He was for many years one of the most recognizable and popular radio and TV presenters of the country. Far fewer people know that even Anton Komolov has long been involved in charity work. About boring studying in Baumanke, waiting for the crisis of late middle age, he instilled in his son a love of reading and that saddens him in charity – an interview with Anton Komolova.
Anton Komolov. Photo: proconcert.ru
- Tutta Larsen: After the loss of a child and betrayal of her husband Christ came
- Tatyana Lazareva: the First will I wrote at sixteen
- Vasily Utkin about football, charity and journalism
- “I have a rapier in my head, and classmates sing the “our father””
- Narine Abgaryan: If you heard the sound of the shot, then you’re alive
The first desire is to hide
– Can you recall your first meeting with a man who needed help? Or a similar situation, where he joined the instinct to help or not help?
– I think, like everyone, when you see begging on the street. This is the first people you encounter. Whether it’s Gypsies with young children or with blankets, folded in the form of a baby or grandmother, who hand not dare not to give money. And then in the late nineties–early two-thousand charity organizations began to raise money not only on the streets, their activists come in different companies and talked about the activities and called for help.
– And here it is with the person you had the experience? Not with a person from the Foundation who came and asked for money and in need of assistance?
– There is a Foundation of the “Refuseniks”, and you can help, as can more purposefully. I some time got some help one boy and his mother. Mom very young, she gave birth at 15-16 years old, the child has trouble, they lived not in Moscow, but here in Moscow, was the woman who was in charge, and that through her I helped.
– Have you personally met them?
– No, never met because they lived in another city, and here they came short visits, for medical treatment. I was a public person, and I did not like it: “Here it is “I” help!”, I liked the option when preserving anonymity, I have done some good business.
And if we talk about organizations, it is, perhaps, the world wildlife Fund. I worked also in a publishing house, our editors came to the girl and told me, what is WWF, here is a Panda that’s coming, it’s here. Most of the people, as now it occurs in one ear flew another flew, someone deposited, and may be fired after a long time, and I was embarrassed to refuse, I have this trait. Well, one hundred rubles, okay? It must have been so.
Then I started to read, I wonder not just formally give money, and to imagine what they’ll do. I began to learn about the programs of the Foundation, where the money goes and how it is spent and get involved in this story, in the end, has served on the Board of the Russian WWF, now on the Board of the Fund.
I have a similar story with the Centre for curative pedagogics (CCP). They invited me to spend the holiday, they had an anniversary – “come to us, see how we live.” I arrived, looked.
– How was it?
– It is difficult. Come to the center and involved children with very different diagnoses, including severe. Light from cerebral palsy and autism spectrum disorders to complex mental illness, developmental delays and deviations in development. Here you first sight you know that the child very sore.
I immediately engage my energy, I don’t just. And the more admiration and respect for the people who work every day: teachers, doctors. They are trying children to socialize, to integrate into the environment.
– And your inner state as you cope with the fact that you were uneasy? Put a psychological barrier, or maybe half the night worried?
You can’t say that I do not sleep at night, but first wish as most people have to hide. To close my eyes. It’s somewhere in there, but it does not exist. But to close eyes a little silly and weird. And I can’t say that very often in the center. I meet regularly but do not come to watch a class. It’s such an intimate thing. This prevents the children to the teacher he already used, and there are some strange people come in, so I don’t invade.
Then you just need to understand that you help, and your help may be different. It might be human sympathy, money, volunteer help.
May be different and application of this aid and its consequence, i.e. what will happen then. Someone will recover, survive, live to 150, and some operation will not help. Then you need to be ready and to one and to another option.
Happened is that you donate some money to the surgery, and after some time watching the message that the child did not survive, or the disease could not be stopped because of serious diagnoses.
Photo: Anton Komolov / Facebook
And how do you feel when you read it?
