Behind the brand: Roman Högerle, PR & Content Manager for Germany

It takes many people to bring a MERIDA bike from an idea to a real, rideable product, but while all our jobs are very different, we are all united by our love for bikes and riding. In this series, we want to introduce a few of the people who work behind the scenes in order to keep MERIDA working - and this time it is the turn of Roman Högerle, the PR & Content Manager for Germany.

It’s his job to work with the press in Germany, co-ordinating tests and other activities so that journalists get bikes to review along with all the information they need. He also looks after communications to the media and beyond, whether that's through social media, our website or the many other ways we use to keep everyone up-to-date with what we’re doing.

When he’s not ensuring everyone is fully up to date with all things MERIDA, Roman likes to escape to the countryside, saying: “I like to travel on less frequented routes, paths or trails. The fewer cars the better! Preferably in extensive wooded areas that I can reach directly from the front door and I might spot a rare bird or two. The Schönbuch Nature Park, the Swabian Alb, the Black Forest, the Lautertal or the Allgäu are places that therefore fascinate me time and again.”

It's for this reason that he picks his endurance road or gravel bike most often, because: “…they give me the flexibility to ride on almost any surface and also to spontaneously ‘follow my nose’.”

Spontaneity is also something he enjoys in his work, with his role throwing up many different challenges in lots of areas. As he says: "No two days look the same. In addition, I have turned my hobby into my profession: it doesn't get much better than that.”

It’s this love of an escape to the wild that means his SCULTURA ENDURANCE has a very specific setup, designed to make it suitable for long-distance riding. Most obvious is the stylish custom frame bag from fo.goods, a young and sustainable brand based in Stuttgart, which gives plenty of space to carry kit without having to stuff jersey pockets to the maximum. That’s backed up with a pair of Fidlock water bottles, meaning long stops between top-ups, plus an Everve saddle and Wahoo Bolt GPS mounted on a tough K-Edge mount keep things comfortable and rides on track respectively.

Roman has used this setup on one of his favourite ever rides, a four-day bikepacking trip in Brandenburg with friends: “It was an impressive and exciting experience and the first time I saw a white-tailed eagle in the wild. When you explore new regions, you really come into your own and rediscover how little you need to be happy.”

While he has done plenty of exploring, he’s always looking for the next trip. His wish list includes acrossing of the Vosges from north to south, a "Tour of Bavaria", a detour to the Dolomites and an exploration of the Ruhr region but, as he says: “the more I think about it, the more, much more I can find.”

You can keep up to date wth Roman’s adventures by following him on Instagram here.