Antonio has done a thousand things. He did the Camino de Santiago on his bicycle twenty years ago. Eight hundred kilometers in fourteen days. Then the Alps, Geneva to Milan, two weeks through mountains with a tent and tomato paste because he was in university with no money. Then he rode to the northern point of Europe and back down to Tarifa, the southern point, across fourteen countries. At some point his knee gave out. He had one thousand euros left. He tried Everest base camps but decided climbing wasn't for him. He's a hiker, not a climber. Now every year he does one big trip... the Loire River, six hundred kilometers by bicycle, new mountains, but knowing his limits.
Then he got a motorbike. Then he discovered paddle. He explores because exploration is what gives him energy. But for most of his life, he was doing it all for himself. For his ego. Then in his mid-thirties he had some depression, some bad moments. His ex-partner left. COVID locked him down and he couldn't explore or teach. He started reading. Ikigai. Japanese concept. What are you doing for others? What is your contribution?
From solo adventures to teaching
Antonio was an engineer in telecommunications. Good money. He realized it wasn't him. He shifted to programming so he could work, save money quickly, then take years off to travel. But six years ago he thought deeper. He decided to change his life. Instead of making lots of money, he wanted to work in something that was his passion. Less money. More fulfillment. He created a mountain group in a technological company. No money, no formal structure. Just come with me. For three years he ran trips while learning how to lead. You can do something good for yourself that's not good for others. You learn what people need. When to stop. After four years he started a business as a mountain guide. The goal was to teach people, to show them his knowledge, to open their minds to what's possible. Some friends took a year off and traveled the world because of him.
A base camp, finally
He's now in his early forties and bought land in the mountains above Malaga. He wanted to live where his friends and family are. He's been to over eighty countries. Before he thought having a house was like being in jail. Now it's the right moment. He keeps taking trips, one or two months at a time, mixing hiking and motorbike and exploration. But he has a base camp. He has people around him. The shift from doing everything for himself to inviting others on the journey... that's what changed everything.
