Discussing sustainability, future projects and NFTs with Mauricio Padilla, founder of hinter
While Mauricio is now the founder of hinter, a community centred on nature, travel, architecture, and well-being, he had a quite different background not long ago. After 12 years in the technology sector, he felt it was time to go out and do something meaningful that would have a positive influence on the environment. And now, along with his partner, Emily Padan, Mauricio has been giving everything of himself to hinter, causing the business to expand at a great pace.
He used to travel a lot for work to places like Denmark and Norway, and he was always fascinated by nature. When he visited these countries, he would spend the weekend hiking and enjoying the scenery. And that’s where he started to get more familiar with Norway’s cabin architecture in the middle of what felt like nowhere.
The more he visited the Nordics, the more he became immersed in their art, philosophy, minimalism, and how a space, a design, can change how you feel.
He has always appreciated their workmanship as well as their idea of luxury, which he believes is extremely distinct from other parts of the world. Unlike North America, where luxury is generally regarded as "the greater the better," luxury is more subtle in Europe, particularly in that region of the world.
Mauricio has been working hard to realise one of his most ambitious projects: a community with dwellings that will be climate positive at any cost. His intention is to give more than he takes.
He wants to establish a wider example, which he sees as both demanding and fascinating. However, Mauricio has already made major steps, such as the commitment to plant ten trees for every booking.
Since developers often seek to maximise profits, this significant development will be peculiar. Mauricio wants to stand out and perform better. He desires that the project be constructed so that there will be a community with a range of amenities, much like a village. Without necessarily having to interact with them all the time, he wants to restore the sense of community that so many have lost over the years. Because he also wants the community's members to feel isolated and alone in the wilderness.
hinter currently offers 3 distinctive architectural spaces that guests are welcome to rent and use as though they were their own, hinterhouse, hintercabin and finally, hinterhideout. However, with so many new initiatives planned for the upcoming years, we wanted to meet with Mauricio and learn more about his environmentally friendly business.
So let’s go back to hinter's commencement. How did this all begin?
I started hinter in 2017 as a result of a trip I took to the Nordic region, and at the same time, I also chose to purchase my first cabin. Six months later, I was considering quitting the technology sector and desperately trying to find a route out. In order to develop something similar to what I actually wanted to build, I started researching architects because I wanted to focus more on the custom side of things.
Is the initial home you purchased in 2017 still included in the hinter collection?
No, I made the decision to sell it, but I always remember it as the start of hinter.
And then what happened?
Well, a couple things happened concurrently; I met my partner, Emily, along the road, and she began visiting the house every weekend. Then, one day, she made the suggestion that I might want to consider renting the home to see how it goes, which I thought was a brilliant way to get started. At that time, Emily, who was a teacher, also desired to follow a different career path. It came at the ideal time because I needed help creating the hinter brand and community.
Since short-term rentals started to be prohibited, it was becoming harder to rent the space. As a result, I had no choice but to sell the house. If you think back, doing short-term rentals in Quebec was really difficult just two years ago since the government opposed it. But eventually, they agreed to a deal with Airbnb that has made life much simpler for everyone.
Did you background in the tech industry helped?
Yes, as I worked in the business development side of things. So, yes, I did use my experience to develop hinter as a brand rather than just a residence.
Why hinter?
hinter, in German, is called behind. The word "hinterland" in German means "land behind", like a land away from the city. hinter embodies what we're trying to achieve for me in that it's sort of hidden. In addition, because I enjoy hiking, I believe that when you do it, you are attempting to reconnect in a really humble way rather than hiding completely. It was originally called hinterhouse, but since we wanted to grow our brand, it seemed best to stick with hinter alone.
Do you believe that introducing short-term rentals to a neighbourhood might truly be advantageous, speaking of community?
Yes, without a doubt. When there are more people, a kind of ecosystem develops because more places to eat, drink coffee, and shops are developed. You produce more work and construct items that are truly beneficial to the neighbourhood. To be in harmony with our environment, we must, as I mentioned earlier, think sustainably and strike the correct balance.
Have you noticed any changes in the hospitality industry recently?