– I cannot say a pain or sorrow, because it’s a little abstract children for me. Of course, sad when a child dies, but there is emotion that needs to be overcome is the reluctance to do that anymore. “So I spent the money and why?” You help kids, and they still die. Most likely, it will.
The purest, perhaps, in this respect, the variant aid – to help the hospices. There all going to die, and it’s obvious. Know people who in these hospices spend the last days in a normal environment with care, know the staff and know that, as a rule, all donors who transfer money or other assistance.
Now would be sitting and programming in Silicon valley
– ”Max” was the first radio station on which I appeared. Hearing the radio announcement, sent in your resume. A few times, because I did not immediately call back. As in the joke: “it Must have been stolen”. Think not reached of the summary, sent again. Something again did not call. And I listed there that were hiring DJs and all my qualities named. In addition to age and education.
The third time I called, they gave me a Fax already in the office of the program Director, and then called me back, so I – Yes, purposeful comrade. But to say that I came to “Maximum” and estimated “mean here now, and then switch to another station, then the telly and there trample”…
Anton Komolov. 1997. Photo: Facebook
– It was not so?
– No, about the telly, I never dreamed I for six months before sent a resume, did not expect that I will work on the radio not to mention TV.
If I once sent a resume and I don’t call back, would now sit programmed in the Silicon valley.
– What, too bad!
And my parents still believe that Silicon valley is great. Not specifically as a place, although there the climate is softer, but as an occupation. To be a programmer is very calm and stable. And I don’t understand anything in so far.
And there were proposals, from which you refused?
– Yes, unfortunately it was. I was invited to spend either a birthday, or a wedding somewhere abroad, and the date I had already taken. And they began to outbid me. And outbid me for a long time. It was such a battle. And I determined that if there is an agreement, I don’t replay back. Although very often this sin, some leading that you can refuse to refund the prepayment. To me there is almost quadruple the fee offered. My elbows have scars from the bites that I myself was bitten. Kidding.
I read an interview many colleagues who believe it is humiliating: “they devour and not listening, I’m in front of them to show off and say something”. I was not like this. I can often catch the mood and people will not eat and will is intelligent. Until I say something, they ring plugs, so what. I can catch the mood of the audience and even himself to enjoy the event.
If I was a scientist, nuclear physicist, I probably would be uncomfortable. I create a mood. This is my profession. Sitting in front of the microphone in the radio Studio, in front of the camera in a television Studio, or standing with a microphone in the concert hall – the essence remains the same, my job is to man, when my job was the smile on her face.
Photo: On/off Production / Facebook
– You have a lot of programs carried on radio and television, worked a lot, and that remains the most significant?
– Hard to say. The most notable – there is an objective measure. Of course, such a shot as “Cheerful morning” which came out on MTV and we did with Olga Shelest. I think there was more of this striking project, who knew everything, heard everything. It was unlike any project that is not like anything maintenance like no leading. Something like BAM and shot.
I had a very intelligent groupies. As very funny written in some magazine: “Anton Komolov like this, who wanted to give would have a granddaughter any grandmother.” The Rustling was one of the fans of a maniac, he knew what she was doing which day, he sent her a pager message: “you yesterday at 17.46 was on the metro”, it was straight up terrible. I remember, walked her to the subway.
I’m not a vain man. I’m ambitious enough, I want to see what I was doing was good and cool. But I have no vanity, in the sense that “I did it, yeah, look at me!”
When I enter the room, I don’t need to turn around and began to whisper: ”Look this is this is it, how is it this Andrew, no, Muz-TV, no, where is he” I do not exist, I his cap again and went into hiding.
Sometimes hear from people: what you are not doing the “Cheerful morning”? This is just here about joining the same river twice. We changed, the world has changed, TV has changed, and even the audience.
Olga Shelest. Photo: proconcert.ru
Interestingly, here we go, and where is this bus going?
