{"id":421,"date":"2026-08-18T10:56:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T08:56:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/martinmichaeli.com\/?page_id=421"},"modified":"2026-08-18T13:18:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T11:18:33","slug":"hoefner-volksblatt-2026-07-03","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/martinmichaeli.com\/en\/hoefner-volksblatt-2026-07-03\/","title":{"rendered":"Martin Michaeli and the happiness you create for yourself"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The man who has shaped the world of footwear with his company, Mephisto, lives in Hurden. Having started small, the company now sells shoes in just under 90 countries. Today, founder Martin Michaeli talks about his life. Tomorrow he turns 90.<\/p>\nText and photos: Michael Wassner

Published in “H\u00f6fner Volksblatt Switzerland” – July 3, 2026<\/strong><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Martin Michaeli, his suitcase and two shoe designs for the future.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Martin Michaeli loves talking about shoes. Especially about where they have taken him. It\u2019s been a long journey. A brief stop in Hurden for a chat about the journey, fashion and life. Tomorrow, the man whose life has largely revolved around shoes will be celebrating his 90th birthday. His wish? \u201cThat we all meet again in ten years\u2019 time, for my 100th. I\u2019m still going strong for my age.\u201d The secret to staying young? He\u2019s not giving it away. Just this much: \u201cI\u2019m content; I have a wonderful wife, lovely children and six grandchildren.\u201d And then there\u2019s the joy of work. Michaeli gets up at 5 o\u2019clock every day \u2013 otherwise he runs out of time. Slowing down? Not a chance. \u201cI don\u2019t do this because I have to, but because I enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The American Dream<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michaeli, born in Saarbr\u00fccken in 1936, trained as a footwear engineer at the footwear college in Pirmasens, which was a highly sought-after institution at the time. The fact that he ended up in this industry at all was down to his father, who ran several shoe shops. \u201cAnd I was a child of the war. We sat in the air-raid shelter instead of at school. After the war, there was no longer any desire to take my A-levels. So I decided to train as a footwear engineer.\u201d And to head for the USA, too. The American Dream? \u201cSomething like that. It was a thing: someone would emigrate to America and come back a rich man.\u201d In the harsh post-war years, the US was for Michaeli what it was for many: a promise. At 21, he packed his suitcase and set sail across the pond. His hopes and dreams were high, his language skills limited. He still has that suitcase today. It stands in front of the table on the terrace in Hurden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He had no relatives in the USA, no acquaintances; no one was waiting for him. The young shoe engineer worked in various factories, rising from unskilled labourer to plant manager, before eventually returning to Alsace one day. There, he founded his company, Mephisto. It became the largest shoe factory in France. It exported to 80 countries; today, that figure stands at 90.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2018I\u2019m happy; I have a wonderful wife, lovely children and six grandchildren.\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ideas fill niches<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Success always requires new ideas. An example? \u201cTwenty-five years ago, I asked myself: What\u2019s missing from the market? A shoe that\u2019s a cross between an Adidas sports shoe and a street shoe.\u201d The shoe agents weren\u2019t particularly impressed by his designs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without further ado, the entrepreneur spent the night designing the Mephisto display for the sports exhibition. \u201cWe had the most beautiful stand.\u201d And lo and behold: not only was the model presented to great effect, but it also went on to become the greatest success in the history of sports footwear. Those who had initially been doubtful snapped up the goods from Michaeli. The sceptics were silenced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If there\u2019s a niche, you have to recognise it. Such niches still exist today, says Michaeli, who has decided to take another in-depth look at the business. He has no other hobbies that might be neglected. \u201cShoes have always been my main interest.\u201d That said, every now and then he heads to his house in Tenerife \u2013 to play golf and enjoy a holiday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are two new shoe designs on the table in Hurden. A very soft, multi-layered compound and special shock absorbers ensure they\u2019re comfortable to wear. \u201cIt\u2019s like walking on butter. These are already proving to be bestsellers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Green House<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Martin Michaeli has lived in Germany, France, the USA and Switzerland. He feels at home wherever he is. He owns a property on Lake Zurich in the canton of Zurich and another in Hurden. He has been living in the Freienbach district for ten years. It took quite a while to find this house. The previous owner had painted it red. Now it\u2019s green. \u201cI couldn\u2019t live in a red house.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 89-year-old is happy in Hurden. The property includes a swimming pool, a pond, a jetty and a boat. \u201cMy wife loves going out onto the lake in it,\u201d he says. But it hasn\u2019t always looked so lovely there. Michaeli points to the garden. \u201cEverything here used to be bare \u2013 no saplings, the boathouse had collapsed, no roses. I\u2019ve done a lot of work, including inside.\u201d He\u2019d spotted the potential straight away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The neighbourhood has hardly changed over the last decade. \u201cIt was all there before. Only one house opposite was newly built.\u201d Everyone knows each other. \u201cOnce a year, everyone gets together to eat and drink.\u201d A neighbourhood party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Martin Michaeli in his garden: a friend of the arts.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The thing about happiness<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2000, Michaeli was awarded France\u2019s highest honour, the \u2018Chevalier de la L\u00e9gion d\u2019Honneur\u2019 (\u2018Knight of the Legion of Honour\u2019). \u2018I didn\u2019t receive it because Jacques Chirac liked my face, but because I had created so many jobs.\u2019 On top of that, he was named France\u2019s Entrepreneur of the Year in 1999. \u2018I was chosen from among 11,000 self-employed business owners.\u2019 One can certainly be proud of such honours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, alongside hard work, diligence and skill, so many successes require one thing above all else: luck. \u201cYou have to be lucky. But you also create your own luck through the way you behave. If I go through life grumbling, I won\u2019t win people over. And then I won\u2019t have any luck either.\u201d It\u2019s as simple as that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2018Shoes have always been my main interest.\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Wine, work and the 100 years<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michaeli has always celebrated his birthday. Tomorrow, then, will be his 90th. First, there\u2019ll be a drinks reception in Hurden, followed by a gathering in the Knights\u2019 Hall at Rapperswil Castle. It\u2019s a venue that holds special significance for the birthday boy. That\u2019s where he had actually planned to marry his wife, Andrea, ten years ago. However, the castle was undergoing refurbishment and renovation work at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, on 5 July, the first day of the next ten years. Michaeli has plenty planned for that period. In October, he\u2019s likely to be heading to Bordeaux \u2013 a combination of wine tasting and a journey down memory lane. \u201cAs a young man, I lived not far from the city for six months.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A plan for the next decade: work. \u201c80 per cent of the developments, product names and so on still spring from my own imagination,\u201d Michaeli emphasises with a laugh. Enjoying his work keeps him young. \u201cI thrive on it.\u201d And that\u2019s despite the fact that the footwear business has certainly not got any easier in recent years. Michaeli is convinced that he\u2019ll make it to his 100th birthday. He\u2019s got good genes. His uncle lived to be 104.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a long journey, and it\u2019s still going on. The shoes were a good fit, and they\u2019ll continue to be so in future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author: Michael Wassner<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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MARTIN MICHAELI – A success story<\/a><\/h1><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u00a9 Copyright 2026 Martin Michaeli | Alle Rechte vorbehalten<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The man who has shaped the world of footwear with his company, Mephisto, lives in Hurden. Having started small, the company now sells shoes in just under 90 countries. Today, founder Martin Michaeli talks about his life. Tomorrow he turns 90. 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