Building Madeira’s Future
A home for locals and internationals
The presence of digital nomads and remote workers on the island allows for the sharing of new knowledge, skills and opportunities between locals and internationals.
This will allow Madeira to become a serious tech and entrepreneurial hub in the future.
We’re here to make it happen!
MADEIRA FRIENDS
Where community, tech, fun and giving-back come together
We represent Madeira’s International Community since 2020. We started with burpees after the pandemic but quickly found a higher purpose for ourselves. Before we knew it, we started to build a vibrant ecosystem that will one day drive Madeira’s economic and social future. Utopia? We don’t think so.
We’re digital nomads, remote workers, expats and locals. We believe in a Madeira for all, an island where locals and internationals have access to the same opportunities, work together, do good together and appreciate each other.
The world is changing, and so is our island. Technology and remote work allow for the impossible today. It’s time for Madeira to shine beyond tourism and we’re here to do our part!
Over the last 5+ years, we’ve had tremendous impact on the island and on many people’s lives. But we’re just getting started. Get involved and see you in paradise!
Our story
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It all begins with an idea. Well, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into, we just wanted to do some burpees after the pandemic, get people together and stay healthy. We called ourselves Madeira Fitness Friends.
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We did our first saturday workout in December 2020, we were only 5 people. We then realized that many digital nomads and remote workers were joining us from everywhere around the world. The local government, Startup Madeira and Gonçalo Hall had just kicked off the Ponta do Sol nomad village project and we got involved too.
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We heard about a local animal association struggling to pay some vet bills and decided to challenge the community: how many burpees can we do in 5 minutes and how much money can we raise to help them? Very quickly we collected enough funds to pay off their debt and this made us realize, this is not about burpees, we can do so much more!
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We just couldn’t stop thinking about all this. Where do we fit on this island? What’s our purpose in all this? So many internationals that don’t look like the typical old tourists. What’s going on here? We decided to give it a try and turn our hobby into a big thing. We went from Madeira Fitness Friends to Madeira Friends and our founders quit their job to try and make it happen!
Madeira Friends team
Luis, co-founder
Ex-SurveyMonkey, 12+ years experience in the tech world, he’s a man on a mission.
Lily, Community & Concierge Manager
Also known as Marelin’s sister. Community management, concierge, special projects, and doing everything with a smile? That’s Lily.
Marelin, co-founder
The most hardworking and caring woman in the world. A true giver.
Eli, Coliving and Community Manager
Eli made use notion. Our community manager, responsible for workshops and events. She’s also in charge of Madeira Remote Coliving.
Victor, videographer
Victor is our video guy and is usually behind the camera, see picture above. He’ll shoot you but he won’t kill you, don’t worry.
Michel, videographer
Pushing the boundaries on our content making and helping us get Madeira Production to the next level. Started making videos at 13, a little big genius.
Daniel, All things tech
Digital Strategist & Community Tech Builder - Known as a jack-of-all-trades, he brings a solid foundation in entrepreneurship and technology to the team. He supports all things digital. From development to internal tools. He’s the force building the community platform. With a passion for purposeful innovation, Daniel connects people, processes, and technology to create a thriving community.
Interns
Rugile
TBD
Our Board
Sebastian, board member
With the ambition of generating more revenue streams to fund our vision, Madeira Friends is evolving into a startup-like non-profit.
To strengthen our leadership, we have established an advisory board, with Sebastian as the first to join as both as advisor and social investor.
Sebastian brings decades of experience in building businesses from the ground up and is a co-founder of Huuuge, one of the largest mobile gaming companies in Europe.
READ OUR MANIFESTO.
(coming soon)