Finding Robert Bogucki, the man who disappeared on purpose
22 comments
·July 21, 2025iberator
swores
I can't promise to be able to help (nor can I promise that if I can help it'll work out better than returning to the African mountains!), but depending on your location & circumstances it's possible I could help you either on the job front or with accommodation. If you'd like to find out, drop me an email (see my profile).
Or if you comment here publicly some more info about your work skills and experience, I wouldn't be surprised if other people might be willing and able to help too :)
smcin
You should blog (under a pseudonym), your story is unique. People could support you financially via BuyMeaCoffee or else Patreon, and make teaser posts on Reddit, LinkedIn to bring new readers to your blog.
What did you learn as a street perfume seller in Marrakesh? Compared to software sales? That alone sounds more useful than most TED talks.
iberator
There is no comparison.
Selling stuff as white person (extremely culturally aware) in Africa is like stealing candy from a baby. People want to know you, and your story - not the product.
Thank you for such suggestion. Yup, I could write few articles or stories...
smcin
Don't be so quick to discount your experience though; selling enterprise software/SaaS is different to marketing and selling consumer goods/services. Tell us what you learned, about both.
Were all your perfume sales face-to-face, or did you use text, or word-of-mouth? Did you give discounts for referrals? How much did the brand name matter, or not? etc.
(Compare to e.g. https://www.ted.com/podcasts/how-to-be-a-better-human/what-w...)
mdavid626
What a story, man. I hope you get back on your feet.
iberator
Thank you. There is more hahaha
RickJWagner
Amazing. Please keep writing, your story is interesting and will have lessons.
iberator
writing here or in general?
realxrobau
Come to Australia.
kubb
With the new immigration policies it will be harder nowadays.
rapsey
He is homeless and you recommend the country with the worst housing affordability problem in the world.
farrelle25
I cycled across the Nullabour Plain in 1998 (Perth to Adelaide)... I have to agree with some parts of this article - there's something Spiritual about the landscape there.
Tade0
I had to do a double take because I used to work for a person with the same name and since he was featured in, among other places, the local edition of Forbes, it wasn't impossible that he would be mentioned here as well.
duxup
Don't want to drive the discussion into the meta but:
Why is most of the article one sentence at a time? I gave up on the article, seems interesting but was hard to read.
mallomarmeasle
I think the style is intended to evoke the way the story developed at the time, as drips of new information came in on the news. I stuck with it and am happy with that decision.
samuelbrian
I think it's an adaptation of sorts from the podcast "Expanse: Nowhere Man", which may explain the style.
hans_castorp
Turn on "reader mode" in your browser and you can read the text without all the scrolling madness.
netsharc
Came here just to say that... isn't that BuzzFeed's style?
brabel
Australian news websites tend to tell long stories in this style. It’s nice when you get used to it.
baq
BBC also does this.
aaron695
[dead]
Around 2014 I bought one way ticket to Morocco in order to simply vanish and die.
I ended up traveling all to south to Mauretania, comming back and becoming well known poor but very popular street perfume seller in Marrakesh.
I came back after buring my friend who got stabbed to death around one year later...
Then I become successful backend programmer and husband.
Now I'm after divorce, jobless for 3 years and homeless for 1 month.
I consider going back to African mountains and desert everyday...