Alexander Sokolovsky interview. Alexander Sokolovsky: I’ll send my daughter to figure skating

- What sports are you interested in?
- Hockey, football, running, swimming since childhood, this is my sport. I reached the youth level and graduated. In winter - snowboarding, in summer - wakeboarding. I try to find time, but usually I don’t have it. Well, of course, the gym. Depending on the role, you have to either gain muscle mass or lose muscle mass, we constantly walk along such a parabola.

- Did you start playing hockey after your role in the TV series “Molodezhka” or before?
- I played yard hockey before Molodezhka. Then I started playing in the Night Hockey League - there are many divisions and teams by level. Last year, for example, we flew to Sochi with the team and won our division. Everyone was surprised, since we didn’t have a single professional hockey player in our lineup.

- What kind of team?
- The team with which I flew to Sochi is called “KomAr” - a team of artists. It was organized by producer Alexander Morozov, and there are a huge number of stars.

- What is special about hockey training?
- Hockey is a cool sport, it really changes you a little. This is a sport for absolutely fearless people. No other sport has as many injuries as in hockey. In Sochi, for example, in the semi-finals I lay down under the puck. We won this match at the cost of partially damaging me. My hip was knocked out and I limped for four days. In hockey you don’t think with your head, there are instincts - as soon as you immerse yourself in this game, reflexive thinking begins and fear goes away.

- Did you study hockey specifically for filming the series?
- We were prepared very seriously, almost in the same way as an adult team is prepared before the season, the so-called hockey training camp. Three times a week we had ice, three times a week we had land. The task was to somehow put us on skates in a few months, so that in the frame we would understand what a puck is, how to throw it with a stick, how to pass it, see a partner, raise our heads, so that there would be no misunderstandings during the filming process.

- What about your passion for snowboarding? How long have you been choosing between a board and skis?
- At the age of 11 I tried to ski and then until I was 25 I completely forgot and didn’t even remember about it. I bought my first snowboard when I was 25 years old. I decided a long time ago that I wouldn’t get on the board until I bought a car. I couldn’t imagine a situation where, after riding, all tired and wet, I was shaking on the train ( laughs).

- What does it mean to you to ride a board?
- Snowboarding is part of my culture, which appeared around the age of 14. At that time, I began to devote a lot of time to hip-hop - not only music and dance, but also philosophy. He wore wide pants, caps, bandanas, hoodies, and durags. Now I'm 28 and have grown out of the hip-hop culture a little, but I can still afford to dress like that sometimes.

“Snowboarding is a dream”

- How do you see yourself when you are on the board?
- There are different areas of snowboarding: simple skating, freestyle (jumping on springboards), jibbing (sliding along railings, walls, etc.), freeride and off-piste. And each direction has its own difficulties. I like stunts, I like jumping, for me this is a thrill - on ramps, in pyramids. The most difficult thing is to get coordination. In snowboarding, your body position is completely unusual, because in any winter sport your body position is natural: you ride facing forward, and then you just need to find your balance. In snowboarding you stand awkwardly, it’s unusual for your body, so it’s difficult. The most difficult thing is to overcome yourself and slide down once from start to finish without falling once.

- How long have you been skating?
- I’m skating for the third season, but I’m lying. With my trademark “months without days off” schedule, sometimes it just happens that there is no opportunity to ride. If I manage to get out to the Moscow region at least ten times during the winter, I consider it a successful season. Last year, for the first time in my life, I learned what mountains are. I flew with friends to Sheregesh. This year, for the first time in my life, I learned what Krasnaya Polyana is. This is my first serious experience in the mountains, and, of course, after a tiny track in the Moscow region, the mountains are just space.

- Are there any idols among pro-riders?
- I think Travis Rice is the coolest snowboarder. A person perceives extreme sports as a philosophy, as the meaning of life. For me, any business that you do, to which you devote yourself completely, should fill you so much that you will not perceive it as a fan, it is much more. People who engage in snowboarding because they see the meaning of life in it is very cool. I watched the movie "Phase Four" with Travis and a new world opened up for me. Before that, I snowboarded simply because I liked it, and after this film I left the hall as a different person and realized that snowboarding was something different for me.

"The snowboarder's path is a little special"

- What are your impressions of Quiksilver New Star Camp?
- Very cool organization. A huge advantage of this festival is that here you are completely disconnected from the outside world, from Moscow, to which you will have to return and worries and affairs will overwhelm you there. Everything here is beautifully done, it’s as if you find yourself in a special world where skiers and snowboarders come, hang out, ride and have fun.

