Expat puts Costa Blanca air-in-a-can for sale

A RUSSIAN man living in the Costa Blanca has come up with a novel idea on how to beat the recession in Spain: selling fresh air in a can.

Sergei Protas is an actor and dancer who has lived in Spain more than 13-years, first in Asturias, then Tarragona to work at PortAventura and finally Benidorm working at Terra Mitica, according to a report in Spanish daily El Mundo.

He says that the idea for this came from an advert he saw in a newspaper in Russia 10-years ago offering Russian air as a souvenir.

Since Benidorm is a major tourist destination, he decided to offer canned Spanish air.

“During the winter months I have a lot of time to think,” Protas told the Spanish newspaper.

“I was thinking of ways I could earn more and gain a better life, when this idea came to me.” The problem he has encountered so far is the reaction of companies he calls to stock his cans of air.

“When I told the first company I called that I was selling cans of air, they began to laugh and hung up on me,” said Protas. “Since then I prefer to visit the companies in person.”

Protas now has his cans of air selling at various souvenir shops in Benidorm and nearby towns, according to the report in a Spanish daily, although the price he is trying to sell this canned air was not revealed at the time of going to print.

On the exterior of each can is a panoramic photo of the place where the air was canned, a guarantee that it is 100% Costa Blanca air and a expiration date for 100 years. Protas has registered his brand at the patent office