– I’m totally unexpected way, well, how unexpected, this is the question that a rolling stone gathers no moss, joined the team Bauman on the strength of materials. I like the subject, we had a very good teacher that is well and interestingly explained. I then started working on the radio for sure, while I was there here is the calculation of beams, flexure, torsion, the plot drew – I enjoyed those. We said: who will go to the Olympics, the top five in the current semester advanced.
It was in the second half after class, and we have canceled the first two pairs. We think what to do. Well, let’s drink beer. Then again and again went. Third pair I dozed a little bit. When the Olympics began, I was already slightly elevated. I came in, there’s a bunch of nerds. In glasses, sweater, jeans in boots, that’s all that we love techies. I decide something, where it turns out, somewhere in there. So, how much time do we have? I put one arm under her head, raising, looking again at his watch, 20 minutes passed. As a result, I entered the top ten.
Technical education, the ability to add, subtract, divide, multiply, quite often useful.
For example, in what situations?
– I might surprise oral account of his son. He throws me some puzzles, and I click like peanuts, yet it is impressive.
– About student life, what else can you remember?
– I have a boring student life. First, I am a Muscovite, lived at home and went to College to learn. I lived in the Dorm where the life is. Fighting, killing, going crazy. I have a complex institution, people went crazy in the Newspapers – I read. And secondly, I from the second year started to work, learning was difficult, I went to University in the afternoon, I had a lot of time to spend to study, plus work, so a hurricane party, especially not enough time. Perhaps, when a midlife crisis hits, it is empty in all serious, if the clubs will not close.
– And still not covered a midlife crisis?
– Me? I thought clubs. Covered. Maybe then the crisis of the late age. Maybe for retirement. And, it pushed! But what of that!
– And covered it as it was? Too boring?
– Very boring. This is called revaluation. Stocktaking. “AK in the accounting Department and hang a sign – “re-registration”. As usual: who I am, what their 27 years has made. And who is it all, that there are people who are of a scientific theory, Nobel prize, Olympic medals, books, and what will remain after me?
– And then what?
– Decay. After I left the ashes. With this you just need to accept. I have, as psychologists say, the stage of adoption. Depression, anger, acceptance, this, all, and then live on.
Here you need to understand that, on the one hand, each person has something to be proud of, and with another – from the point of view of civilization, even human, I’m not talking about the history of the planet 4.5 billion years, and even just to take the last 3000 years, on these scales, everything becomes very noticeable.
Photo: Anton Komolov / Facebook
– Well, this time you tried to come to faith and to think about some kind of religious experience can be?
Of course I asked questions, and about the meaning of existence, at some point, religion has provided answers to these questions, I was baptized in a serious age, 18 years. That is, it was such a deliberate step. And I think that’s right, when children grow up, choose to believe, not believe, what denomination, what religion and so on. But after some time I had questions that neither religion nor even religion, as an institution, the answer is not given. On the contrary, they arise more questions.
– What is the question that after baptism arose, and which you are unable to find the answer?
They did not immediately arise. Probably, everyone asks such questions. The meaning of human existence and humanity on the planet, what is? In addition to the purely biological.
We as one of the species on the planet why, why? Just wondering, well, here we go, and where is this bus going? I wonder the same.
I tried to find the answer, but religion does not, in my opinion, the answer. Someone meets this answer, some don’t.
And here it is important to find a guide. For many people, that becoming a priest. If you find a priest who explains to you, he says. It’s like with contemporary art. Come to the Museum and think “what nonsense that a person in the head.” And then comes a guide who is versed in contemporary art, and somehow, BAM, in a coherent system all built. It’s the same thing. You find a guide, he explains to you, you understand that then everything makes sense.
But this is not your path turned out?
– I may not have found the conductor. That’s an irrelevant analogy, but with the theater. I’m not very fond of the theater, and I say: you just haven’t found your play. You just didn’t see what you hook. That might be so.
– What else do you dislike?
– Tubes. To shave. To get up early.
“Dad, you have some lessons in the head!”