-Where have you already been?
- I went around almost all the tracks, watched in the park how pro riders perform all their tricks in big air. Every time I look at a person who makes 6, 8 or even 3 turns, and I think: he may not land now. It's so tough, for me it's space, crazy guys

- What about your plans for the future? Which athlete would you like to play in a movie?
- Since I wouldn’t need an understudy for swimming, I would gladly play one of the famous Soviet or Russian swimmers.

As for the snowboarder, I don’t know how relevant this is in our country, maybe something about Vic Wild. I would really love to play a figure skater, especially after Ice Age, which I took part in in the fall. He would play Alexei Yagudin, one of the Soviet hotbeds. Figure skating is absolutely our sport.

He is organic both in the role of Yegor Shchukin in the series “Molodezhka” on the STS channel and in the role of Mowgli on the stage of the Moscow Provincial Theater. Sasha told OK! about his love for the profession and his sports hobbies.

Photo: Olga Tuponogova-Volkova

Sasha and I met at the VTB Ice Palace after the press screening of new episodes of Molodezhka. From the window of the box where the presentation took place, a huge arena is visible: hockey players from the Moscow and Vladivostok teams are in full swing preparing for the upcoming Dynamo - Admiral match. It was here that the shooting of “Molodezhka” took place.

Sasha, aren't you tired after the event?

What, do I have to do push-ups? ( Smiles.)

Are you ready?

Certainly! I am an athlete to the core. ( Laughs.) Usually I have every month planned in advance: hockey, football, athletics, acrobatics, wakeboarding, snowboarding, Thai boxing, dancing... I always try to discover something new for myself - I can play volleyball, badminton, hockey and get equal pleasure from absolutely everything. At one time I was involved in curling, and last year I tried surfing in Bali. I am an athletically developed person.

I remember your victory with Adeline Sotnikova in Ice Age. Tell me, have you ever thought about becoming a professional athlete?

It’s almost impossible to become an amateur at my age: it’s hard to compete with professionals. I used to swim as a child, but because of my eyesight I never became a swimmer. In fact, I realized all my sporting ambitions thanks to Molodezhka and Ice Age.

After four years of filming, the Molodezhka series has probably already become a part of your life?

When I first started filming, I couldn’t think that it would be such a global event for me. But the project had the effect of a bomb exploding. Our country has long lacked a patriotic series not only about sports and love, but also about the right examples. Of course, after four years, I feel like I’m part of the production team, I live this series.

Yes, there is theater and other films in my life, but Molodezhka will always occupy a special place in it.

You said that Molodezhka is a series about correct examples. Do you have people in your life that you can look up to?

Undoubtedly. My parents, for example. They brought up in me all the right human and professional qualities. In general, I took the best from them. I like that they are constantly trying themselves at something new, and, as a rule, no matter what their parents take on, they are sure to succeed. I admire them and am very proud. Every few years they radically change their lives.

For example?

They can easily change jobs - for example, do business, and then suddenly start teaching yoga and professional photography, they can move to another country and change their lifestyle. In this sense, mom and dad are absolutely not tied to any place or history - they are incredibly brave. Parents are constantly experimenting, and I am the same.

Which actor do you look up to? Do you have any authorities?

Of the domestic artists I admire Yuri Vasilyevich Yakovlev and Sergei Vitalievich Bezrukov. Yakovlev is perhaps one of the most versatile artists of the USSR. And I consider Sergei Vitalievich the most hardworking artist, for me he is a real example of efficiency, focus and love for the profession, you just need to learn this from him every minute. Among Hollywood actors, I like Matthew McConaughey and Leonardo DiCaprio. They are not afraid to break stereotypes, and that's great!

Sasha, why do you love your profession?

At the age of nine, my parents sent me to the St. Petersburg theater studio. I liked to misbehave on stage, because for me theater is a territory where you are free to do whatever you want, and it will be perceived by the viewer as a performance. This is all the magic. Then the children’s theater and I once went on tour to Riga. We played a performance on the stage of the main square of the city, there were several thousand people there, and I remember the first time I felt the energy exchange between the artist and the audience. It was then that I realized that no profession could give me such emotions and sensations.

So you never had any doubts that you were doing the wrong thing?

For some reason, when I started studying at GITIS, some kind of fatal feeling awoke in me that I was absolutely out of place. I felt weak and useless in acting.

