Alek Gastmans-Baynes
About Myself: I was born in Seattle, WA, on October 11th, 2005, and I’ve lived here my whole life. I grew up with two separate families, I’m white-passing because of my two very different families, one Belgian side (my dad) and one Venezuelan afrolatino side (my mom).
I’m a musician, I play drums and I would love to learn guitar, it’s just such a fascinating instrument. I primarily play jazz but I am interested in playing many different kinds of music in the future. I guess I just grew up listening to a lot of music. It’s always been a big part of me and I’ve always loved it.
I like skiing and I think everyone should try it. My dad is an outdoors guy so I spend a lot of time in the mountains and outside with him. I really want to learn how to swim well.
I’m 15 and currently going into 10th grade. I do rowing as a competitive sport.
My two families are very different. I’m much more connected to my mom’s side than my dad’s, but I spend a lot of time with him. I also like playing chess online.
Why I Joined the MAS Youth Program : I didn’t plan to join or even really know that much about it, but my aunt Milvia is leading the program and my mom decided for me to join. If she had asked me I probably wouldn’t have said yes since school is so stressful this year already, so I’m glad she decided for me. Meeting Baba Ricardo Guity was really an experience I wouldn’t want to miss out on.
