From mobile development to FPV drone flights: the lifestyle of Daniyar Arzymatov

A Senior Mobile Developer from Bishkek and the technical director of an online cinema talk about working on products for hundreds of thousands of users and a hobby that turned into a source of income.

Daniyar Arzymatov, city — Bishkek, Senior Mobile Developer, Instagram

About myself

I am a mobile developer and an FPV pilot. Currently, I hold the position of technical director at the online cinema "ETNOMEDIA," which has over 300,000 active users. Previously, I collaborated with various startups from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and the US in a remote work format.

Although I don't have a strict schedule, I dedicate all weekdays to work: I am interested in the projects we are working on, the field itself, and, of course, the result. Currently, we are preparing a new product, where I also serve as a co-founder.

I try to spend my weekends actively — traveling through the mountains, discovering new locations in Kyrgyzstan, shooting content, and sharing it on social media. I run my Instagram, through which I am regularly invited to events, press tours, and collaborations. Among the invited projects were those from the Ministry of Tourism of Turkey.

Where and how I learn

I think every programmer is constantly learning: technologies change too quickly, and learning becomes an integral part of the job. For me, this is also a natural process — constant development and adaptation.

At the beginning of my journey, I didn't have a mentor: I taught myself through articles, Google searches, and random lessons on YouTube.

As for events, the main interest for me is networking. Other knowledge is available online today. Nevertheless, participating in hackathons gave me experience in teamwork, and international personal growth training helped develop soft skills. Over time, I realized that such events are truly close to me.

Environment 

My environment is very diverse: from IT specialists and entrepreneurs to filmmakers, music video directors, travel bloggers, athletes, and mountaineers.

If you are just starting out, I recommend private IT courses — they bring together like-minded people, and it's a great opportunity to grow quickly.

Where I spend my free time

I prefer active leisure: in winter — snowboarding, in summer — trips to nature and camping. In the evenings, I love cozy places with quiet music and heartfelt conversations. But at the same time, I appreciate loud music and dancing, so I enjoy going to toi (traditional Kyrgyz gatherings).

One of my hobbies is flying a high-speed drone. Now it already brings income: I am often invited to shoot music videos and films. When you put on the glasses and control the drone, it feels like you are on board yourself.

I have experience participating in the filming of music videos by Ulukmanapo, Jax, and Mirbek Atabekov.

This summer, we visited the base camps of the peaks "Khan-Tengri" and "Pobeda," which are located on the border of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and China. This place left the strongest impressions: majestic mountains of the region and a huge glacier 68 kilometers long and two to three kilometers wide. Also, this summer we went to "Asian Patagonia" Karavshin, located on the border of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and walked 90 km in six days.

Where to buy what

For work gadgets, I am satisfied with a MacBook and an iPhone. I use the iPhone camera for shooting my YouTube episodes. The store I can recommend is @asiastore.kg.