What helped you get rid of these thoughts?

I just told myself that I shouldn’t give up on my dreams. And if I have to work harder than everyone else, I'll work harder. There are actors who do everything easily. They are naturally skilled and it's amazing. They don’t need to play anything, they are original and beautiful. And there are those who have to work very hard to make everything work out. I'm just from the second category.

Before every project, I feel like something might go wrong, and I’m a perfectionist. But I never gave up because I believed in myself, and that helped me move on.

You made your film debut in Nikolai Dostal’s historical film “Raskol” immediately after GITIS...

Yes, as a student, I starred in several projects and, to be honest, I was a little disappointed in cinematography. However, when I got to Nikolai Nikolaevich in “Raskol”, I discovered a completely different world for myself. Dostal is a representative of the old VGIK school, he is a true fan of his work, during the year of filming he made me fall in love with cinema for the rest of my life. ( Smiles.)

After The Split, did your career immediately take off?

No, after successful filming in this film, I had a year without work at all, I was in an emotional hole, I didn’t know what to do, I even got a job as a waiter. Then he came to one film company and learned the basics of working as a location manager, assistant producer, administrator... At the same time, I went to auditions. After a series of failures, I was approved for the role of Petka in the series “The Passion of Chapai” on Channel One, then “Sklifosovsky” and other interesting projects appeared.

Sasha, how did you become an artist at the Provincial Theater?

They called me from the theater and said that Sergei Vitalievich Bezrukov wanted to meet with me and talk about a role in the theater. Of course I agreed! When Bezrukov calls, it’s stupid to refuse, so I came. ( Smiles.) We talked with Sergei Vitalievich, and although both understood that this was an experiment for me, he gave me the opportunity to try myself. I am very grateful to him for the advance and his faith in me, because until that moment the theater was closed to me.

What's new happening in your creative life now?

At the Provincial Theater we are starting work on the play “Leviathan” based on the book by Boris Akunin, where I will play Fandorin. It should be very cool, I'm looking forward to it. And in the cinema, in addition to the new season of Molodezhka, the series Sleeping will soon be released, where I play one of the main roles.

Sports, cinema, theater... Do you still have time for your personal life?

Usually it is catastrophically difficult for girls to cope with my profession. Personal life for an actor is a difficult topic... ( Smiles.)

Do you think a female actress can understand you better?

In this sense, I do not set any boundaries or boundaries for myself; the main thing for me is that we have mutual love, trust and respect for each other. It doesn’t really matter what profession a person is. If you are interested in him, if you love him, you develop together and support each other - then it really doesn’t matter who does what. It is important to meet your like-minded person. ( Smiles.)

Text: Kristina Leonova. Photo: Olga Tuponogova-Volkova

Style: Polina Shabelnikova. Grooming: Svetlana Zhitkevich

Today, social networks are an important and still effective tool for communicating with customers. But they are changing at a rapid pace. An expert in SMM technologies, founder of Tooligram, Alexander Sokolovsky, will tell us how to catch a wave of hype on social networks.

Tipler: Is it important for any company to have a presence on social networks today? And does any company need this?

Alexander Sokolovsky: It would be unfair for me to say that any company needs this. I think that the concrete plant is unlikely to gain a large number of subscribers and be able to publish interesting content. But for manufacturers and sellers of consumer goods, having social accounts. networks are vital. This also applies to the service sector.

Firstly, it is an excellent tool for increasing sales and reaching an audience. And secondly, the company will be able to be closer to its customers.

Alexander Sokolovsky: Now Instagram is gaining momentum, but VKontakte is not far behind. Although in the first case, users of the photo network do not often search here for the products they need. Rather, sellers themselves make offers to them through Direct messages, likes, subscriptions, and comments.

Regarding the loss of relevance, I can say that Odnoklassniki is becoming less and less attractive to advertisers.

Tipler: Are promotion methods different on VK, Facebook and Instagram?

Alexander Sokolovsky: They have one thing in common - this is content that needs to immediately “hook” the reader of the feed. This is usually done in a split second. The presentation format is another matter. For example, a good photo on Instagram can replace 1000 words of text. There are also some aspects that make them really different. If hashtags are the basis on Instagram, then on VKontakte they practically do not work.

Tipler: Tell me, what average monthly budget does a company need to allocate for effective promotion on social networks? Does it depend on the niche?

