He has been dreaming about seeing his photo in a prestigious fashion magazine and about becoming a designer who dictates the rules in fashion. While walking on the difficult road to success, he has not forgotten where he came from.

Five years ago, Todor Tumbalev left his small hometown and went to London. He was doing various jobs – working in construction, recruiting students for universities, promoting products. But he did not abandon his dream of creating his own fashion brand. He made his first steps in this direction while studying business in a London university.

“Fashion design and modelling is what I want to do,” Todor Tumbalev says. “I plan to start my own business in the sphere after I finish my education. I want to create a brand that embodies my style and my views on fashion. I already have a portfolio, photo shoots and a few things I designed. I think I would be able to achieve my plans step by step over the coming years.”

While his dreams for career success are linked to the English capital city, Todor Tumbalev has not forgotten his hometown of Stamboliyski where he grew and where he formed as a person.

“The town was a great place, especially when it comes to practicing sports. Plenty of opportunities existed for young people,” he says. “All of my friends and I were playing sports and this helped our individual development. In fact, many of them continue to engage in active sports to this very day.”

That is how Todor decided to help today’s children in his hometown to get involved in practicing sports.

“The idea was born spontaneously and a big role was played by the fact that the town has a new mayor who wants to develop mass sport,” Todor Tumbalev says. "The initiative is very simple - people from the town who live abroad would donate 5 pounds or euros each month. At the end of every month we would announce the collected sum and the money will be used for buying specific items - balls, bats, training wear, etc. We would also keep in contact with the person responsible for the development of sports in the town.”

Todor Tumbalev has shared his idea on Facebook and a bank account has been created. Officially the initiative started in February and people have already collected 100 British pounds.

“Sport means a lot to me – it means health, but also a lot more. Sports taught me to be disciplined and organized, to respect people regardless of whether they stand on my side or not, to be more confident. All these helped me live a better life. The current environment in Bulgaria does not focus  on building moral values and the situation in smaller towns is scary. That is why it is important for me to do something and change this. I want people to at least have the opportunities to develop as persons that I used to have. Sport means education and discipline.”

Todor Tumbalev feels happy living in London. He says he cannot predict his future, but whatever he does, needs to be linked to Bulgaria.

English: Alexander Markov