Dariusz defected from Poland to Italy in February of 1984 during a track & field meet. After spending two months in an Italian refuge camp, he emigrated to the United States in April of the same year. He became the US citizen in 1994. Today he holds a dual citizenship, US and Poland (European Union). At the time of his defection, he was a professional runner representing Poland in middle-distance running events. He was on the Polish Olympic Team in preparation for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympiad (boycotted by the then-communist government of Poland). Dariusz has finished several marathons, including New York City (twice), Boston, Missoula Marathon (five times), and others.
While studying graphic design at the five-year, professional co-op-enhanced, program at The University of Cincinnati, Dariusz was fortunate to learn his design craft from such a distinguished group of designers as Robert Probst, Heinz Schenker, Gordon R. Shalchow and Joe Bottoni. In particular, Probst and Schenker, both alumni of the acclaimed Bauhaus school of design, have influenced Dariusz’s design sensitivity.
Dariusz is a published author of short stories. Some of the journals where his writing may be found are Aethlon (The Journal of Sports Literature) and The Other Side of Hope (Journeys in Refugee and Immigrant Literature, London UK). Dariusz is working on his first novel called Minotaur, or the Art of Running.
He lives with his wife, Katie, and their Great Pyrenees, Cordelia, in Missoula, Montana.