Leandro Toledo is an English teacher, consultant at the Learning Factory Editora, and a passionate traveler from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. As an avid Pinterest user, he loves sharing the things he finds interesting, like quotes and posters, funny memes, as well as beautiful places and spaces. When Leandro’s not teaching English or on Pinterest, he can be found traveling – one of his strongest passions. So far, he’s been to Orlando, London, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Barcelona and Paris, but claims, “it’s never enough!” He describes his Pinterest style as a mix of wanderlust and creativity. Leandro’s sense of humor and love for world travel has earned him over 826K Pinterest followers!
When did you start using Pinterest and what inspired you to make an account?
In 2011, my friend Mariana Casals showed me her boards on Pinterest. I found it really interesting that I could pin my favourite images to a single place and organize them in categories. On that very day I asked her to invite me and then I created my account. I really like how Pinterest provides organization.
Pinterest was breakthrough because it recognized the power of images on the internet. It is visually much more captivating to scroll through the Pinterest feed than through an article about fashion or food. Another thing I love is the endless ways you can organise your boards, which interests people of all tastes and styles, be them designers, housewives, or teachers like me.
You have gained over 826K followers! Wow! So what makes your Pinterest unique?
I enjoy the interaction on Pinterest with other users. For instance, I frequently post pictures of places I would like to go and soon enough someone comments about their personal experience with that place. It’s an enriching experience for me. I love seeing people’s reactions to my pins, like the funny ones (ie: funny & sarcasm) or the pins from my brand new boards (ie: Add a caption! and Let’s play a game).
You’re living in Rio de Janeiro. Very cool! What do you like about it there?
I was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro and I am really proud of that. In fact, all Cariocas (people born in Rio de Janeiro) are proud of being Cariocas. It’s more than the place where you were born – it’s a lifestyle. Obviously, it’s not perfect and there are serious problems just like any other big city around the world, but Rio has a special atmosphere that enchants anyone who comes here. What I love about Rio is that it seems that the city was designed to amaze both the citizens and the visitors. Rio de Janeiro is amazing because it offers natural elements such as mountains, a forest, and beaches within the area. Still, I cannot forget that the people play an important role in making Rio so special.
Where all have you traveled to and when?
I have travelled, but not enough! I have been to England and France twice. The first time in 2011 when I went to Cambridge to study and seized the opportunity to visit London and Paris during the weekend. Then in January of this year, my wife and her sister and I went to Paris, London, Edinburgh, and Barcelona. In Brazil, I have also visited Belo Horizonte and Ouro Preto. My next objective is Australia!
Leandro in Paris
Tell us more about your Pinterest boards. What are your favorite boards to pin on and why?
I cannot help saying that my favourite ones are the ones related to humour: Funny, Sarcasm, and Story of My Life. They are special to me for two main reasons: 1) I believe I am able to make people across the world laugh at least once a day with the images I pin and 2) because I managed to stand out in an area (humor) that was not really the focus when people started using Pinterest.
Your Funny and Beautiful Places boards are really great! Tell us more about them and why you made them.
They were among the first boards I created especially because I loved sharing funny images with my friends and I love travelling. This way I could refer my friends to my Funny board to check the new images and at the same time create my list of places to be visited. Then I noticed that they were not enough and I created the ‘Places I’d like Go’ and ‘Sarcasm’ to make it more specific.
Leandro’s hometown Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Tell us about your passion for travel and comedy.
Aren’t laughing and travelling among the best things in life? Well, at least for me they are! I believe it has a lot to do with my personality. I love making people around me laugh – just ask my wife! It also happens with my students. There must be something interesting and humorous in every class.
Regarding my passion for travel, I credit to my passion for Geography when I was a kid. I would memorise the capitals and flags of all countries in the world and imagined what they were like. Then I guess it just grew with time and with access to the internet, I could finally see more pictures and then videos of the places I had imagined earlier in life and it just motivated me to go and explore the world.
What are your plans and hopes for the future?
I plan on putting some personal projects to practice that will help me develop professionally. I want to have a comfortable life where I can explore the world with my wife as well as keep on pinning!
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