LOS ANGELES — Alt Erotic CEO and director Ivan is the featured guest on the latest episode of “All Roads Lead Here” hosted by Daniel Roque.
Ivan, a Zhytomyr, Ukraine native, opened up about his personal immigration story in coming to the United States from the former Soviet Union during the late ‘70s Cold War.
“I’m Jewish, my family is Jewish, and living in that part of the country back then was pretty tough for Jewish people, so a lot of Russians that immigrated here during the ‘70s and ‘80s were Jews,” Ivan shared, “because they were pretty much persecuted.”
He reflected on how he was bullied as a child for being Jewish.
“I remember the day I came home from school and my parents [said], ‘You don’t have to go back to school because we’re leaving, we’re going to America,’” he recalled. “I was joyful. What impresses me so much about my parents is everything they risked. You’re leaving the comfort zone of your country, your language, your jobs, your families to come to the United States.”
Though he now lives in Los Angeles, Ivan still experiences anti-Semitism.
“I am shocked how easily these days people throw around anti-Semitism with little regard to what happens in the psyche of those they affect... I challenge any clueless mind to sit and listen to the horrors my parents and families went through and are still dealing with, from being attacked at school as child to unbelievable murders by neighbors for simply being Jewish, these words make me even more proud to be a Russian Jew. I guess I should thank people like rappers, celebrities and athletes who spew trash on a public forum for making my strength and our bond even stronger,” he concluded.
The full interview can be found at AllRoadsLeadHere.org and follow the broadcast on Instagram.