– I was seven and a half years I was up at 5.30 am, I’ve got lots to talk about it.
– What helped you do that?
Anton in childhood. Photo: antonkomolov.ru
The word “must”. I’m a very disciplined person and I was lucky – the job I was up so early, brought me pleasure, so it wasn’t hatred: “Lord, not again! How I hate this!”. No, I had: “my God, how I hate to get up.” Point. But then you go behind the wheel in the car, and suddenly woke up.
Is parents formed: the responsibility, the word “must”?
– In many ways, Yes, but I even the example of his own son come to the conclusion that children were laid 80 percent already. Character, traits, and so on. Emotion. It’s all laid nature, God, genes or something else. We can affect in a very small corridor.
– In what situations do you most clearly understand?
I see my son. He’s a great guy and totally not like me. And I see how he hears or doesn’t hear my words that I am trying to convey as he takes them, pass through.
I was a diligent pupil, not that I had the pleasure of learning, but I basically homework quietly doing. He doesn’t like. For him to deuce, “Hmm. Like what?” Andrew, well, there is two! “Hmm?” And what to say to him? Despite the fact that I am not a fan of a good ratings as such. Evaluation and knowledge is not always the same. He, like most modern children do not like to read, they get information through the Internet, yutub and so on.
All older people should pobuhat and say that in our time this was not. Nowadays all read, with a candle and a flashlight. Mom or dad told me how I read with a flashlight. I own way too for a long time said that I learned to read at three and a half years. And read! Then I realized that it doesn’t work and is meaningless.
– Maybe with a flashlight to crawl under the covers together?
I tried a little bit different. Last summer they were given extra reading. I downloaded a few books to your taste, it’s a different story, there you ask them to read what nonsense, which it is impossible for the modern child to catch, so they at least read loved. Well, I think, from the list of “treasure Island”. I say, Hey Andrew, I downloaded you a book to read, but I’m not sure for the fifth grade. There is a solid murder, corpse on corpse, you’re probably used to. He says: “Nooo!” I think, well, all fine, hooked. No, not really.
With difficulty, barely they read. But also is the explanation they are accustomed to that now will include any show, cartoon, movie, there is such a density of events, speed events so that when they start to read the book, “treasure Island” or something – well, just boring. It seemed to us, movement, Musketeers, pirates, and now everything is different.
– What is for you a man’s upbringing?
– First of all to explain that the man should be strong not only physically, that a man should be noble, that man has no right to raise a hand to the weak, especially for a woman. Only a strong person knows how to apologize. It adults people not bothered to know them would help.
Anton with his wife and son. Photo: woman.ru
– As parents you have entrusted the education of the sisters? Boys soccer, and you have a stroller.
– Yes, I was 7.5 when born sister. I had conflicts with classmates who yelled, and here she is in a wheelchair sleeping. My parents, they both worked, and the store I went, walked with his sister from the kindergarten and brought her back. Starshebratskoe normal childhood.
– Can you think of any teachings of the father, or phrase, the moment when the two of you, something that affected your life?
– Such that affected, no, we didn’t have educational conversations like “sit down, son, I’m with you now paternal to say I will.” Specific phrases remember, my dad and I were walking, and I like this fun rock kicked by the Shoe. And he said, “No, go bad shoes.” I don’t know why I remember that. Maybe I’m so boring.
– And they call you a dork?
Only very close people.
– What you need to do for this?
– Ponudet. Not that I told a new joke, all thehotels, and then: “you nerd!” No. I say, system. Systemisation. And it is very often considered a nuisance. Pedantry, punctuality. I think it’s part of a proper education and a real man, but others think it’s boring.
Me to find something, you need exactly three minutes. In my computer all the daddy’s systematic, here it is, the plain! Work, travel, documents scanned into the computer are stored.
– Can not be!
