There are people who refuse to watch the world from the sidelines. They are not tour guides. They are not influencers. They are ordinary people who made extraordinary choices.
They stopped waiting for the right moment and just left. They faced their fears, crossed deserts, met strangers and then decided to do it all over again, bringing others along with them. In this series, WeRoad Group Leaders share how travel can change you, and why doing it together with others can make all the difference.
This is Lorenzo’s story.
From bank clerk to Group Leader: when a graduation trip becomes a way of life
It was a graduation gift. Fourteen days in Peru, chosen almost at random. Lorenzo came back head over heels, not with a place, but with something he could not quite put into words yet. He applied to become a WeRoad Group Leader almost immediately, still riding the wave of that trip.
Two years later, he quit his job at the bank.
Today he travels the world, has watched the sky turn green above an Icelandic glacier, and has walked for ten days to reach Everest Base Camp. And when he is not on the road, he writes.
So what drives a banker to pick up a backpack and lead a group of strangers across the world? We asked him.
IDENTIKIT
- Content Creator and Travel Writer
- Italy
- 4 years as WeRoad Group Leader
How did you become a WeRoad Group Leader?
For my master’s graduation, my grandparents decided to give me a trip: I went for it and chose Peru. What was supposed to be a fourteen-day journey became my life and my greatest passion. When I came back, completely in love with everything I had felt on that trip, I applied to become a WeRoad Group Leader, dreaming of exploring the world and sharing experiences with people from all over Italy. A few months later I joined the WeRoad Group Leaders. Two years after that, I decided to leave the bank to keep that journey going, turning my passion into my life.
Is there a moment from a trip that you still see when you close your eyes?
There are so many, it is hard to choose. But two stand out above the rest.
The first time I saw the northern lights with my group: one of the most beautiful and magical experiences of my life. Watching the sky turn completely green was one of the most extraordinary things that has ever happened to me, and knowing I was living out a dream I had carried for years made it even more so.
The other is arriving at Everest Base Camp in Nepal. The moment we reached the tents at the base camp is one I will never forget. Standing at 5,400 metres and looking up at Everest is something you cannot put into words, especially after ten days of trekking and pushing through exhaustion.
What really changes when you travel with people you don’t know?
What really changes is the freedom to be yourself. You do not feel judged, and you do not feel the need to put on a mask. In fact, the only rule is the opposite: be exactly who you are. That opens you up in a real and honest way, and it lets you get to know people for who they truly are and what they genuinely have to give.
Laughter, jokes and late-night conversations become the foundation of those carefree days. You live a journey within the journey, discovering places and people who are walking the same path as you.
What does a Group Leader do that travellers never see?
A Group Leader is a fundamental part of the trip. In my view, the most important role plays is making sure every single person lives an experience that feels authentic and unforgettable, built on sharing, discovery and fun.
That comes from solid preparation, but also from actively building a group that can move through every day in harmony. A Group Leader is the organiser, the problem solver and the one responsible for the trip, but also the first member of the group: the first person ready to share, to listen and to live the experience alongside everyone else.
You left your job and started writing about travel. What did writing teach you that living it didn’t?
Writing about travel lets you go back through it and see it more clearly, almost as if you are watching from the outside. It helps you understand which moments were truly meaningful, the ones you lived through and the ones that have stayed with you, even just when you replay them in your mind.
But the most powerful thing writing gives you is a real sense of what you have actually lived through.
Discover them. Fall in love with their stories.
Lorenzo left with a ticket to Peru, a graduation gift from his grandparents. He never fully came back, or rather, he came back different every time. He traded a desk at the bank for a base camp at 5,400 metres, and he has no regrets.
His story is one of the many that WeRoad Group Leaders carry with them. Not the destination, not the itinerary: the person they were before they left, and the one they became along the way.
On this blog, we share their stories, one at a time. Because behind every WeRoad trip there is always someone who chose to take the leap and then decided never to stop, bringing others along for the ride.
Curious to discover more extraordinary stories from WeRoad Group Leaders? Come and meet Manuel too!
