It is unlikely that you will find at least one representative of the youth of the 2000s who does not know about the Hands Up team and its member Alexei Potekhin. Also, everyone knows that the second musician of the star duet Sergey Zhukov has been performing alone for quite some time. Where is the former singer of the sensational band now and what is he doing?
Alexey Potekhin was born in the Samara region in 1972. There were no professional musicians in his family, but all family members always loved music, and this love was instilled in the future idol of millions from childhood by his parents and older brother.
In school years, the future star was not distinguished by good behavior and diligent study. Knowledge was given with great difficulty, and the hooligan status and poor progress had to be compensated for by a creative approach to social activities. Alexey's parents decided to send their son to the sports section. Basketball classes helped the boy learn self-organization and gave rise to a love for sports.
After graduating from school, Potekhin went to Samara, where he graduated from a technical school and received the profession of a shipbuilder. He continued his studies at Samara University. Despite the fact that Alexei received an engineering degree in 1991, he still did not turn out to be a technical specialist.
Already studying at the university, Potekhin worked at a radio station in Samara. There he led his program of a humorous nature. 
As it turned out, the second future soloist of the group, which became popular throughout the country, Sergey Zhukov, also worked at the same Samara radio station.
The guys worked for a long period of time almost at arm's length, but met only in the 91st.
The popularity of radio hosts for young people was not enough, and they decided to organize a new musical project "Uncle Ray and Company". Not yet particularly popular musicians were seriously determined to reach a new level, and for the next three years they worked hard, being in a creative search.
In 1994, their first performance became the winner at a music competition in Moscow, unexpectedly even for the guys themselves.
Two years later, the group finally moved to the capital of our Motherland and gained its fame thanks to producer Andrei Malikov and the first hits that sounded everywhere. The producer recommended that the musicians change the name of the group, which seemed to him too long, to a brighter and more sonorous one. So the group “Hands up! ».
After the first triumph of the compositions "Student" and "Baby", which became the undisputed leaders in all charts, many tours were organized, and the team released their first album. For the entire period of their creative activity, the group released 14 music albums. Here is some of them:
Until 2006, the musical group delighted admirers of their work with tours around the country, the release of new albums and videos. In the same year, fans were perplexed by the unexpected news that their idols broke up.
Fans were interested in only one question: Why did Alexei Potekhin leave the group? It turned out that everything is quite simple. Sergei Zhukov is tired of his own, so beloved by fans, image. He wanted creative development and lasting fame. It became difficult for the participants to work in one project.
The former colleagues themselves do not reveal the true details of the breakup of the group, saying that they just grew up and each decided to go his own way. Zhukov decided to realize himself in a solo career, and Alexey opened his own production center, began to help young performers promote and released an author's album of dance music.
Since the spring of 2008, Potekhin has been traveling with concerts around the country with a new colleague Vladimir Luchnikov, who was the vocalist of the Turbomoda group. Unfortunately, this cooperation did not bring Alexei any satisfaction with the results, nor similar explosive popularity, as with participation in "Hands Up". 
In this video, reporter Alexander Orlov will tell you why the creative paths of Potekhin and Zhukov diverged, what happened between the artists:
The first wife of Alexei was a colleague in the "Hands Up" project, Irina Tomilova. The girl worked as a dancer and sang along at the group's concerts. Young people entered into marriage in 2002. The couple had no children. It was rumored that this was due to the state of Irina's health, but later both spouses gave a negative comment regarding the reliability of this information.
Before the final parting, Potekhin and Tomilova lived separately for some time, but this pause did not save the relationship and the marriage.
With his current wife, the artist legally entered into a marriage relationship in 2009. Elena is not related to show business, and before the birth of the child she worked as a veterinarian. The day and place of the wedding celebration was not classified, but did not attract much attention, since the wedding of the famous figure skater Evgeni Plushenko and the no less popular producer Yana Rudkovskaya was scheduled on the same day. All the attention of the press and television was drawn to this event. Therefore, the wedding of Alexei and Elena was not discussed or broadcast in the media.
