Slava Pastuk

Yaroslav Pastukhov (born June 1990), more commonly known as Slava Pastuk, is a Ukrainian-born Canadian author, former prisoner, drug smuggler and music editor.

He made national news in Canada in 2017 after drug smugglers that he recruited were arrested. He was arrested in 2019 and sentenced to nine years. He was released in April 2022 for day parole.

Early life Born as Yaroslav Pastukhov in Kyiv, Ukraine, in June 1990. In 1994, he moved with his mother from Ukraine to Canada, initially staying in the Ukrainian Mission on College Street, Toronto before moving to the Greek Town area. " for local blog hustleGRL, run by Karla Moy. He was named as "One to Watch " by York University's Emerge Magazine in 2012.

Although Pastuk initially moved to Toronto to work in marketing, he quit in 2014 after his breakout interview with Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino. He took a job as the Editor at Noisey, part of Vice Media,

In 2015, along with Ali Taki Lalji, In 2021, with support from Brian Whitney, he wrote Bad Trips: How I Went from Vice Reporter to International Drug Smuggler while in jail. The book was published in 2022, and has been optioned for a scripted TV series. In 2026, it was reported that a film based on Pastuk’s exploits was in development, with Matt Johnson directing.

He was denied full parole at his April 2022 parole hearing with the panel noting his "narcissistic traits and a rather enlarged ego". Self-Published, January 2011 Donald Glover: Fear and Trembling, Vice Media, October 2013 Bad Trips: How I Went from Vice Reporter to International Drug Smuggler, 2022.