Potekhin “began to paint before he learned to talk,” but alas, his parents didn't approve of his pastime. Thus the future artist had a long journey before he arrived at painting. At first it seemed that his life would be involved with sports - when Potekhin was still at school, he became a Vladimir region champion simultaneously in five categories. Strange as it may seem, it was athletics that reinforced his desire for the fine arts. While on a trip to Leningrad for a competition, the young man had the opportunity to visit the Russian Museum, and that visit would determine his destiny. Although, at his mother’s urging, he entered Aeromechanical college and graduated from there, he still took his chances and continued his education at the Vladimir Art School, along with other younger students. “He came to our art school as a mature student […], and stood out for his appearance, confidence, and artistic talent. Without a doubt, he was an outstanding personality,” the fine-art restorer Inessa Filbert remembered. Vladislav Potekhin’s art was quite bold for the 1950s. In many ways, it was akin to the so-called “Vladimir School of Painting,” and yet it remained outside the mainstream as a forerunner of a new aesthetic. Potekhin died at the age of 36 from a heart attack, his plans, alas, remaining largely unrealized.