Imagine being able to see the mountains from your home, or just pop over to the slopes when you fancy an afternoon ski? Well, for Swiss travel influencer Patricia Steinmann, or ‘pastbritt‘ as she’s more commonly known as on Instagram, this is her reality. A skier, snowboarder, influencer and avid traveller, the Swiss dame is proof that you really can do it all. In an interview with SkiLuxe magazine, Patricia tells all, and to say that her life is unique, is an understatement.

Patricia is as familiar with skiing as most people are with walking. Growing up in a small town in Switzerland, she has been skiing since the age of three, with the ability to hit the slopes available to her constantly, due to her home being situated next to various ski resorts. Patricia tells us she has lived and worked in various places throughout Switzerland, but after marrying her husband 15 years ago, they returned to the town she grew up in, and built their house.

The Swiss travel influencer reveals that she is living every ski-lovers dream by telling me, “we literally live in the middle of several ski areas in the southeast of Switzerland, and the nearest ski area is only a five-minute drive away.” Patricia also discloses that she can see the slopes from her house, highlighting the close proximity between her and the resorts which surrounds where she lives, allowing her, in the winter season, to go skiing two or three times a week.

Patricia tells me that around 15 other ski resorts in Switzerland including St. Moritz, and in nearby Austria and the Principality of Liechtenstein, are also less than an hour’s drive away – truly a spectacle for ski fanatics. A country which is full of stunning natural beauty, Patricia denotes that she loves living in Switzerland, not only because in winter you can go skiing spontaneously, but in the summer, there are numerous lakes for swimming, and the surrounding mountains are fantastic hiking and mountain biking areas. Sounds idyllic to those who enjoy a multitude of landscapes in all seasons.

As a travel influencer, Patricia boasts over 56,000 followers, taking photos alongside Switzerland’s outstanding natural beauty, as well as documenting her many travels elsewhere in the world. Patricia remarks how, when she started Instagram back in 2014, the term ‘influencer’ or ‘travel influencer,’ didn’t exist. She tells me, “Since I love taking pictures, it was a way to release my pictures during or after a holiday and add text and location information. When I realised that my photos were popular and my account started to grow, I suddenly received requests from hotels and companies who wanted to work with me.”

She continues, explaining how her followers allowed her to pursue her job as a travel influencer: “It was only when my followers encouraged me to post more pictures of myself that I started to. It took some effort on my part, because I don’t really like to see myself in photos. It was my followers who inspired me to work as a travel influencer. Thanks to them, I have largely overcome my camera shyness.”

Patricia describes Instagram as a, “huge photo album to which I can also contribute to,” and reveals how an image is more than just a picture, by stating how she appreciates that she can look at high quality pictures and read the stories behind them. Patricia states, “Instagram is a portal to the world and to people,” taking an inspiring and insightful view on the platform, particularly due to the pandemic which has seen social media become one of the few ways to communicate with others. Instagram, Patricia tells me, has allowed her to meet, in person, lots of great people. She also says Instagram also, “allows me to inspire others with my hobbies of travel, photography and fashion.”

Speaking on brands and partnerships she works with, Patricia discusses her long-term partnership with Swiss fashion label Tally Weijl. With over a million followers on Instagram, this brand has a large market-base. Patricia enlightens me on her experience working with them, saying, “At over 40, I’m not a typical Tally Weijl customer. That’s especially fun as fashion is individual and not age-dependent.”

Patricia also works with other brands, including an outdoor brand, ‘Merrell’, and also with Swiss Hotel Influencers. She tells me that due to the pandemic, she has been holidaying within Switzerland much more often, so she has been able to combine working with the Swiss Hotel Influencers much more easily.

Patricia’s platform has been so widely recognised, that she has been nominated for the Swiss Influencer Award 2021. Whilst the award is not handed out until the end of the year, Patricia tells me, “It’s a huge honour for me and shows me that I’m being noticed in the world of social media. Just being nominated makes me incredibly happy!” With her fantastic visual content and detailed backstories behind her photos, it is hard to believe Patricia won’t be a high contender of winning this award.

It is clear that Patricia has a honed passion for skiing, having started from such a young age and living in an environment which allows her to ski whenever she chooses – although, she tells me she prefers snowboarding now. It is unsurprising that her favourite places to ski are in Switzerland, therefore, which she reveals are the Pizol are and also the Films/Laax area.

Patricia elaborates on her favourite skiing memory, which is when she was skiing on the Matterhorn – a notorious mountain peak in Zermatt. She tells me, “The temperature was minus 30 degrees despite the sun, but the slope was perfect and there were few other skiers because of the cold. A unique experience!” One can only dream of such a sublime experience on the slopes.

Her earliest memory, as a Swiss child who started skiing at an incredibly young age, is the hot chocolate they always had after a long day of skiing. Patricia notes how – to her – the best thing about skiing is getting family and friends together to do something they all love in the fresh air.

Not only does Patricia work as a travel influencer, but she also works part time as a primary school teacher, as well as running a home with her husband and their two children. In the evenings is when she finds the time for social media. As a teacher, this allows for lots of holidays, which she says is ideal for travelling and working as an influencer. She tells me, “the best ideas always come to me just before I go to sleep.”

Patricia reveals she was born with a love of travel, setting her in good stead for her career as a travel influencer, disclosing, “there is still so much I want to discover,” letting on that she loves to emerge herself in the local cultures of new countries. Patricia’s most cherished travel memory is a two-month trip around New Zealand which she took with her family. Her worst? A trip through Mexico and a room full of 35 spiders.

Whether it is skiing on the Matterhorn in Zermatt, or cruising across the Italian coast, Patricia is truly no stranger to the desire to travel, which resonates in so many of us. In one of her recent Instagram posts, Patricia captions it: “To travel, to experience and learn: That is to live.” Now that, is something we should all live by.