Stefan Engström

There’s a fairy-tale feel to this story. Once upon a time, on the outskirts of Stockholm, a boy hopped on his skis and hurtled down the neighbouring hills. Stefan Engström wasn’t even ten yet. Commonplace? Maybe today, but not at the time. Stenmark hadn’t come along yet, and very few people skied back then in Sweden.

Way west, close to the Norwegian border, Sälen was just a few streets dotted with purple lupins in summer and snowdrifts in winter. It is in this discreet resort, made famous by the Vasaloppet cross-country ski race, that Stefan really made his first marks. Then, at age 15, a summer camp took him north of the Arctic Circle to meet his future. For him, skiing was to be moguls, freestyle, and parties in between every landing.

The energy of the seventies propelled him into the national team and towards several World Cup podiums — and even two victories. His ego was satisfied. But what next? Stefan’s unbridled enthusiasm led him to SOS, the sportswear brand that sponsored the Swedish freestyle team. At just 23, it wasn’t about playing CEO, sitting in a fat chair and smoking cigars, but doing everything at once — “a crash course in learning.”

The Peak Performance adventure
In 1986, then age 26, Stefan Engström decided to go his own way. In Åre, with his mates Peter Blom and curler Christer Mårtensson, he started his own business: first a clothing and ski equipment shop, then quickly their own line of sportswear. Quality, functionality, Scandinavian design — the three pillars of Peak Performance were planted. The brand was the first in the country to use Gore-Tex. Sales doubled every year, forcing the trio to come up with every kind of solution — from finding a factory in Portugal to avoiding cash-flow problems. A decade later, the brand was sold. Two decades later, Stefan Engström set sail, having made his fortune. But the man couldn’t stay put for long… The following year, he was propelled to the head of J.Lindeberg, a Swedish sports and fashion clothing line that was struggling to keep up with success.

Restructuring, reorganisation, and the addition of a new ski collection brought J.Lindeberg back on track, tripling its sales. Always eager to explore new business ideas and trends, Stefan still had one foot in the door when he hurtled down yet another new path, launching another company — this one based on a direct online sales model: Stellar Equipment. The catalogue featured all the technical equipment for skiing, hiking, and climbing, designed from innovative, high-quality materials.

The Mountain Studio: the made in Zermatt brand
Although never one to take it easy — whether in life or on the slopes — at the dawn of the new millennium, Stefan finally eased back a little. He spent time in Verbier, then in Zermatt, ‘for its very long skiing season’… The entrepreneur decided to settle down here, built a house at the edge of the slopes, hit the runs almost every morning as soon as the lifts opened, and embraced the alpine resort lifestyle Zermatt is famed for.

Resting, Stefan? Not for long. Skiing down the Klein Matterhorn or dining around Zermatt’s best restaurants, bonds were naturally formed. Between two schuss runs, Marcel Hirscher, the 2018 double Olympic champion (in giant slalom and combined), came aboard the Swede’s circle of friends. A perfectionist, hailed as the best alpine skier in history, with a total of 67 World Cup race wins, Hirscher was considering his next big move after his recent retirement. Should he go for his own brand of skis (he has: now Van Deer)? Or embark on Stefan’s latest idea? So he did. Both.

The two had much to share: a love of skiing, the mountains, and good equipment. So why not launch a new brand? No sooner said than done. A company was set up as equal partners, investors followed, and a versatile collection was designed and personally tested in Zermatt and Engelberg. Hence, The Mountain Studio was born. ‘A small range of purpose-built, carefully curated garments for advanced skiing, outdoor activities, and mountain living — including hiking, biking, training, and everyday wear. High-quality, stylish products, designed in Switzerland and produced with environmental considerations in mind,’ explains Stefan Engström. The spirit? ‘Buy less, use more.’

‘Our main customers are primarily avid sports enthusiasts, but they also care about their appearance,’ explains the Swede. ‘Our icon products? Our Gore-Tex Z-2 jacket and our reversible double-duty down jackets — one side for the resort, the other for the city. We have also developed Alp-3, our own stretch fabric for ski jackets.’ On the team: nothing but snow sports professionals, including a few local big names.

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