Alexander Sokolovsky: Since they really depend on the niche, it’s difficult for me to give any average figure. It all depends on the size of the company, its location, competition and other important factors.

Tipler: What's the best way to do this? On your own or contact a qualified agency, for example, GreenPR SMM agency?

Alexander Sokolovsky: If the company has a marketing department or at least several specialists on staff, then you can try to do this on your own. Especially if the budget is limited. Of course, it is easier to outsource this, but in this case you need to carefully monitor the allocation of the budget and the fulfillment of obligations.

Tipler: If you do it yourself, please tell us which promotion tools are the most effective?

AAlexander Sokolovsky: If we talk about Instagram, then this is targeting, mass following, mass liking, promotions, contests, sweepstakes, etc. Today there are many promotion methods, the effectiveness of which can be measured in numbers.

Tipler: Does targeted advertising work on social networks today? How to set up high-quality advertising without wasting money?

Alexander Sokolovsky: Yes, it still works. To set up targeting correctly, you need to clearly know your target audience, find it and filter it. Then you need to create a killer offer in the ad that will either hit the target audience’s pain points or communicate a solution to their problems.

Tipler: Many companies register pages on social networks, publish posts, but there is no live activity? Why?

Alexander Sokolovsky: In such cases, I like to quote the words of Stuart Henderson: “Running a business without advertising is like winking at girls in complete darkness.” So it is with social media. networks. You can have really cool content, but it won't do any good if you don't drive traffic to it.

Tipler: Content marketing is trending today. What role do social networks play in it? How to make content marketing and social networks friends?

Alexander Sokolovsky: Many companies make a serious mistake when they publish only promotional content. This quickly gets boring for subscribers and they simply leave. Today, it is very important to provide value for free to readers. There is informational and educational content for this. So, you will show your expertise, become an opinion leader, you will begin to share valuable knowledge that your competitors do not have. And your subscribers will love you for it.

Tipler: Has video content been rapidly gaining momentum lately? Why? Your forecasts regarding the development of the video content market in marketing for the next 5 years.

Alexander Sokolovsky: Yes, indeed, today video content is a very effective tool in social media. networks. Probably because it’s easier for a person to perceive information, especially if the video is fascinating and grabs attention from the first seconds.

I think that in the next 5 years this trend will develop and cover more and more sites.

Tipler: Do you offer training courses?

Alexander Sokolovsky: Yes, I systematically conduct Instawebinars on promoting business accounts and for girls who want to become famous on Instagram. I am also invited to speak at trainings for Business Youth and other well-known projects.

To date, my training courses have been completed by more than 2,000 people who successfully sell their services through Instagram, as well as goods wholesale and retail.

Alexander Sokolovsky: We maintain a Tooligram blog, where our employees, as well as fellow SMM experts, talk about trends in social media promotion. networks, tricks, life hacks and other useful things that help people become specialists in this field. I also recommend visiting our YouTube channel, where we publish how-to videos about promoting on Instagram. And of course, I invite you all to my Instawebinar.

Tipler: What to do when reach on social networks drops?

Alexander Sokolovsky: First of all, you need to think about the content you publish. Maybe it's not interesting to your audience. Conduct testing, see which publications are more interesting to subscribers. In this case, repost competitions with valuable gifts also work well.

Alexander Sokolovsky: I agree that instant messengers are gaining popularity. However, social Networking continues to be an effective marketing tool. And, I want to tell you, this will continue for many years to come.

As always, a portion of useful things:

STS viewers will celebrate New Year's Eve in the company of popular artists. According to the plot of the colorful show “New Year, children and all, all, all!”, the famous showman Dmitry Nagiyev undertakes to organize the holiday in a new way. In the Igora ski resort, which will air on STS on December 31 at 20:00. It was attended by: actors of the series “Molodezhka” (Nikiforov, Sokolovsky, Kanopka), as well as Zara, Estradarad, Victoria Daineko. Piterzavtra correspondents visited the filming of the New Year's holiday and talked with Yulianna Karaulova.

Piterzavtra: Tell us about your creative plans for 2018.

The plans are grandiose. For now, I won’t talk about the main ones that really, really excite me, so as not to scare me away. And so, there are many interesting projects ahead and, in general, there is a desire to change your whole life upside down.

Piterzavtra: Maybe you can give a hint: cinema, theater?

No, no, no, you can’t talk about such things until they are fulfilled.

Piterzavtra: In general, if you sum it up, what are your impressions of 2017?

