Tyumen Man Launches Heartfelt Taxi for Emotional Conversations

Anton Proshutinsky came up with an unusual service. He offers people to get into his car and just talk, after which, he assures, you will feel better. How the northerner moved to our city more than ten years ago, felt burnout, and then came up with what he calls a unique for Russia «Heartfelt Taxi» — in the story below.

From Small Business to Burnout

Anton was born in the small northern town of Gubkinsky, which is near Tarko-Sale (the distance between the cities is about 100 kilometers, the journey takes a little over an hour. — Ed.«s note) in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. Generally, according to him, their family is large — 10 people, and he also has 15 nieces and nephews.

Proshutinsky decided to move to Tyumen about ten years ago, although in the North he had his own business related to repairing office equipment and refilling cartridges. Now one of his brothers works there. The reason — Anton decided that he had reached a ceiling there and really wanted to develop further.

— It was summer. I came to Tyumen on vacation. The city was drowning in greenery, I liked it here. I returned to the North, quickly sold everything there so that nothing would stop me from moving to Tyumen. Managed everything in two weeks. I also considered Tolyatti, maybe Moscow, but didn«t decide, although my sister»s family was ready to provide support. Maybe I was just afraid to change something in my life while I was in Tyumen, — Proshutinsky says.

In Tyumen, he opened a web studio, became an internet marketer. He gained knowledge with the help of special platforms, based at Synergy University, in the Business Youth project and others.

According to him, it was in communication with business representatives that he saw an opportunity to work with negativity and relieve people of emotional pain, because it is precisely representatives of this profession who have many different fears. One of them — feeling deceived.

For Proshutinsky himself, working in the field of internet marketing was not easy. As he admits, in the end he suffered burnout, but coped with it.

— Now, having gone through this, I«ll say: to overcome it, you need to turn to a specialist. Find exactly your specialist, whom you can open up to, the person will help you work through everything, — Proshutinsky says.

It All Starts with a Candy

— I went to work in a taxi, drove around with passengers, — Anton says. — Almost with everyone we communicated. In the process, people somehow started getting involved in the conversation. Some shared some pain, their story. And I thought, why not make such a «Heartfelt Taxi».

The essence of such a taxi is as follows: a person simply gets into the car, Anton drives around with him in the city and talks about various things, about people«s pains. Tries to help. At least, this is his main goal and interest.

— The conversation in a regular taxi, I usually start by giving a person a candy. As funny as it may seem, I just give the passenger a candy. This causes a small smile. After that, I ask what plans you have for the day, goals, or on the contrary, what you have done. The person starts sharing, sees that I am without any masks. Communication begins, — Proshutinsky says.

Even a small conversation with a psychologist in a taxi, if a person is predisposed to dialogue, is enough. Some passengers thank Anton after talks about life in general or a specific problem. They leave him tips or just say kind words.

— Even yesterday. We drove with a man literally 7-10 minutes, it was a short journey. He almost shook my hand for a minute, said that I charged him with positivity for the whole day, — Anton says.

Of course, not every person who gets into a taxi needs help or a heart-to-heart talk. Anton says that he does not insist on communication.

— Everything happens in the process. I just feel people, since I do psychology. If a person wants to sit on the phone, listen to music, well, nothing terrible, — shares the Tyumen man.

Different people come to the «Heartfelt Taxi». Mainly their problems are similar, though each is individual. Young people share that they cannot realize themselves in life, and girls — cannot build good relationships.

— Girls in this regard are great, they are open. Men are more closed, I understand why. They were instilled from childhood that feeling, showing emotions is not allowed. Like, you are a man, you must endure. I understand where this setting comes from. Girls on the contrary, princesses, so they share their experiences, communicate, — the driver says.

«Heartfelt Taxi» so far only drives on Tyumen roads, in the city where it was invented. Although Proshutinsky says that he is not against talking with people and helping them solve problems in other cities — if he is there.

— People even wrote to me from other cities: when will you open with us, why is there no such thing in my city? But I say that the idea was born in Tyumen. Although I do not rule out, if I am somewhere in Krasnodar, another city, then I will announce on my social networks and can ride with someone, talk, — concludes Proshutinsky.

You can talk with Anton only in Tyumen for now, in the city where it was invented. Although Proshutinsky says that he is not against talking with people and helping them solve problems in other cities — if he is there.

The cost of «Heartfelt Taxi» — five thousand rubles (about $55 at current rates). Earlier it was cheaper. Anton himself says that he did this so that there would not be any empty conversations, because his goal — to help people.

Earlier we told an unusual story of Russian travelers. They set off across the whole country with three cats. Read about these amazing people.