– Yeah, see, you also think it’s boring. I think it’s convenient. When the travel agent call: urgently need your passport, I would need 2.5 minutes to send it. And you will: Oh, where is my passport? Similarly, in the bathroom in a jar labeled “sugar”, now we have to take a picture, now forward!
Photo: Double MINT Studio / Facebook
And this can not be that you look here’s a “yay” and come home…
– Mumble-mumble?
Yes.
– Of course. And in the Elevator I’m from bububu change in Agigea.
You close say: “Well you!”
– They mean you’re funny, huh? Rebuke from the ones that I, perhaps, touched it with my son when we rested. I think, well, hours a day we are going to do to not disappeared from the head. Because, during the summer of all blows. A little reading, a little primerchiki, Russian there, that’s all, took teachers homework assignment for the summer, poor son, right? It’s true!
Andrew and I at some point said, “Daddy, you have some lessons in the head!” And I think, probably, Yes. As the same person with the father-no luck. Here he grows up, what will he remember?
And we instead of an hour only half an hour a day began to do, dad is very adaptable.
My parents never used physical punishment, but the notation I’ve read, uh, a lot. That is the phrase my son, I have some lessons in mind, it would be my childhood! And he said the right things out of good intentions. Sometimes strange things that I haven’t done, like all children.
Son. Photo: Anton Komolov / Facebook
– For example?
Well, I wasn’t allowed to walk on the ring rail, which passed under my window when we lived in Izmailovo. Of course, we went, printed nails, screws it all was obsidiane stones at the freight trains. There was a discarded crutches, and bling, who nailed the rail to the sleeper. We went to a legend that the drivers, when you see children throw the crutches and one boy killed, here he lay.
It’s fun, boyish childhood. Me walking was impossible, and the Windows of the apartment left a piece of metal. To go unnoticed, it was necessary to get around the yard, but went out and parents were fired, “Anton, you’re back, we’re talking!” I had a tactic like this, I just stayed silent and left to itself, meditated, probably. “Do you hear what we say?” “Yes, of course!” – “Say something!” “I’m not anymore.” And the strange expression of the parent that stuck with me: “how about a wall peas” is understandable, but the “least count on the head teshi” that number that you scratch on? Or “again, brought to white heat”. I thought – why is the knee and why they are white?
I’m afraid of heights and large dogs
– What was the most important decision in your life?
– There were quite a lot. And one of them is to work not on a speciality. I started working on the radio, and when I graduated, added a TV, we had to choose. The solution is difficult, the parents, like you, thought that you need to be a programmer. And when I went to College, I went to March in the field, watching what these people are like, exams, and in March I passed the test exams in Baumanku. So it was not easy: and here I liked, and was drawn there, and I would have a little shyly.
– What was the global victory in life?
– When our the Dutch won. When I became the champion of the southern district on the basketball schools. Global was not achieve for himself. Here is one example. I took part in a circus project, and I’m afraid of heights and large dogs. And I’m not physically the strongest man on this planet. But! It took several months of training and filming, and I have had a room with a bear dvohsotkilohramovi, and it’s scary, I want to tell you, there were a few rooms under the circus dome, where I hung, and some tricks performed, to be proud of in the physical sense. This is not a victory in a General sense, and my victory over myself.
One of the disciplines was taming. And they say that left bears, tigers, lions, crocodiles, cats and parrots. I say: let us cats. And my cat at my parents. Okay, I think, find a common language. Began to discuss with friends, they say, and I have a room with cats, they’re like, “what are You, retarded? Everything is going to go with tigers and lions, and you cats serious?” I think, Yes, goof. And the next day say, do not want cats, let’s go with the lions. And the lions are already occupied. And the tigers? Too. And what is left? Bears. Okay, let’s bears, and all for a dare. The kid said, the boy did.
But said and did was some period?
