PIVOVARIKHA, RUSSIA Viacheslav Maksimov is a versatile master welder; lathe and milling machine operator; electrician; mechanic; an expert in glass reinforced plastic fiber, and can find his way around construction equipment. His interests extend from alternative energetics to Northern peoples traditions to decorative metalwork to hand-gliding and diving. Viacheslav is building his own yacht.

Since 1995, Viacheslav harvests ice and builds ice parks. He developed new equipment speeding up the backbreaking and time consuming process of the ice harvest and ice blocks transportation. Viacheslav pioneered building ice parks in Irkutsk. Later he lead ice parks in seven cities throughout Siberia and trained over 30 “ice bricklayers.”

Viacheslav holds several regional prizes in ice and sand sculpture; has participated in the International snow sculpture festival in Novosibirsk. He is co-creator of the first The Beatles monument in Russia. The Cosmopolitan magazine ran a story about Irkutsk attraction – the tallest ice slides built by Viacheslav Maksimov. Viacheslav is the father of four daughters; one biological and three adopted.