The Founder
Manuel Ehrensperger
Born in Switzerland, Manuel has been visiting Ibiza since in early childhood. The family stayed in the north, close to San Carlos, where days were spent on the beach, in the heart of nature and in the orbit of his mother’s bohemian fashion crowd. It was an era that sowed the seeds of life spent caught between fashion and nature.
As a teenager, Manu trained as a chef then went on to study at the prestigious L’École Hôtelière de Lausanne, before embarking on a hospitality career that would take him from Dakar to New York. It was during his years in Africa that Manu’s passion for humanity was nurtured, as he immersed himself deep in the cross-cultural community of Senegal.
Nothing is forever except change
At 25, Manu’s career pivoted to luxury fashion – he would go on to hold management roles at both Levi’s and Chopard before being named Senior Vice President of centenary jewellery brand, Swarovski.
After 25 years in the consumer-driven world of luxury fashion, during his tenure as CEO of Spanish bridalwear powerhouse, Pronovias, Manu felt himself undergo a soul shift. His ambition fading, his hunger for material success waning and his prestigious memberships of the world’s most exclusive clubs suddenly worthless, Manu chose to walk away from the life and career he’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.’
To go far you must go light
When Manuel visited Ibiza later that year, The Hike Station’s story began. Manu’s motto – Hike to Get High – has become the philosophy he lives 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,’ he says.
Since entering the transformational third chapter of his life, Manu’s extraordinary journey of self-discovery and mid-life evolution has led him to become a motivational speaker, addressing the same industries he once spearheaded and advocating for a return to our most connected selves. ‘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.’