– Yes, a month and a half of rehearsals I saw bears fighting each other. 200 and 180 kg. “Well, they’re just playing the fool!” told me teacher bear art. And I immediately need to go to the arena, where they just fought in the meat. As Greco-Roman wrestling about. Me: “Oh, Anton, you came already? Well, get a room, repeat”.
Cool. But fingers all in front of me, although they say if the wrong feed, you can stay without fingers. I saw a bear a head of cabbage bites, he razor cut it. And so I am not extreme, in terms of skydiving. I don’t like statistics. There’s one thousandth of a percent, that the chute won’t open.
And with the bears right?
– I then the statistics is not provided.
– What’s the biggest disappointment you had in life?
Yeah I try not to dwell on negative things, probably because I can’t even remember. Not a disappointment – but I would like to play on some musical instrument and to be a polyglot. Not that I missed that opportunity, it was not, but it would be cool. Why? Well, imagine, play the piano and speak Italian, then again the saxophone and say something in Arabic, then boarded, cool. It’s great when the person knows something cool to do, what I can do. I like to look at the pros, no matter it is the basketball player, pianist or anyone else.
Three things that make you cool?
Slam dunk is a dunk in basketball, recite Brodsky and soup.
Photo: Anton Komolov / Facebook
Something from Brodsky?
– Let soup! I don’t like poetry, to be honest, I’m not a real welder. When I read a normal book, when I read prose, I don’t see letters, words, I see the picture. I’m watching a movie, I have complete visualization and immersion. With poems this never happens, not even close. So poetry for me is a closed story.
Charity Laika and the power of the repost
– I was lucky, I found something for everyone and not work all my life. I have a job that I like. I have a great son with whom we are fighting, we are friends. I love to read, laze, sports exercise, all this is life and its meaning.
– Part of public people to help anonymously speak about it in public space. Where you have a border, what can you say, what is not?
Part, call a rant, its mission see is to draw attention to the theme of charity. To tell that a) can help b) should C) how to help. If I’m going to do everything anonymously, other people won’t know it. Although good deeds do not need publicity, as I have said, and I fully agree with people who think so.
I don’t announce what you’re doing and how often. For example, monthly transfer money, I have a subscription, every month the card will be debited to the account of the CCP, and with WWF, I have another scheme. I am the Guardian of the Earth, it is also certain contributions and so on. When asked what the child you helped, and what’s his name and what’s next, I try to ignore, including helping. I don’t need the feedback that I bring money and see tears of gratitude in the eyes of someone I’m going to pass. This seems wrong.
Photo: Anton Komolov Facebook
– And what is annoying about charity or sad?
– Sad that is very slow growing penetration of philanthropy to the masses, so let’s call. I for myself several years ago identified such a thing as charity husky. One sees the post in social networks, and if you feel the urge to charity, he puts a like. But if a powerful urge makes repost. And that’s it. It does not provoke the person even trite to hear that, because a lot of scams and then how many census fraudulent charges money. And conversion of husky to donations, because I know the numbers in an integer linear program and WWF, they are small and not growing quickly. This is what saddens me.
Most people involved in charity work for myself. And there is nothing to be ashamed of. Just to amuse not that vanity and ambition – “that I’m a good person”.
The motives that move man, I seem to be unimportant, if he does good things.
This is the question of disputes among the benefactors. Who can borrow money and who can not. And, of course – that bandits, and this bloody regime. I think if the money spent on good things, the source of money is a minor matter. In the end, this charity does not receive anything but gratitude. It’s not “I’ve brought you money, and you then for me, the word say, or something in return.” If something in return, that’s another story, not a charity.
– You feel yourself a good person?
– Sometimes. A little bit.
– How often?
– Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, mid-week peak of goodness, then decline by the weekend. So my reflection is running. Not that, when I shave (and now I’m not shaved – mustache hope) and think: “let me shave this good man.” I try to sensibly approach to himself and to others. My parents are so educated that even if you speak about others, and to yourself praise rude, and scolded stupid.
Video: Mikhail Nikitin, Anna Shulga