Born in Brighton on 1 July 1974,[5] Rich had a long history of travelling before his YouTube channel became popular.[citation needed] In March 1993, he went on a backpacking trip to India, flying into Delhi's Indira Gandhi Airport for what was supposed to be a one-month backpacking journey, but became so interested in Indian culture that he stayed there for four years and opened up a small hotel.[6][unreliable source?] He has expressed his admiration for the post-Soviet states.[7] He has stated that his admiration started with an interest with Belarusian gymnast Svetlana Boginskaya during his adolescence, but it was during a two-month long stay in Moscow in 1993 that his interest in the place started, as he was there to witness the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis.[8][9][unreliable source?]