it all started here

After our second date, Raisa says, "I know this sounds crazy, but do you want to come to Tulum?" For Anthony, this wasn't crazy at all — it was the first international trip together, in the height of COVID-19.

The couple went non-stop. Cenotes during the day, parties in the evening. After four days, Raisa said it again: "I know this sounds crazy, but do you want to stay a few more days?"

When Raisa first asked Anthony if he wanted to go skiing, he wasn't expecting much. She was brand new to the sport so he anticipated some very slow and leisurely runs. Turns out, Raisa was a beast, ripping slopes with zero fear, having only been on a mountain a few days. Aspen, Colorado is where it all started.

The couple has returned 4 times. Watched the X Games, attended a David Guetta concert on New Year's Eve for a couple hundred people, and seen countless other shows at tiny venues. The combination of pristine slopes, world-class dining and an all-in entertainment lineup lives up to all the hype.

March 2022 — Anthony invited Raisa to Prosper Show, a chance to show her his professional world. It went better than expected. The first night, they were at an Illenium show when one of Anthony's industry friends spotted him: "We have a table right behind the DJ booth. Want to join?"

They've been back too many times to count, usually around Anthony's ecom conferences. Each trip gets better than the last. It's where Anthony officially asked Raisa to be his girlfriend — at a Helium 10 party with Sugar Ray playing live.

Along the way, they've seen some of their favorite artists: Martin Garrix, Illenium at The Sphere, Louis The Child, Zedd and more.

For nearly the entire relationship, NYC was home base — though they were on the road sometimes 100 days a year. For a while, Raisa's sister Noelly lived in the same apartment. Tons of fun.

They met in NYC and went through everything together there. Shows, birthdays, family visits — the city held all of it.

When they started talking, Anthony mentioned he had lived in São Paulo. What's really crazy: his old apartment was a couple blocks from where Raisa grew up in Itaim Bibi.

They make it back to Brazil a few times a year for family and adventures. Favorites: New Year's Eve in Jericoacoara, Taylor Swift in Rio (Anthony's sister Laura joined that one), and Noelly's birthday on Fernando de Noronha — one of the most beautiful places on the planet.

Anthony's family is close to New York, and recently the couple moved to Maryland to be even closer. Anthony's sense of adventure comes from his parents — visits in Maryland, snowmobiling and skiing up in New Hampshire, beach days on Florida's Gulf Coast.

With Anthony's whole family in Maryland, it's always great to be around for holidays and watch the new babies growing up.

Anthony had lived in Asia for years and was dying to get Raisa out for her first visit. The first trip was for his old roommate Matt's wedding in Phu Quoc, Vietnam. They extended to cruise Ha Long Bay.

They returned for another wedding in Phuket, then hopped to Tokyo and skied some of the best conditions they've ever seen in Niseko, Japan. When Anthony had a conference in Sydney, Raisa engineered a Singapore work trip to overlap. Not exactly "close" — but they are extremely good at making complicated logistics work.

The couple has traveled to Europe many times, but the crown jewel was a month-long ski trip in 2025: Chamonix, Zermatt and St. Moritz. One of the most beautiful and exciting trips they've ever taken.

Between Raisa's and Anthony's work, there always seemed to be a reason to be in Europe. When one had a work trip, the other figured out a way to land nearby.

A favorite: Estonia, where they rented a cabin in the middle of the woods, didn't go anywhere, sat in the sauna and relaxed — a big departure from their usual non-stop style.

Yes, Italy is in Europe — but this one needs its own chapter. Two epic summer weeks: Positano, the Amalfi Coast, Sardinia and Sicily.

It wrapped with a quick stop in Amsterdam for Anthony's birthday. Raisa rented a Ferrari for the day — a vision board for his 30th, a glimpse of what's possible.

After years of planning trips manually, this was the first time AI was getting good enough to handle most of it. ChatGPT crafted a brilliant road trip around the country — and absolutely knocked it out of the park.

They've skied all over the world in some of the best destinations on earth. Some years, 20+ days on the slopes.

Outside of Aspen, the undisputed favorite is Alta in Utah. Tons of off-piste for Anthony, and a massive amount of terrain to explore. Japan was mentioned earlier — but it deserves another shoutout here.

Raisa's work has her on the road even more than Anthony — and that's a lot. With a flexible schedule, Anthony would join when he could.

Most management consultants only see their partner on weekends, so time together on the road is a real treat. Highlights: literal months in Nassau, our second home at the Park Hyatt Chicago, the Four Seasons Miami, the Pendry San Diego — and the list goes on.

One last trip that really sums up the dynamic. Anthony was flying back from Manila. He calls Raisa. She says, "Since you're on the way back from Asia, why don't you stop in Hawaii and I'll meet you there?"

Raisa was supposed to be off that week. Then she got staffed on a project — instantly slammed. They still maximized every spare hour to explore. At one point, Raisa took a work call from the beach.

Anthony wanted the first proposal to feel iconic. He chose Oblix at The Shard, looking out over London at sunset, and asked Raisa to marry him before the trip they'd been planning for years.

She said yes. Then, of course, they kept traveling.

What better way to celebrate a new year as fiancés than on a private island in the Indian Ocean? They spent the Maldives NYE trip snorkeling, sleeping in overwater villas, and plotting the next hundred adventures.

Then, on the morning they were meant to leave, Raisa's passport was nowhere to be found. One island, no way off it. Documents were summoned from Brazil and New York to an embassy in Sri Lanka; Anthony flew there alone, collected them, flew back to the island — and the two of them finally left for Colombo together. How the passport vanished is still, officially, a mystery.