The Hike Station is Ibiza's cult fitness phenomenon. As the brand tops 100,000 Instagram followers and prepares to launch a collection of branded apparel, we speak to Hike Station founder Manuel Ehrensperger about passion, perseverance and the power of personal reinvention.&nbsp;&nbsp;

&lsquo;I first came to <a href="https://www.lofficielibiza.com/ibiza/wellness-in-ibiza-how-to-navigate-health-trends" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ibiza</a> when I was four years old. I was raised in Switzerland but my mother was very bohemian and part of the fashion scene, and we would take a little house in San Carlos for the summer and spend our days on the beach and in the forest. It was very simple and beautiful. As a teenager I went on to study at the L&rsquo;&Eacute;cole H&ocirc;teli&egrave;re de&nbsp;Lausanne, before embarking on a hospitality career that took me from Dakar to New York. At 25, my career pivoted to luxury fashion &ndash; I went on to hold management roles at Levi&rsquo;s and Chopard before being named Senior Vice President of Swarovski. But after 25 years in the consumer-driven world of <a href="https://www.lofficielibiza.com/ibiza/bohemian-style-boho-ibiza-fashion-free-spirited-ibiza-style" target="_blank" rel="noopener">luxury fashion</a>, while I was CEO of Spanish bridalwear powerhouse, Pronovias, I felt a dramatic soul shift. Overnight I lost the desire for material success. It was a radical decision but I walked away from the life and career I&rsquo;d spent a quarter of a century building. I spent 21 days hiking 800 kilometres of the Camino de Santiago alone, in total silence. It completely changed my perception of what it means to be alive in this world. I had a breakthrough in consciousness and a realisation that to go far in life, you must go light. Light in possessions, light in desires, light in money. This became my new philosophy.&nbsp;

When I followed a girlfriend to Ibiza that year, The Hike Station&rsquo;s story began. Quickly realising that the Ibiza of glossy travel magazines &ndash; beach bars, <a href="https://www.lofficielibiza.com/people-of-ibiza/people-of-ibiza-francisco-ferrer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nightclubs</a> and villa parties - would never satisfy my curiosity, I retreated into nature to find a side of the island I could call my own. A daily paddleboard practice allowed me to explore Ibiza&rsquo;s rugged northern coastline and hiking quickly followed. It was upon discovering the island&rsquo;s network of long-forgotten farmer&rsquo;s and fisherman&rsquo;s trails that I began to see a future for myself amongst Ibiza&rsquo;s primitive landscapes and raw natural beauty. When a guidebook &ndash; Secret Walks &ndash; led me to the far-flung wilderness of Cala Aubarca and Ibiza&rsquo;s fabled Na Coloms, I knew I had found my purpose. As hiking became a form of daily therapy, I began to share images of the places I had discovered. The reaction from friends was always the same &ndash; &lsquo;Where is this? This can&rsquo;t be Ibiza! Will you show me?&rsquo; I quickly realised that even many locals are unaware of the treasures on their doorstep. I began to take friends with me, just for the company.&nbsp; When a hiker asked me to reveal the <a href="https://www.lofficielibiza.com/ibiza/white-swimwear-to-style-now-must-have-white-swimsuits" target="_blank" rel="noopener">island</a> to him in a series of ten walks, I realised this could be a business. Shortly afterwards, I trained for the Technico Deportivo Level 1 guiding licence in Mallorca. The following year I hired my first team member and partnered with Nobu Hotel Ibiza Bay to offer guided hikes for guests. The Hike Station now employs a full team of multilingual, international guides and we work with brands like Louis Vuitton, Van Sloten Sport and <a href="https://www.lofficielibiza.com/people-of-ibiza/mia-kirn-ted-x-dalt-vila-people-of-ibiza-interview">TEDx</a>.

<h4>The Hike Station&rsquo;s motto &ndash; Hike to Get High &ndash; has become the philosophy I live by</h4>

It brings me so much joy to be able to share the natural beauty of Ibiza with hikers. For too long Ibiza has been known for clubs and drugs. It&rsquo;s time to reframe that perception and celebrate the island&rsquo;s truly greatest asset &ndash; its extraordinary nature. The Hike Station&rsquo;s motto &ndash; Hike to Get High &ndash; has become the philosophy I live by. We exist in a state of near-constant overstimulation. We need to get outside to disconnect from the chaos and to reconnect with ourselves. <a href="https://www.lofficielibiza.com/ibiza/7-reasons-ibiza-is-the-hottest-spot-for-wellbeing-in-europe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hiking</a> allows me to be completely myself and it&rsquo;s been an extraordinary journey of self-discovery. People are afraid of change, but they must learn to reframe that perception. We are all the source of our own joy, the architects of our own future. If we can just step past the fear of the unknown, there is a whole other world waiting.&rsquo;

People of Ibiza: Manuel Ehrensperger

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