Life in the slow lane

(First published in Issue 6, September 2022) Between traveling throughout the United States and Canada for hockey tournaments growing up to deploying to various places in the world in my career as an Army Officer, it seems as though I was bitten by the travel bug early. I remember staring eagerly out the windows of the buses and planes we took on the way to hockey tournaments, full of wonder and excitement at what might await me in the next new town or place. Those prairie views and small hockey towns turned into military airfields and bases in Afghanistan, surrounded by foreboding mountains. No matter where I traveled to, and no matter how boring or mundane others found those places, I fell deeper in love with the feeling of being somewhere new, undiscovered, or overlooked. These experiences in my youth and early adulthood ultimately fueled my interest in exploring and learning about new places, different cultures, and people! Presently, I am fortunate enough to have an international audience that I get to interact with through my travels and social media presence. I currently travel out of a 1984 VW Westfalia Van named “Frank,” but I didn’t always have the dialed-in setup you see today. My favorite part of being involved in the “Van Life” is being able to tell people where I came from, how I’m living today, and what I want to do in the future to inspire positivity.

I’m sure some readers are wondering the obvious—what do I do for a living? How do I make this lifestyle possible? The short answer is that I am an actor, an influencer, and a retired veteran. After years of service in the Army and deployments to Europe and Afghanistan, I was unexpectedly retired due to injuries incurred from my training and deployments. I was proud to have served in the military, and I was aware of the risks that came along with my service. While some would have seen these disabilities as a setback, I used them as an opportunity to reevaluate what I wanted the rest of my life to look like. Between the military compensation, my gigs as an actor, and the brands I partner with on social media, I am blessed to be able to have my home base in LA and take as many Van Life adventures as I can! I also sublease an apartment when I’m gone on extended adventures to help with the associated costs.

I first started the nomadic lifestyle in a 10.7-meter (35-foot), 1997 Holiday Rambler RV that I named the “Millennial Express.” The purchase of the “ME” was a complete impulse buy right after I left the Army and included trading in my 2007 Harley Davidson Nightster Motorcycle that I had come to love. With a crash course education from YouTube University and some help from my mechanically inclined family members, we were fixed up and on the road. It was the start of my first great adventure! For six months, I traveled the country, catching up with old friends in distant corners of the US and falling deeper and deeper in love with being on the road. From hitting golf balls off the top of the RV into the desert, to ski resort parking lots, to exploring the Badlands with my uncle—the “Millennial Express” and I did it all. I was loving my newfound freedom. One of those stops included Los Angeles, which I saw as just another dot on the map for me to visit. Throughout my time there, one of my childhood best friends convinced me that it was the place for me to plant some (albeit, short) roots. I agreed and decided to make L.A. my temporary home and base for more RV travels.

Unfortunately, my RV travels came to an abrupt and unexpected end. My RV, which my aunt had helped me make into a home, was stolen and vandalized.

Strapped for cash, with no full-time employment, and having just lost my biggest asset, my friends set up a GoFundMe account. I cobbled together the little money I had saved from the military, the generous funds provided by my friends and contributors, and cautiously purchased my new home on wheels—“Frank.” I was quite literally all in.

Frank is a beautiful, white, 1984 VW Westfalia van. I had been interested in older model conversion/camper vans for a long time, having grown up going to car shows all throughout Wisconsin. I loved the older VW buses and kooky conversion vans (Toyota Hiaces, Mitsubishi Delicas, and other JDM/Euro imports), so when I came across “Frank” in Bend, OR on Craigslist, I knew my next road trip would be going to buy my new van! I was on a mission to make the Van Life dream a reality.

I’ve been traveling in the van ever since that day! From British Columbia, Canada to Joshua Tree, I have been traveling wherever there are new things to see and “green lights” to be found (for all of you McConaughey fans). Since I purchased my van in 2021, I have become more purposeful with my travels and what I share with my followers. I’ve taken time to reflect on all that has happened and is happening in my life. Through that reflection, my daily work to positively influence others is shaping my path and helping me write the chapters of my future. This new perspective and life on the road have helped me develop a set of rules I use to guide my decisions.

I have combined those three rules with the lessons learned from three years of full-time traveling and embraced a succinct philosophy that “Life Rips” no matter what. Even the hardest day on the road (running low on fumes or funds, getting a seatbelt ticket, mechanical issues, etc.) is better than the best day in a fluorescent-lit cubicle… so Life Rips regardless for me.

We all have the opportunity to choose what type of life we want to live. Personally, I had to choose between living an “ordinary” life that did not make sense to me, and living an extraordinary life that I was excited about. Every day, I choose to hunt down the best version of myself and live my life in a way that allows me to learn, help others, and bring me joy. We all need to recognize that it’s okay to live our life, even if it is a life that others don’t understand. These rules might not work for you, but they work for me!

As I mentioned earlier, I am currently pursuing acting and happily combining it with my Van Life travels. As someone who is a new actor and influencer, jobs don’t come to me—rather, I have to pursue opportunities, sponsors, and partnerships that align with my values and lifestyle. The same is true for sponsors and directors—my presentation needs to meet their interests and needs. An added perk of being an actor and Van Lifer is having my “wardrobe” at arm’s reach when pulling up to a set. All jokes aside, people ask if it frightens me not to have a steady job—particularly during the years the pandemic seemed to be at its worst. My answer is… it can be!

Living the Van Life can be frightening at times, as there are so many unknowns and risks. Going into the unknown is inevitably frightening, but the only way to get over that fear is by going through it and understanding that it never turns out to be as scary as it seemed. It’s the unknown that ultimately fuels me to move forward and keeps me on the edge of my seat. I like this feeling. Turning the next corner and having no idea what beautiful images you will confront is one of the rewards. Those images will be ingrained into your brain forever as wonderful memories. That corner, that blind spot, that unknown split second in your life may seem so foreign to you and might make you hesitate. However, without embracing those unknown moments and blind spots in life, you may miss what could’ve been one of the most beautiful memories you will ever have. At the end of the day, each of us must confront our own fears, the unknown, and come face to face with them. How we handle that encounter with our fears will determine where we go in the next moment and with the rest of our lives. Do you want to experience the adventure in life or be limited by the fear of it?

What I’ll leave you with is this:

See you in the slow lane! 🚐 🤙