In 2010, Elena gave Alexei a daughter, who was named Maria. 
To date, none of the sources indicates the exact place of residence of the former member of the most popular group in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. It is only known that he lives in Russia and does not stop engaging in musical creativity, you can follow his creative path with the help of his instagram page .
Alexey Potekhin is producing his new group with a similar name "Raise your hands up" and is touring with it throughout the country.
Alexei also continues to write music not only for his group, but also for other Russian performers. His name is no longer heard as loudly and often as in the 2000s.
When asked why Alexey does not communicate with Zhukov, the artist always evasively answers with advice to talk on this topic with Sergey himself. It is known that Potekhin intended to start legal proceedings with a former colleague on the subject of illegal sole use of the name of an eminent group. But the matter never came to lawsuits and meetings.
In his free time, Alexey pays attention to reading his favorite books and replenishes his antique collection.
There is information that the ex-member of the famous group opened his own small restaurant business, but these rumors have not yet been confirmed.
I would like to please the fans that Alexey Potekhin did not disappear into nowhere, and did not immigrate abroad, but only went backstage in show business. He is also dedicated to his work and continues to work as a composer, singer and producer.
In this video, Alexey will tell the true reason for the breakup of the group and the quarrel with S. Zhukov, about his current creative plans:
The generation of the 90s is still a fan of the songs of the legendary band. Perhaps this is the closest music to the people, which at one time made a tremendous sensation and won millions of hearts. Despite the rapid emergence of new idols, people do not forget their favorites and remember the old days with pleasure. Why did the Hands Up group break up?
Sergei Zhukov and Alexei Potekhin met by chance in 1991 at a radio station where each worked. They decided to air a cassette with their compositions. At that time, they didn’t even think about the name of the group, as well as whether such creativity would be interesting to anyone. The only thing that has been done is to attach a sticker saying "This music will make you put your hands up". DJs put on a novelty during the program and announced that this composition of the young group "Hands Up". Thus, the name appeared by itself and firmly entrenched in the pop world. The very first song "Kid" was accepted by the public with incredible returns and fell in love with many. After another hit song "Student", the group began touring the cities, giving a huge number of young girls the opportunity to meet with their adored group. In 1999, the album sold an incredible 12 million copies. All the songs suited the mentality of the listeners so well that they instantly became hits. But many are still at a loss as to why the Hands Up group broke up.
In 2006, it was decided to terminate the activities of the group. A big farewell concert was planned in Moscow, but the artists failed to raise enough money to organize it. In August 2006, the Hands Up group simply ceased to exist. The reason for the collapse is not indicated by the musicians, although in various interviews they nevertheless admit that everyone in life has undergone changes that are incompatible with further activities. If you ask who is to blame for the collapse of the Hands Up group, you can get the answer: "No one."
Sergey Zhukov switched to new projects and a solo career, and Alexey Potekhin became interested in producing. It was no longer interesting to engage in the development of joint creativity. In addition, with age, young people have more and more disagreements. The guys grew up and wanted something more, especially since the audience was mostly squealing teenagers. We decided that at the age of 30 this is no longer serious. There is also an opinion that the project has simply exhausted itself. The group no longer had its former popularity due to the emergence of new young artists, with whom it became more difficult to compete.
When the Hands Up group broke up, the musicians divided the entire repertoire they had accumulated among themselves. After that, Sergei recorded two solo albums, and then began to travel around the country with the Street Jazz show ballet, which had previously collaborated with Ruki. He collects full houses and gives you the opportunity to plunge into nostalgia. Everyone knows the old hit repertoire, young and old. To date, Zhukov is one of the most touring artists. Married, has 4 children.
Sergey Zhukov, in parallel with his work, opens bars with the name of the legendary band. Business is booming, cozy places with a direct atmosphere are opening in many cities. This place is not for worshiping idols and discussing why the Hands Up group broke up. Even a ban on round-the-clock listening to Ruk hits has been introduced. People come here to feel nostalgic, have a tasty meal and meet friends, see the performances of star guests.
