Girteka Drivers

Tie in the glove box: How a manager moved into the cab of a truck

Timur from Shymkent used to work in a car dealership: selling cars, building a career, wearing a tie. Now he works behind the wheel of a heavy-duty truck on trips to Scandinavia. A few years ago, he made a conscious choice to trade the office for the open road. Not for the purpose of adventure, but because he decided that it was time to build his own home and a life with order and confidence in the future.

When a career direction changes  

Before becoming a truck driver, Timur worked in a car dealership for ten years. Toyota, Subaru, Hyundai, Lexus – he knew everything he needed to sell a person the car of their dreams. He started as a junior sales manager and worked his way up to the top position. Clients, deals, meetings, reports, endless calls.  

I fell asleep thinking about work and woke up the same way. Sometimes it seemed that I had turned into a machine myself.  

When in 2020, life, like many, changed dramatically, Timur stopped and decided that it was time to change something in his own life. His son-in-law was already working at Girteka and talked about the company, the modern fleet, his earnings and attitude towards people. Timur listened and decided to start his trucking career — first in his home country. In the summer of 2023, he decided that it was time to try himself on the roads of Europe, filled out an enquiry form via Instagram, and a couple of months later, he arrived at Lithuania to Girteka’s transport base in Šiauliai.  

Why Girteka? Because it’s honest  

You can promise a lot with words. But Timur says that everything at Girteka was the same as he expected: new and well-maintained vehicles, a stable salary, smooth employment process, an easy-to-follow system of work with clear routes, training and support.  

Earlier I was not sure that I would find a well-organized place. But here everything is organized very well: you know your tasks, you know you can rely on support – and that provides you with confidence and helps you to focus on what is important.  

Timur works in the Scandinavian areas: Sweden, Norway, Finland. Sometimes Europe. He says that he chose the north for a reason:  

In Shymkent in summer it’s like being in an oven. I don’t like the heat. But in Norway or Sweden, it’s cool, the air is fresh, the scenery is like a postcard. In such places, just breathing is happiness.  

Silence instead of hustle and bustle  

Going from working in an office to living in a truck cab is like changing genres. There, it was noise, here, it is silent. There – 100 emails and calls a day, here – kilometers of road and your own thoughts. At first it was unusual: alone, in a new space, on foreign highways. But gradually the cabin became a second home.  

Now I have a different schedule: I don’t wake up to my alarm. I live by the rhythm of the road. Sometimes I listen to music or podcasts, sometimes I am just reasoning. Many people are afraid to break out of their routine. They think, “What if it doesn’t work?” he says. – But if you don’t try it, you won’t know. It’s better to regret what you did than what you didn’t decide to do.  

Being a driver isn’t a vacation — it’s about staying organized. Where to wash clothes, where to cook food, how to keep order – all this Timur learned quickly. The main thing, he says, is not to complain, but to search for solutions.  

On the road, you are your own boss and your own assistant. And if you face a challenge, you can always ask for support. At first, I was shy to do this because of the language barrier. But then I realized the barrier was mostly in my own head. Now I can even explain myself on my fingers. The main thing is not to be afraid.  
 

Travels that change

For 1.5 years of working at the company, Timur has traveled almost all over Europe. He has seen fjords and ancient towns, slept in hundreds of different places, watched the Alps greet the dawn and the Swedish plains embrace the sunset. 

When you see how other people live, how differently the world works, you change. I became braver. I started to appreciate the simple things. And I realized that people everywhere are the same – with their joys, fears and dreams.  

And he has his own dream – a house. A real one. Not an apartment in a high-rise building, but a place where his land and his walls will be.  

I’ve already paid off the mortgage on the apartment. Now I’m thinking about a house. Maybe with a garden. Not luxury, just my own. And I realize that with this job it is achievable. Yes, it takes time and patience. But it is not just a dream for “someday.” It’s only a matter of time. 

“I don’t want to worry about tomorrow.”  

Timur speaks simply, without pathos. But there is a lot of meaning in his words:  

Every man wants to be well off. Not to tremble when the bills come. To have the feeling that you’re doing well. In this job, I got that.  

He doesn’t make huge plans. But he knows he will work as long as he can. And then, perhaps, he will return to Kazakhstan with a different baggage: with experience, respect for himself, understanding that everything is possible.  

If the road has a voice, it is likely to speak as Timur does: simply, directly and to the point. His story is not about heroism — it’s about choice. About grown-up determination. It’s about the fact that you don’t have to be superman to become the master of your life. You just must make up your mind one day and go.