Stine — from winter Olympics to sustainability and Metsa

“There’s a moment in every story where something that sounds strongly irrational starts to make perfect sense.”

For Stine Lise Hattestad Bratsberg, that moment began with a regular catch-up call. On the other end was Kaidi Ruusalepp, talking about building nature hotels. The immediate reaction was honest and instinctive—“are you crazy?”—the kind of response that usually protects you from unnecessary risk. And yet, within a year, that same idea had turned into something entirely different. Not just reasonable, but necessary.

Stine’s life has never followed a linear path. Long before sustainability became a boardroom keyword, before advisory roles and company building across the Nordics and beyond, she stood at the very top of her sport. Winning Olympic gold at the 1994 Winter Olympics is not just a line on a CV. It is a lived experience of pressure, discipline, and performance when everything depends on a single run. That kind of experience rewires how you approach everything that comes after. It builds a mindset that does not get distracted by noise.

That same mindset now quietly shapes how she builds companies.

Built on values, not trends

Stine has spent more than two decades working across business and sustainability—long before it became a corporate checkbox. She has founded companies, advised organisations across the Nordics and globally, and pushed one consistent idea: sustainability must be part of the core, not the marketing layer.

Her work has always been grounded in something practical—how do you actually change behaviour, systems, and outcomes? That’s exactly what drew her into Metsa.

“Are you crazy?” — and then "Yes!"

Her journey to Metsa Collection didn’t start with a polished strategy deck. It started with a phone call. 

“It’s Kaidi. We met 7–8 years ago in Tallinn and stayed in touch. About a year ago she called me and said she wants to build hotels. I said: Are you crazy?! Fast-forward a year and here we are.”

What changed?

Clarity.

The opportunity wasn’t just about hotels. It was about fixing something broken in how people discover and experience travel.

“It’s a values-based cooperation. All Metsa founders love nature and an active lifestyle. In every successful business and partnership, shared values are a must.”

That’s the part most people underestimate. Strategy can be adjusted, values can’t.

Why Metsa — and why now

The idea behind Metsa Collection and metsa.ai is simple but deceptively powerful: “We will connect active travellers with the best nature hotels in the world in a seamless way.”

But underneath that simplicity sits a much bigger shift. Travel today is fragmented. You search by location, scroll endlessly, and hope you land somewhere good. Metsa flips that logic. Start with the experience you want, like skiing, hiking, sailing or love for great food after a long day outdoors. Then find the place.

“The demand for a curated and trusted platform—where high-quality gastronomy, nature, and outdoor activities come together—is clearly growing.”

And there’s another layer most platforms ignore.

“Spending time in nature, being active, and eating well improves both physical and mental health. And when people spend more time in nature, they start to care more about it. That’s something our planet needs.”

That’s impact investing thinking applied to travel—practical, measurable, and grounded in behaviour change.

The real impact: longer stays, deeper value

Metsa isn’t trying to optimise for clicks. It’s optimising for better outcomes.

“We aim to encourage longer stays. That creates disproportionate benefits—deeper experiences and health gains for guests, stronger economics for hotels, and more income for local communities.”

This is where Stine’s background shows up clearly. Elite sport teaches you to think in systems like effort → performance; environment → outcome; consistency → results. Metsa applies the same logic to travel.

Nature as a non-negotiable

For Stine, this isn’t branding. It’s personal. “I try to spend time in nature every weekend—skiing or sailing. We live by the sea and have a cabin in the mountains.”

Her family life reflects the same philosophy—hiking, skiing, climbing, sailing. Not occasionally, but as a way of life. “Nature is a constant source of energy for me. It’s fresh air, movement, and adapting to conditions—sun, wind, or storm.”

And importantly: “You don’t need dramatic landscapes. A short run or even a walk can be enough.”

The mindset behind it all

What makes this story interesting isn’t the Olympic gold. It’s what came after. High performers often struggle outside their domain. Stine didn’t. She translated discipline to business execution, resilience to long-term thinking and performance to impact

“In nature, I feel grounded and clear. I think better, function better, feel stronger.”

That clarity is what Metsa is being built on. Not trends, not hype, not mass tourism. Just a very simple belief: “People live better when they move, spend time in nature, and eat well.

And if you make that easier—at scale—you don’t just build a company. You shift behaviour.