During one of the interviews, the musician admitted that he did not maintain relations with Sergei Zhukov. He does not like to answer the question of why the Hands Up group broke up. Alexei, together with Vladimir Luchnikov (group "Turbomoda", musician group "Hands Up"), is touring with a solo program in small towns. They attract with their sincerity and sincerity, although they do not receive large fees. He believes that the success of the songs is in their natural provinciality, in which every inhabitant of a small town recognizes himself. Alexey Potekhin devotes himself to producing new projects. Married a second time, has a daughter.
Alexey Potekhin left the duo and disappeared from the field of view of fans, colleagues and music critics. What happened to the artist?
Soloist of the group "Hands up!" Sergey Zhukov is still popular, his name is widely known. But the second member of the duet - Alexei Potekhin - became almost invisible to fans of domestic show business.
The portal site found out what the idol of the 90s looks like now, about which the girls sighed in vain.
It is possible that you do not remember Potekhin at all. If on the runway he still flashed in clips, then later he increasingly remained behind the scenes. Alyoshka was Zhukov's shadow.
In 1997, the Hands Up! released two videos for two hits: "Baby", with which the guys broke into music channels, and "Student".
Frame from the clip "Student" (1997) Actually, these are the only videos in which Potekhin can be seen ...
Then Alexei was relegated to the background. And this is taking into account the fact that even at the first he got the roles of anti-heroes: either he is a student who took the girl Seregina away, or the guy with whom the girl is having fun while Zhukov is serving in the army. In general, the images are not pleasant.
In 1998, music channels begin to broadcast a video for the song "My Baby". The composition fell in love with the Russians back in 1995, but the video was recorded only three years later. Potekhin flashes in it a couple of times: the main focus is on Zhukov.
A similar story is repeated in the music video for the song "Alyoshka". It looks more than strange. The text tells about the confrontation between Alyoshka and Seryozhka, but in fact they show only Seryozhka...
And yet we were able to catch one shot with Alyoshka. See what Potekhin was like in 2000: a natural brunette turned into a dyed blond.
Frame from the clip "Alyoshka" (2000) Alexei was not visible in the clips, at concerts he also stood behind Zhukov.
According to the already established tradition, in the video for the super hit "I'm already 18" more attention is paid to strippers than to the second member of the duet. Although you can see that Potekhin managed to become red-haired ...
Sergey Zhukov and Alexey Potekhin a year before the breakup of the group Potekhin was 30 years old when he had to start from scratch. He tried to produce artists and groups, but they did not enjoy success. Now 46-year-old Alexey has created a new duet "Raise your hands up."
The soloist is a man very similar to Sergei Zhukov ... Does it look like an attempt to return to the past?
Well, Potekhin himself no longer experiments with appearance: he remains a brunette. The physical form of the musician (especially when compared with Zhukov) is beyond praise!
In the late 1990s "Hands Up" became one of the most successful and popular pop groups. While music critics branded unpretentious songs and accused their performers of vulgarity and lack of taste, Sergey Zhukov and Alexei Potekhin gathered stadiums and forced tens of thousands of fans to dance.
In 2006, the group broke up, but Sergey Zhukov still performs solo, using the same group name. The former popularity of “Hands Up” is no longer there, but there are still a lot of young people at concerts, dancing to the well-known hits “Student”, “My Baby”, “And He Kisses You”, “Alien Lips”, etc. 
Group *Hands up* 
The leaders and founders of the group Sergey Zhukov and Alexey Potekhin met in 1993, when both worked at the Europe Plus radio station. Samara. They decided to create their own musical group, and a year later "Uncle Ray and Company" was the most popular group in Samara and Togliatti. But these scales quickly ceased to satisfy their needs, and in 1995 they moved to Moscow. Sergei Zhukov always calls this year the beginning of his musical career in interviews, since it was then that they began serious work to promote their songs. 
