Meet Samuele Landi, a 58-year-old Italian businessman with a knack for programming. Once the CEO of Eutelia, a telecommunications company, he's now living on the Aisland 1, an 800-ton deck barge stationed between Dubai and Iran. His journey started at midday on February 2nd when a wave began to approach the vessel, which housed him, three sailors, a cook, and five cats.
Landi's life was never ordinary. He envisioned himself as the Italian Steve Jobs, though comparisons to John McAfee, another tech figure who sought refuge offshore, might be more accurate. An extreme sports enthusiast, Landi loved living dangerously—whether it was skydiving, motorcycle racing, or navigating complex offshore financial schemes.
Yet, despite his adventurous spirit, Landi found himself adrift, quite literally. He was wanted back home, facing fraud charges, but he chose the sea over returning. "I will die at sea for sure, " he had casually told filmmaker Oswald Horowitz during a visit the previous December. "I'm not going back. "
His new life offshore mirrored the very schemes he had once crafted—exotic and unconventional. This wasn't just a place to hide; it became a way of life, a reflection of his past adventures and unyielding determination to stay free.
