for a couple of months and then they leave. Yeah. And then you probably never see them again. Yeah. So I've cultivated my social circle to be mostly people who, who live here long term. Okay. Now, I mean, it feels like home now. So if I land in Cancun and I take the highway to Tulum, I feel like I'm going home  

Kristin:    00:32:50    Nice. And living in Playa. Can you kind of compare and contrast how it's different there? Because I used to say that it was the perfect place for poker players because everything is walkable, everything's open really late or 24 hours in some cases, but it doesn't have that tribal feeling that you mentioned.   

Teemu:    00:33:09    Yeah. Playa is more commercial. Um, it has a better infrastructure. So in Tulum you gotta deal with stuff like consistent power blackouts and internet going down. And it's like, it's a jungle infrastructure. Whereas Playa is much, much more established and yeah, you can walk everywhere. You can walk to the beach. Where here you can't really, it's too far to be, to be walked effectively. So, um, if you wanna focus on poker or if you wanna live in a, in a, in a different country and focus on being productive and working ply might be better than Tulum because it's more in the more in that vibe. Tulum is is a lot better if you want to start exploring your spirituality and, and get into plant medicine ceremonies and, and and stuff like that. So Tulum has, I guess more variety. But having said that, I have a few times thought about what it, what it would be like to live in Playa again. 'cause because of all the infrastructure stuff, and it's close enough to come to Tulum for different events whenever I want anyway. And it's closer to the airport, it's walkable and stuff. But what I don't like about Playa is the, the big walking street. The, the fifth, fifth Avenue. Avenue, yes. Um, I can't walk there without being someone trying to sell me something all the time. Yeah. And it really gets annoying at some point. Tulum is the main street in Tulum gives you that as well, but it's less intense. It's multiples less intense.  

Kristin:    00:34:32    You know what, now that you mention it, I've only had one person try to sell me something in two weeks and it was at the beach. Yep. So that's really nice. Whereas imply it's constant all day long. So you make a good point with that. Can you give us some insight into like a typical day in your life here or how many hours you work and, uh, what, what your day is like?  

Teemu:    00:34:54    Uh, I would, if I'm on a, if I'm on a sort of cycle where I'm working a lot um, I would probably get up at seven or eight, something like that. And then I feed, I have two cats, Melvin and Darkness.  

Kristin:    00:35:09    Darkness. Darkness must be said like that.  

Teemu:    00:35:12    <laugh>. Yes, exactly. It's Darkness, <laugh>. And, uh, I feed them and, uh, I have a very short morning routine of brushing my teeth and, and a short prayer. And it's not religious prayer, it's spiritual, it's Tulum, um, yeah. Type of a prayer. I don't, I'm not part of any religion. Okay. Um, and then I make myself coffee and I literally just sit down on the computer and I start, I start playing. And, uh, it depends a little bit on how good the games happen to be on that day. I might play really, really, really long sessions. Like the longest I've played over the past month was 13 hours straight. Almost no breaks whatsoever.

Kristin:  Wow.

Teemu:   Games were great in the flow.

Kristin:   In the flow.

Teemu:   That was actually last Thursday, a week ago. Um, I did a 13 hour session because it was just really, really good. So, um, so  

Kristin:    00:36:01    Are you playing cash or Tour?

Teemu:   Cash.

Kristin:   Okay.  

Teemu:    00:36:04    And, uh, and, and, and what else? Then depending on the day, uh, there's usually something in the evening. There's either a call with a men's group or I go to Parmesan trial on Tuesday for salsa or I go, um, yesterday there was a micro theater event at La Busin. And like there's always something. Yeah. There's always events that, like, there's so many events in Tulum that you have to choose. There's, there's something available, usually multiple, uh, interesting things for any given day. So there's a large menu of events to go to.  

Kristin:    00:36:39    It's true. I mean, you could be doing fun things from six 7:00 AM to, you could 24 hours because sometimes there's events and parties that are going from nighttime or sunset until the next day. Yeah. So, wow. Yeah. That's amazing. And then I'm so fascinated with your, uh, balance between culture, uh, or living in Mexico playing poker, but then also your history with theater. So are you still actively writing screenplays or musicals?  

Teemu:    00:37:11    Less, less screenplays. I just released my first song a couple of weeks ago, little boy. It's on Spotify and all the, all the platforms. Uh, so I'm more, I'm more focused on singer songwriter stuff right now. And also poetry, uh, poetry spoken word would be more at the center than theater right now. Having said that, there's an, there's an event, uh, a week from now, uh, that has a, has a theater aspect to it. And I already signed up to be part of that. So whenever there's theater happening in Tulum Yeah. I'm interested in, in being part of it. So other than that, uh, what I actually, my main thing when it comes to performing arts is I host a thing called Family Dinner, which started four years ago when, uh, when me and my Mexican friend, we moved here. Um, it was my birthday and it was lockdown, so you couldn't go anywhere.  