Group *Hands up*
At first, nothing worked - without the support of the producer, it was impossible to attract attention in the capital, and only rich women “over 50” were called to help them for certain services. They found another way: on pirated cassettes with the music of famous artists, they added three of their songs at the end. Soon, hits began to sound from all the stalls in the markets, which were remembered from the first note. Once they were heard by producer Andrei Malikov and offered cooperation to Zhukov and Potekhin. Since then, a rapid rise in their musical career began. The group was named "Hands Up" and released the first songs "Baby" and "Student", which very quickly became mega-hits.
Founders and leaders of the group *Hands up* 
Sergei Zhukov 
Founders and leaders of the group *Hands up*
Since 1997, the group has been actively touring the country, and then abroad, performing at dance music festivals. Thanks to the huge number of albums sold, the following year, Hands Up became multiple owners of silver, gold and one platinum disc. In 1999, the group became the winner of the annual award of the Russian recording industry in several categories at once: "Russian Radio Hit", "Album of the Year", "Golden Gramophone" award and "Best Love Song".
Sergey Zhukov and Alexey Potekhin 
Sergei Zhukov
However, for a long time, Zhukov and Potekhin received nothing but public recognition and love letters from girls. They lived in a rented apartment and dressed in the market. The producer took most of the profit. Then Zhukov and Potekhin decided to go on an independent voyage. They terminated their contract and became an independent band. So many people gathered at their concerts that people often pulled down barriers and maimed each other in a stampede. Popularity turned out to be the other side for them: obsessed fans sent them poisoned food and letters written in blood, several girls committed suicide, demolished chairs and stands at concerts, trampled each other. Artists could not appear on the streets, they often had to change phone numbers and hide from the persecution of female fans. In order to get out unscathed after the concert, they often had to change into the uniform of "OMON" and run out with them in helmets and masks.
Group *Hands up* 
Alexey Potekhin 
Alexey Potekhin and Sergey Zhukov
By 2001, the band members were tired of the frantic concert schedule, and from the persecution of female fans, and from each other. In the early 2000s, their popularity began to decline, although albums continued to be released with enviable regularity. The producers had a certain strategy, which for some time remained quite effective: “Within the Hands Up group, a clear fulfillment of a certain super-task was required. Every May, when school ended, we had to release an album so that people would take it with them on vacation - to the south, to the country. It was dance music that set the mood for summer. And I confess that we were experienced psychologists, we specifically thought about what topic to write lyrics on so that the song would become popular.
Concert in Moscow, October 2011
In 2005, the 13th album "Hands Up" was released. In the same year, the group broke up, but Sergei Zhukov continued to record solo songs, released the album "In Search of Tenderness" and shot several videos. Aleksey Potekhin started producing, and Sergey Zhukov is still gathering the halls on the wave of popularity of the music of the 1990s.
Alexei Evgenievich Potekhin. Born on April 15, 1972 in Novokuibyshevsk, Samara Region. Russian musician, radio host, producer. Former member of the group "Hands Up!".
The elder brother is Andrey Potekhin.
Everyone in the family loved music, which Alexey also joined from an early age.
He studied at the art school and the basketball section.
He learned to play the guitar, composed songs, and worked as a DJ at discos. At that time he was into hard rock - Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Def Leppard, Foreigner, The Cult, Metallica.
After graduating from high school, he went to study in Samara at the river technical school, from which he graduated in 1991.
He was a presenter at the Europa-Plus radio station in Samara, where he hosted the program "Nursery from Potekhin." There, on the radio in 1993, he met with.
In December 1994 they move to Togliatti, where they try to record songs in the studio. At the same time, they regularly go to Samara to listen to the broadcasts of Europe Plus radio.
In Togliatti, together with Sergei Zhukov, he created the Uncle Ray and Company group.
In May 1995 they find themselves in Moscow. They worked as DJs at the Moscow radio station "Rocks", then held a series of discos in Tbilisi.
