Meet the co-founders: Anton Toshev

Today we’ll be introducing Anthony – one of our co-founders and representative of the board.

What inspired you to co-found Creatosphere, and what do you hope to achieve through this organization?

This may come off as a bit childish.. BUT! Remember when we were kids, dreaming up all sorts of wild adventures? Well, I had this one dream that stuck with me. When I was a child I had a dream of creating a league of super cool people who would work together towards the ultimate goal of saving humanity from becoming grey and lifeless! I would imagine myself being surrounded by these unique and colourful individuals and together we would create wonders.

So, as time went on, that dream of mine didn’t fade away. Years later after growing up it never really left, and that it was always there, in the back of my mind.. It kinda just simmered in the background while I tried to figure out my place in the world. I eventually tapped into that dream and recognised a need to contribute and give back to the people.. I knew I wanted to make a difference somehow, but how? That was the big question.

I decided to postpone that one for the time being and immerse myself to explore and try out different forms of art and creation to understand what I like and more importantly what likes me. And not just any art, but the kind that sparks curiosity and brings people together. That’s when I met Toni Lyubenova, my partner in crime. Together, we realised we shared this big vision: to create a community and space where people could explore themselves and the world through art. And voilà, the idea behind “Creatosphere” was born!

The more we talked and took action, the closer we got to making this organisation a reality and the more positive signs we received from lady faith herself! One of these unmistakable signals came when we crossed paths with more like-minded individuals, who too shared our vision. We invited them and three other wonderful individuals and that’s how the organisation came to be. From there, everything just naturally fell into place.

Looking at it today, there’s still a part of me that hasn’t comprehended that it’s happening. And yet, I’m filled with hope that our organisation will aim to achieve new innovations in the sphere of culture and communication, starting from a local level and eventually creating an international impact. Achieving flashy heights or mind-blowing outcomes isn’t what ‘s important to me at all; it’s more about offering curious souls the chance to reach into themselves, knowing that the ripple effect of inner change can lead to a brighter world for everyone! Because when you change your inner world, you end up changing the outer world too – and that’s what it’s all about, making the world a better place, one person at a time.

How do you live through art in your daily life?

As a former Technical and sales person, inviting art into my daily life was certainly a change I very much valued and so did my inner child. Sometimes in the mornings I like to torment my neighbours by trying to sing what appears to be the final traces of the times I tried to learn opera and nonformal singing. Then during the day when I have something important to listen to, such a lecture or recording of one, besides noting down the essentials, I very much enjoy doodling in some decorative elements to make it easier for the reader, which is mostly me. It somehow helps me focus my mind, even though it seems to the outside that I am doing at least two things at once.

From time to time I like to throw my thoughts and feelings in a journal, be it physically on a piece of paper, or in a virtual journal. Here and there I like to try out different forms of dancing. Don’t get me wrong, though, I definitely can’t dance, but I do enjoy trying to. And every once in a while, preferably in the evenings I like to challenge myself in attending improv sessions with other like-minded individuals. Sometimes these artistic moments are the highlight of my day, week, or being. It’s my favourite way to connect to the child within.

How do you see Creatosphere making an impact in the community here in Sofia, Bulgaria, and beyond?

What I imagine is that with time, Creatosphere will create a safe and trusting environment where it will eventually breed an ecosystem of leaders, artists, entrepreneurs and people who would like to demonstrate the change in the world that they wish to see starting from Sofia. It will serve as a safe place where unique individuals will be able to practise what they would like to see more of in the world. And eventually it will transform into a certain kind of vibe that would circle around the world (and beyond).

Can you share a moment when you witnessed the transformative power of art in someone’s life, and how it impacted you personally?

I find it difficult to speak on behalf of someone, especially since I would be mainly assuming how they would feel. Instead, I can share about a personal experience involving the moment where I first touched upon healing signing as a concept and as a physical sensation in my body.

A couple of years ago I got kind of tricked by my ex girlfriend into attending something that seemed like a shady gathering of adults in an unknown closed location. When I walked in everyone had a silly expression on their face and they were trying to create sounds that would resemble what I am assuming is a correct tone. Utterly ridiculous is what I was thinking to myself. As newcomers both of us were properly invited and included in the group. The facilitator who was not too far from my age, carefully explained the technicalities of this mysterious activity. Being the sarcastic tough guy as I liked to portray myself as from time to time, I was not really amused by what was going on and was already checking on subtle exit strategies without making a fuss. Surprisingly enough, the same young man, and the group too, managed to help me drop the serious facade and before I could realise it my inner child had already come out to play. I was surprised by the vibrations that my own voice was stimulating in myself and those who were surrounding me. It felt even a little overwhelming at first, but then it turned out to be really nice. I felt a new kind of warmth and connection with my own body and voice, something that I had been experiencing for the first time. “Woah, so this is how it feels like to sing?”

We ended up doing the full course, which started from shaking the body and ended by singing traditional Bulgarian folk songs – that were surprisingly challenging to perform. I never saw myself as a signer, but somehow these people ended up making me believe that I could sing to the point where I could enjoy it in a child-like manner. That was the start of my journey as someone who is now recognised as a healing signing facilitator. It changed my outlook on the goofy things, which later I learned were simply childish, and that it is perfectly okay to be childish sometimes. Looking back at it now, I would have never even begun to realise how much that night changed my life for the better. And I am grateful to my partner at the time for taking a leap of fate and bringing me to the right place, in the right time, with the right people – because now I am also one of those goofy facilitators who help people loosen up, be childish, sing for the fun of it and I couldn’t be happier about it!

As a founder of Creatosphere, what’s the most unexpected skill or talent you bring to the team?

Interestingly enough I was just sharing about healing singing in the previous question and here we are again – it’s exactly that! I have never, in my wildest dreams or overthinking sessions, imagined that this irregular activity would end up being one of the activities that I intend to offer as part of Creatosphere’s local workshops and yet here we are. A particular skill that comes to mind is designing. More specifically designing the logo, canva and layout of Creatosphere and its website, at least the first ones, as I neither consider myself a gifted artist, nor a designer of any kind, but simply did what I could to complete the task at hand. And I would like to share here that I am happy with the outcome. When I look at the logo I think to myself: The universe is smiling!

Finally, if you could sum up the mission of Creatosphere in one sentence to inspire others, what would it be?

If I have to be bold and honest, I would then share the silly quote that I ended up creating earlier today:

“People are annoying, so might as well be myself.” – One of the goals of this organisation, or at least what I would like them to be, is to support every individual who has the curiosity to explore themselves and connect within. Many of us lost that connection when we “grew up” and ended up creating this outer layer to represent us in the outside world. And that’s okay, because it too is needed, but what happens to our inner core? The child within in most cases gets casted away and that often leads to a meaningless life of meeting one’s needs through material possessions and other habitual strategies. How about we focus on the child within and check what it wants instead? What would happen with us then? What kind of world would be in if more and more of us did exactly that? You’d be surprised to learn that it’s far more simple and straightforward to satisfy it. Not easy, but simple and often straightforward.