The most beautiful. It was an amazing, bright, pleasant year. I experienced a lot of positive emotions, met amazing people, and I flew a lot like never before. It seems to me that at the end of December I will be able to draw up a map of my flight routes for 2017, because I have crossed almost the entire globe.

Piterzavtra: Where did you like the most?

Probably... Vienna. Considering that all my travels ended in Vienna in December. I just arrived from there. This is the most Christmas city on the planet! Everything there is imbued with celebration: every street, every person, every corner. That is why my most powerful impressions are from Vienna. Although in Sochi at the Rosa Khutor ski resort in April at the Quiksilver New Star Camp it was incredibly cool. These are probably the two most emotionally powerful trips.

Piterzavtra: So Russia is not inferior?

Russia will always be ahead!

Piterzavtra: Are you making wishes for the New Year? Are they coming true?

Yes, I'm making a wish. Yes, they do come true. Not always, but they come true.

Piterzavtra: In what ways? Is there a special ritual?

No, there is no ritual. You just need to really, really want it, and the wish will come true. That is, if it should happen in your life, then it will definitely happen.

Piterzavtra: How do you generally feel about the New Year? Do you love this holiday?

My favorite holiday! New Year and Christmas are the best times for me: for the atmosphere, for the warmth, for the joy, for the positivity that comes from people. It’s always a pity in January when it ends, because a difficult February comes. But my birthday is in February, so this month is also very positive for me.

Piterzavtra: How do you usually cope?

Always different. It very much depends on the circumstances. I celebrated my last New Year with my family in 2011, and this year I will be here in St. Petersburg. Before this, it didn’t work out for 6 years.

Piterzavtra: What are your plans for the upcoming winter holidays?

I’ll come to St. Petersburg for a week, probably, and then film in Istanbul.

Piterzavtra: Many people make promises to themselves on the eve of the New Year. For example, in 2018 I promise myself that I will learn English. What promise do you want to make to yourself?

A promise that I will change my life.

Interviewers: Elizaveta Shiryaeva, Ekaterina Tregub

The actor of the series “Molodezhka” on the STS channel, Alexander Sokolovsky, talks about how the hockey player in him woke up.

Did you enjoy being "in bed" with TOPBEAUTY?

It was nice. My first bed photo shoot in my life - I thought I would be tight, but no. Everything went smoothly and comfortably. You have a great team!

Does the concept of “team” mean a lot in your life?

All. I believe that one in the field is not a warrior. Everything in life is accomplished through collective efforts. The movie is created by a whole film crew.

Your hero from the series “Molodezhka” on the STS channel is also a member of a team, only a hockey one. After the series came out, did you feel like a sex symbol?

We have as many as eight contenders for this title in the series, plus Denis Nikiforov, so there is someone to compete with. I don’t pretend to be a sex symbol, but I can feel the increased attention.

It seems to me that the image of a brutal hockey player especially affects girls.

I didn’t think about it, but after filming I started playing hockey. That is, the hockey player in me woke up, and representatives of this sport are examples of masculinity. And I understand those girls who dream of such men.

• “Only the sniffling of a loved one can break the silence.”

No wonder they say that every hockey player has a girlfriend, but not every girl has a hockey player. But let's return to the topic of our conversation: how do you like to fall asleep?

In complete silence, it can only be broken by the sniffling of a loved one. This is the only background I allow. But at the moment I don’t have a permanent girlfriend. So I still fall asleep without any extraneous sounds.

What kind of girls do you prefer?

For me, the main thing in a girl is intelligence. She must also be purposeful. Also, be well-groomed and take care of yourself. There is an expression: “The way a man is dressed speaks about the taste of his girlfriend, and the way a girl is dressed speaks about the financial situation of her man.”

It's clear. Having talked about who you can sleep with, let's start talking about where to go to bed. What should your bed be like?

The main thing is to be big. I love it when there are a lot of pillows. My current bed has four pillows.

Have you ever had to do any sex scenes?

In the film "Split" I starred completely naked, at first I was embarrassed. Then I realized how the sitters felt when they were being painted. But they don’t feel anything, the main thing is to overcome the barrier. I haven’t had any explicit sex scenes yet, but I don’t think they will be very difficult for me.

And in real relationships with women, does the thought of sitters help you to liberate yourself?

No, it's part of the profession. In life, if you like a girl, then you are shy at first anyway. I don’t think that, having played a hundred sex scenes with different partners, I will become such a cheeky macho in life.