Teemu:    00:38:02    And we wanted to celebrate my birthday anyway, so we didn't know almost anyone except four people from our private boxing group. So we decided to have a private chef come in, uh, make a dinner, and then we'll sing a little karaoke after and, uh, and let it turn into a house party. And that was lovely. We had six people in the first one, but then we decided to do that again the following weekend only between the first and the second weekend we had met like two or three people. So we invited them for the dinner and kept doing that cycle, hosting a dinner every single weekend. Wow. And whenever we met a new person in Tulum, we would invite them for what would soon be called Family Dinner. And if we liked that person, we would invite them again. So that turned into like, that's literally how I built my social circle here. And that's one of the reasons what made Lockdowns in Tulum so magical. We hosted these dinners every single week. Plus poker was out of this world Incredible. Because of Lockdowns.  

Kristin:    00:38:54    Everyone was at home. Yeah.  

Teemu:    00:38:55    Yeah. I made like, I I made bank in April, May, 2020, so that was, that was really, really good times <laugh>. Um, so I still host this, uh, the first family dinners. We actually hosted a dinner every single weekend, no fail for 73 weekends in a row until our lease ended with me and a third guy joined in, in the, in the, in the place as well, uh, lease ends. So we start hosting these much less frequently and, uh, now it's like a monthly thing, uh, more, uh, just hosted Faade dinner number 98. Wow. So we're close to a hundred and, um, yeah, I still do them. Uh, now, now I host them here at my place and it's still the same concept, um, still getting a private chef to make food, and then there's an open mic artist talent show kind of a thing after, and then it turns into a house party. Nice chill vibe. So yeah, that's a, that's a lovely one. Um, and I also really like how initially it was a lot of me and my friend Marni singing musical theater duets and, you know, general cover songs. But now the family dinner has really turned into artists space where they can come and share their talent. Most of the performances that happen at Family Dinner now are original stuff, like someone's own poetry, someone's own songs, dance, whatever, so.  

Kristin:    00:40:18    I love that. That's amazing. And how can people join? They have to be invited or is it  

Teemu:    00:40:24    It's a, yeah, it's an invite only now. Okay. And, uh, yeah, you kind of have to meet me somewhere <laugh> and, uh, or or  

Kristin:    00:40:33    For your Instagram or something.  

Teemu:    00:40:34    Yeah. That, that would be one <laugh>. Um, or, or know someone who's who's who, who might know me. But yeah, I mean, I'm, I'm always, especially when it's an artist who wants to share their talent, uh, yeah, I'm very, very open to having new artists coming, even if I didn't know them. So that's, I'm very, very open for that.  

Kristin:    00:40:53    I love that. I, I, I work, you know, in business, but then I also am a DJ and I feel like a creative person in general, but sometimes I kind of feel guilty when I am spending time on that. I'm like, oh, I should be working or I should be doing something, you know, more professional. But then that, having that creative outlet here, I just went down to the beach and played a DJ set by myself and in the sand, you know, it was really fun. So it's good to hear from another, you know, serious online professional who's very logical playing cash poker games for a living that you also have this other side of creativity and writing, poetry, singing, and I think that all human beings have that yin and yang kind of balance.  

Teemu:    00:41:41    Fair. Yeah. Um, most would probably be stronger focused on one of one, one end. Yeah. And yeah, it's, I'm, I'm very grateful to have a nice balance with that.  

Kristin:    00:41:52    Is it something you expect to monetize someday or do it more full time or just a hobby?  

Teemu:    00:41:58    Yes, but I'm not in a rush with it. Yeah. I've had a system where I'm not reliant on art as a means of income, uh, for years now, and I like to keep it that way. Yeah. Because that gives me freedom of expression. I don't need to worry about, okay, is this song going to make me money? I don't have to care. And I, I'm, I intend to keep it that way, but an increasing portion of my energy is going to art all the time because that's my mission. Poker is just money at the end of the day. Right. I have no ambition with poker. And to be honest, I have two crypto projects. One is a hedge fund and one is a payment processing company, and one of them is actually quite likely to take off very soon. And as soon as it does, I'm dropping poker immediately, so.  

Kristin:    00:42:39    Okay. Can just retire from poker and do only, only crypto. Yeah. Well, amazing. Well, we'll let you get to your salsa lesson next, but thank you so much for sharing this.

Teemu:  No worries. It's been a pleasure

Kristin:  and I think it's definitely a synchronicity that we met. Oh, yeah. In the poker industry.  

Teemu:    00:42:54    <laugh>, nothing's, nothing's ever, nothing's ever a coincidence. No. Everything's, everything is always written.  

Kristin:    00:42:59    Thank you so much.    

Teemu:    00:43:00    Cool.  Awesome.

Kristin:  That was so interesting.

Kristin:    00:43:02   Thanks so much for spending time with me today. Remember that you can reserve your place on our group trip to Costa Rica by checking out my link in the show notes. There you can also grab the brand new Tortuga Backpack launching tomorrow. And you can also take a look at Nomad Health by SafetyWing for your international health insurance needs. Thanks again for being here, and I'll see you again next week.