A former radio host in Tarnovo and a graduate of VTU, he was amazed with his knowledge and became a five-time winner of “The Last One Wins”

VTU can be proud of its graduates who demonstrate the solid training received there and achieve success in various fields

One of them is the graduate of Bulgarian philology in 2008, Dimitar Spasov, who showed enviable knowledge and a rich general culture and became a five-time winner in the April editions of “Last Man Wins” this year.

The thorny connection of the man from Kazanlak does not stop there. Having gone through the grindstone of valuable journalism in the old capital in one of its strongest years, from 2008 to 2009, his voice as a presenter sounded from the Tarnovo airwaves of the national radio “Focus”. There he met his future wife, and their daughter was born in Veliko Tarnovo.

His career as a reporter and presenter was short, but it turned out to be a good school for his future life.

He started in radio immediately after completing his MA in Oral Communication and Literary Language.

“That’s why I enrolled in Bulgarian philology, because my dream was to work as a sports journalist. But at Radio “Focus” I was mostly a political reporter and I have experienced the pressure of the journalistic profession many times. These were the years of the decline of the NDSV and the rise of GERB. In 2009, in “Focus” we covered the elections and were constantly with them. I remember important interviews I did with Miglena Kuneva, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, Dragni Dragnev.

I didn’t expect it, but at some point it got interesting. But then, when you get into the matter and see all the bad faith of the politicians, you are disgusted. This turned me off from doing more of this type of journalism, but anyway, following the processes from the inside is quite curious. I have also covered “Eter” matches. That was my other thrill, because I was included several times by them on the national air. While I was studying journalism, I was also an editor, news anchor, and later I hosted the entire morning block on Focus radio. I have only good memories from then. After I left, I was also at Eurocom for a few weeks, but television was definitely not for me, I didn’t feel comfortable”, recalls Dimitar Spasov.

In “Focus” he met the woman of his life, Denitsa Tsoneva from Strazhitsa, who has a much longer journalistic career than he.

Their daughter Ralitsa was born in Veliko Tarnovo, named after the lyrical heroine of the poem of the same name by Pencho Slaveikov, so they have a little “boy girl” among the Kazanlak roses, who will be 11 years old. And apparently the girl inherited a sense of language and a love for literature from her parents, because for 3 years she has been part of a literary club in Kazanlak and has been successful in writing and creative thinking competitions. Dimitar is very proud that at the beginning of this school year, Ralitsa won the competition “The Thorns of the Hedgehogs” with a children’s story, which impressed the jury consisting of Ivo Siromakhov, Zdravka Evtimova and Boyko Lambovski. Helping her in whatever way he can to become a young writer gives meaning to his days and is where his efforts are directed.

Since 2010, the family has permanently settled in Kazanlak.

He started working as a teacher of Bulgarian language and literature at the Vocational High School for Light Industry and Tourism, as he is to this day. Involuntarily, he had to retrain like many of his colleagues and also teaches English. His wife is also a teacher, but in another high school. “Things are very strange in the field of education. Working conditions are improving, but in terms of programs, study material, there are many ambiguities. A teacher is at his best when he is thinking about teaching and not dealing with projects and paperwork. The administrative work is a lot more than I imagine it should be. But these are things I cannot change”, says the 39-year-old teacher.

Began his participation in television competitions with “Minuta é vnogo”

In 2004, Dimitar participated in the cult show “One minute is too much”. He was the last one left, but he left with the pleasant feeling of having been a part of it. And in 2011, he had the honor of passing three difficult castings and participating in “Get Rich”. Not only that, he managed to sit on the “chair of wealth” and thinks he did well. You left with BGN 5,000.

Already in 2021, Dimitar Spasov competed in the last edition of the first season of “The Last One Wins”, which is his third television competition. He fell into it in a somewhat ridiculous way, it became unpleasant for him, but that only made him more ambitious. By regulation giving eliminated contestants a second chance to play, he accepted the invitation this year and so six shows were loaded, five of which he won. In the sixth, fatigue already had its say. “Still, I am extremely satisfied, because I see how my colleagues, and also in Kazanlak, treat me. I participate in a team and we go to quizzes (question game) every night and they were very happy for me, they congratulated me.

So to speak, I rose in their eyes.

Without being shy, the most important thing for me was that I would make my students look away from various reality shows like The Bachelor, if only for their teacher. A new and interesting thing to learn, that’s the point of the whole thing. The monetary value is not even leading, but I wanted to show my knowledge based on the experience. I decided to try this “second chance” and here I was a little more calm and concentrated, more relaxed. I think I managed to realize my potential, maybe luck was with me most of the time”, says the winner.

Because of the varied and meaningful questions, “Last One Wins” is definitely a test of intelligence.

People in Kazanlak wondered how he remembered and knew so many things, and in different fields – literature, geography, music, sports, cinema. They even asked him why he didn’t become a music teacher if he was doing so well. Dimitar is happy that he was able to surprise them with something nice and bring them positive emotions.

He believes that his successful performance is also due to his good preparation at Veliko Tarnovo University, when he studied hard. And the many hours spent in the university library, which was the most frequented by Bulgarians. “There was just no one else there, we, from the different courses, knew each other. In order to finish this difficult specialty “Bulgarian Philology” on time, and at VTU, you had to dedicate yourself to it. They even offered me to stay working at the university, but I decided that scientific activity was not for me”, continues Dimitar Spasov.

The next challenge before him is to continue his good work with the students, for which the year at radio “Focus” – Veliko Tarnovo helped, because of the lean organization and the desire to always be first.

Anna RAIKOVSKA

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