At the end of 1995, the musicians handed over a cassette with several songs to the radio "Maximum" and signed: "This music will make you raise your hands up." The cassette fell into the hands of the presenters Olga Maksimova and Konstantin Mikhailov, who put on their show the song “Good Morning” and announced: “Young group“ Hands up! Since then, this name has stuck with the group - "Hands up!".
Then producer Andrei Malikov became interested in the group, concerts and tours began.
Group "Hands up!" recorded the song "Baby", which became popular, then the hit "Student" was released. The songs "Baby" and "Student" are knocked out in the top ten of the hit parade "Russian Radio" "Russkaya Gorka". In the spring and summer of 1997, video clips were shot for these songs. To record the female parts, a session vocalist Elizaveta Rodnyanskaya, a member of the Melissa group, was found.
In 1998, the group received six silver medals, three gold medals and one platinum disc for the huge number of copies sold. In 1999, the group became the laureate of three diplomas at once from the second annual award of the Russian recording industry.
In 1999, the album "Without Brakes" was released, which was sold in 12,000,000 copies.
Their songs “My Baby”, “I'm Sorry”, “Ai Yai Yai Girl”, “Alyoshka”, “I Thought”, “Kind, Gentle, Affectionate”, “Little Girls”, “He Kisses You”, “Go away” became hits. , "Omut".
Hands up - Ai yay yay girl
In the late 1990s, the team created its own music label "Dancing Men" ("B-Funky Productions"), which began to produce the pop groups "Turbomoda", "Boys", "Revolvers", "Shark", singer Murphy.
In 2006, the group "Hands Up!" broke up. Alexey Potekhin said about the reasons for his departure: “Everyone asks me why I left Hands Up!” I will answer you: because we all became adults, but Sergey did not think so, he was comfortable. He is comfortable now. I always wanted fame, but I didn't."
He admitted that although the whole country sang their songs, he didn’t earn much money: “The most interesting thing is that of all the two hundred and thirty songs that we wrote, everyone was interested in only the simplest ones.“ La-la-la-la, all day I I sing" - we became famous on such songs. Every girl in the country had "Hands Up!" cassettes, but this did not affect our financial situation in any way.
After the collapse of the group "Hands Up!" in 2006, Alexey Potekhin, together with his friend Vladimir Luchnikov, created a project called "Raise Hands Up". With the team, he began to tour. Released a collection of dance music Potexinstyle-3.
Alexey also started producing young performers such as Superboys, J Well (ex-member of the Discomafia group). During the period 2006-2008, 3 collections of Potexinstyle dance music were released, combining many young performers and hits from famous groups such as Demo, Turbomoda, Planka, etc.
Then Alexei took up the TREK & blues project, in which he invited the ex-vocalist of the Turbomoda group Vladimir Luchnikov and the ex-member of the Svoi group Ruslan Achkinadze. In 2007, Alessandro Materazzo, a former member of the TV show Dom-2, was invited to the TREK & blues group, who toured with them in the summer of 2008 in southern Russia.
In 2013, the artist, together with his wife, presented the new track "Summer-Winter" as part of the Russian internet television (PeoplestarTV) project.
In 2014, the Arena Moscow club hosted a presentation of his solo album entitled "I can't do otherwise."
In 2016, at a concert dedicated to the twentieth anniversary of the Hands Up! group, Potekhin and Zhukov reunited on stage again. However, their communication never resumed.
For the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Alexei Potekhin wrote a song for Buranovskiye Babushki.
Cooperates with a company engaged in the production of textile products.
The growth of Alexei Potekhin: 182 centimeters.
Personal life of Alexei Potekhin:
Was married twice.
The first wife is Irina Tomilova, a dancer in the Hands Up! group. They got married on April 13, 2002. Divorced in 2004.
The second wife is Elena Potekhina, a veterinarian by profession, but works as a stylist. They got married on September 12, 2009.
Alexey Potekhin with his wife Elena and daughter Maria
Alexey loves antique things that he collects.
Discography of Alexey Potekhin:
2011 - Scorpio Leo
2014 - I can't help it