Yes, definitely. I've noticed a significant change, and it's been evolving since Airbnb's 2008–2009 period. hinter resembles a cross between what Airbnb offers and what hotels are doing.
For instance, consistency with Airbnb is challenging because there is no branding or organisation behind it; rather, it is just individuals advertising their available space. But you only start to have consistency when you actually use that notion or platform to build a brand around it.
Although I once had a strong interest in boutique hotels, I now believe that having houses is ideal because it allows for far greater space enjoyment. For example, you can enjoy a genuine moment by cooking with your family and loved ones in a rented space rather than a hotel room.
Are you combining the constancy of, say, a hotel with the home away from home that an Airbnb may provide?
Yes, I choose the best qualities from each of them. Although we are still on Airbnb, our bookings have gradually moved to our own site, which is ideal for us.
So right now you have hinterhouse, hintercabin, and hinterhideout?
Yes, precisely. hinterhideout is a 3500 square foot work of art in and of itself. A few years ago, Saucier Perrote created it. These individuals are currently working on incredible, larger-scale projects like museums. The fact that they created hinterhideout was astounding.
And I also saw something else called stealthhouse?
Oh, that one, which we designed, is lovely, but after the pandemic, we had to put everything on hold. We were designing stealthhouse in collaboration with KOTO, an architectural firm in the UK, when the pandemic occurred. However, land prices shot through the roof. I was facing significant delays because I was also creating hinterhouse at the time, and I just couldn't picture myself going through that process once more with the stealthhouse.
Instead, I made the decision to put everything on hold, and while I did so, the concept of building homes and a real community grew more and more into something I truly wanted to focus on immediately. So, while the stealthhouse will eventually happen, I believe my interest in a larger project with a true sense of community has taken over in my mind.
Even though we've been back and forth between all of your different initiatives, I can sense that hinter is a growing company. I noticed that NFTs will be joining hinter in the coming months.Can you elaborate on that for us?
The NFTs project is more of a conceptual endeavour than it is explicitly about a venue. I’m very excited about that since I like to experiment with things that might not actually exist.
It's pretty intriguing since you value innovation and the exploration of new worlds while simultaneously enjoying a close connection to nature.
Undoubtedly, I've discovered that I enjoy extremes. I believe this is also the reason I wanted to try out NFTs; to see how these two worlds might come together and genuinely demonstrate to people how well they could coexist.
The primary objective of the NFT initiative is to establish a gallery inside each home, effectively utilising our spaces to display the artwork of various artists. And by that, I mean that we're going to place one or two screens inside the homes, that were made specifically to display NFTs. Additionally, we want to encourage artists, so we've partnered with photographers that specialise in tranquil, landscape photography that complements the residences. They will then have another opportunity to monetise their work in this manner.
The beauty of the blockchain is the sense of individuality it provides for things. Today we know Web 1.0, the read-only web, Web 2.0, which is the one we currently use most frequently where we “participate”, and now Web 3.0. The issue with Web 2.0 is that photography's worth and perception are declining.
On the other hand, Web 3.0 and NFTs provide you with much more control over your art than they did before. For instance, you may have NFT royalties over your creations forever.
Additionally, by having the NFTs here at hinter, a percentage of the profits will be donated to a charitable group decided upon by the artist. In the contract, the royalties will be split between the artist and the non-profit group of the artist's choice.
In other words, a particular work of art continually contributes, which increases its worth.
You create amazing spaces and welcome guests everyday. However, I feel like you are also a role model by trying to educate people on the environment and by showing them how technology can be used in a sustainable way.
It's difficult to demonstrate the good things technology is capable of since it is so sophisticated. But as I've already said, fusing technology with reality can result in some pretty remarkable things.
I've always been interested in technology and the future. I believe hinter experiences the same thing every day. hinter is developing and expanding because we want to produce and innovate more.
I am aware of the idea of slowing down and the fleeting nature of life, though. I really feel that caring for the environment is something we are capable of doing, but sadly, we are not taught enough on this subject. I absolutely believe we can have a significant influence if we change our perspective and consider ways to be more sustainable.
With hinter, the homes, the residence project, and now the NFTs, we hope to help others recognise the value of nature and how everyone of us can play a part in preserving it. We want to believe that we are having an impact.