Our Story

Dear friends, 

Welcome to our blog! 

During these wild times, our need for sharing our world and connecting with you became even bigger. Not sure if the idea of having a blog is outdated but we’ll be using this space to bring you inspiring content & stories from the realms of wellness, movement, and island life. 

Feel free to send your ideas over any topics or articles you’d like to see up here. 

Of course, there’s no other story for this blog to start with than Our Story!

Before Fykiada

We are Anna & Eranthi and until 2016 we completely ignored each other’s existence. Anna was 30 years old, trying to make sense of her adult life. She had just left London after 6 years, and returned to Athens to start her own retreat business during the deep financial crisis (“Am I crazy?”). Eranthi was 23 years old trying to make sense of her early adult life. She had just finished her internship at Hilton hotel and was considering taking a master’s in hospitality in the US but she was missing the exciting factor (“Is this really me? Wearing a suit & makeup and sorting out the mess of VIPs from a front desk?”). 

How A & E Met

It was towards the end of a volunteer’s event where they were both working when they first noticed each other. Anna was sitting at a long meetings’ table, surrounded by super clever but super young 20-somethings and wondering (“What am I doing here?”) when a tall girl with a long ponytail and clean eyes entered the room and sat next to her. The girl’s natural beauty caught Anna’s attention but then she wasn’t into the small talk (“I don’t think we have much to discuss anyway and something in that ponytail says she’s too polished”). Towards the end of the night, the girl started talking to Anna and some magic chemistry sparked between them. Around midnight, the tall girl was already on board to join Anna in Kythnos on a retreat she had organized ‘just for fun’. That girl was Eranthi.

The First Summer

They both believed that it was words exchanged on a whim until the day comes when Eranthi texts Anna (“Are we still going to Kythnos?”) (“Oh, yes sure, a group of 10 Londoners arrives in a week and the team has started the preps”) (Team = Anna’s mum, dad, grandma & grandpa). The majority of the retreat passed with Anna & Eranthi running around the villa like crazy bees preparing meals, washing dishes, buying groceries, fixing stuck doors & the sink, and sleeping together in a double bed although they barely knew each other. By the end of the retreat, they had done approximately two downward dogs, but somehow they had managed to keep the guests super happy. The team spirit had worked!

Fykiada Is Born

After having spent a week of being 24/7 together it felt like they knew each other for ages. They hosted a couple more retreats that summer and when they went back to Athens they knew it was time to think about the future. (“Is this what we want? Is it a job or a hobby? Is she too young for business? Is she too old to be stuck with?”)

Oh well, one thing was certain: they both loved the Greek islands and pistachio ice-cream which seemed enough to start a business together.

Within two years they added another two island destinations (Mykonos and Koufonisia), a series of well-known teachers trusted them and a Fykiada tribe of returning guests started to grow. In due course, they managed to make a living (or kind of) out of their retreats, and most importantly, they realised that they also had some other things in common such as genuine love for their guests, similar aesthetics to the point of choosing the same line weight between 4 different font lines, and the drive to create a unique experience.

Now

It’s been more than 4 years since A & E started working together. Despite the challenges that every new small (Greek!) business is facing, along with the growing competition and their individual life changes, they’ve managed to grow their business to the point where they are both content and financially independent. Their strong bond made them not just business partners but also very good friends. That means, that when life gives them lemons (ie. a pandemic) they have the tools and the mindset to keep their island spirit alive and kicking!

Our apologies for the long text but this story needed to be told in one breath! 

Thank you for stopping by! 

Love

A & E

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