The popular Chris Farley skit on Saturday Night Live had him play a “motivational speaker” who lived in a van down by the river. It was his way of telling his audience that they would become failures and also end up living in a van down by the river. Most people would probably be surprised to know that there are thousands of people who live in vans all around the world. They do this not because they have failed. They live in vans willingly and are doing well.

We’ve featured interviews with Adventure Photographer and vandweller Trevor Clark here before (Part 1 & Part 2), and we have more features in the queue. Readers have told us they love his 4×4 Sportsmobile Van, as it is one of the best vehicles you can buy for a camper-type van.

Several people have asked us how to live like this. They have told us they would like to do what Trevor and so many others do, but usually follow it with a long list of reasons why they can’t. Why would someone want to live in a van instead of a house? How would they go about doing so? Most of the questions are asked in the “yeah but…” format, as it does seem like such an odd thing to much of the population. A lot of people have a lot of questions.

VanAbode

Jason Odom has spent years on the road, living out of a van. His approach is slightly different, using a nondescript van that blends in anywhere, rather than an RV or trailer. He and his wife have spent years on the road, living wherever they feel like being at any given time. They have gone from coast to coast, exploring the country.

Jason also got constant questions about how to create such a different lifestyle. He wrote a book of his experiences as a how-to for anyone considering living this way, called Vanabode™ – how to happily camp, travel and live forever on $20 a day.  He sent me a copy to read since I was getting so many questions, and he knew it would be of interest to me.

Some of the topics covered include:

• Vehicle choice and outfitting.
• Parking and camping considerations in every type of area.
• Safety and Security (which seems to be the most popular worry among readers).
• Money, savings and budget breakdowns.

The self-published book is 113 pages, and filled with tips and techniques for making the most of your time, money, and enjoyment while living in a van. The book covers a variety of tips and techniques to overcome the most common objections, as well as a tremendous amount of options. Everyone wants something a little different, and it covers a range of ideas for living in a van no matter what your situation.

As Jason says, “Vanaboding is about spending time living a fun life rather than spending money trying to buy a fun life.” They aren’t homeless, they are home wherever they park their vehicle, sleeping in their own bed every night. They aren’t starving, they eat at some of the nicest restaurants in cities all over the country.

They do more, spend less and have more freedom than the average person working too many hours a week to keep up their mortgage and toy payments. Whether you are ready to sell off your house and live full-time in a van or RV, or you just want a way to get more time and money out of family vacations, I think you’ll find Vanabode will answer any lingering questions or doubts.

Go check out his site and grab the book. If you think people living in their vehicles are just down on their luck, you may come to realize that the people living in a van down by the river might very well be living better than the rest of us.

Do you know anyone who lives in their vehicle? Have you ever lived in a van? Would you ever try it? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.

Vanabode: Home is Where the Van is Parked is a post from: Live Collar Free

In part one of our interview with Adventure Photographer Trevor Clark, we got to know a little bit about how he lives a location independent lifestyle on the road.

This second part will cover some of the tools, gadgets and equipment that make this life on the road possible.

From the obvious tools a photographer needs, to what tools make his lifestyle possible, Trevor tells us how he is able to live this life as a digital nomad. He also goes over some of the advantages and challenges of living this kind of mobile lifestyle.

What tools do you need to get your job done? And which are not really necessary, but make global work easier?

Well, we’ll start with the most obvious which would be camera gear and computer equipment. I use Canon equipment and shoot with the Mark III for fast action and the 5D Mark II for everything else. I do have a full size Mac Pro with a 20” Cinema Display in the van along with a Macbook Pro for taking my work out of the van (coffee shops, planes, traveling, etc.).

I would say that everything I have with me from drysuits to a wireless internet card are absolutely required. I don’t have space for anything that is unnecessary, so I keep it simple and only have what I will use.

That said, the most crucial technological tool for me is my iPhone. My industry is extremely competitive and always on a deadline, so being alerted of an email with a time sensitive issue while in the middle of nowhere or just while driving from A to B makes all the difference in the world. And, the GPS, internet and organizational applications seem like they were made for someone in my position. I truly run my whole life and business through it.

As far as programs, Skype is definitely becoming a very useful tool, in general, and even on my iPhone.

Does your work have to be turned in somewhere immediately or from on site locations? What kind of toys/technology do you need to be able to do your job from a location other than your home office/van?

That all depends on the situation. Like I mentioned earlier, there is always a deadline in my world, but sometimes it is after a trip is finished, sometimes it is the same day, and sometimes it is the same hour an image is shot. It really all depends.

The main thing I need for any deadline is a fast and reliable Internet source. Working away from my van, I just make sure I have a plan and if all else fails, I do the old-fashioned journalistic thing and find Internet, no matter what.

One time I even ended up in a couple’s bedroom (absolute strangers) at midnight, fixing their router so that I could use their internet to upload a set of images that needed to be ready for Italian distribution within the hour.

Technology will always fail when you need it most, so keeping the determination and willingness to think outside the box as an option is key for me.

With that in mind, I am also looking around at some satellite Internet options for the van.

When in another location, these tools allow you to work from anywhere, or do you normally have the office/van set up in each place?

I can do my work from anywhere, provided I have my laptop, camera gear and some hard drives with me, but having the van around makes it a lot easier. More room, more computing power, more editing efficiency. Right now, for example, I am basing myself on my brother’s sailboat in Hawaii and working from the laptop. He has quick Internet service so all is well.

Trevor at Work

How long are you usually away from home? What are some challenges you face when living in other places for long periods of time?

I am in the unique position of always being away from home, and always at home. My biggest challenge is when I move from one region or activity to another. Spending a few months at a time in one area, I grow accustomed to a routine, and even become a part of a community, and I love that.

The trouble is that I am also constantly moving on (because I have to) and starting over. This is all part of the experience for me, and over time I have built a great network of friends around the country that I re-visit, but the transitional periods can be a little tough.

Emotionally, it is just a change that I am used to, but logistically, I have to figure out new ways to survive in new places (where to park the van at night, finding athletes to work with, places to go and not to go, shooting locations, accessibility issues, etc…) until I become a part of the new community.

What are some of  the positive things about having this type of job or lifestyle? The good things about what you do?

That is a tough one. For me, there are too many good things about my work to really quantify. Most might think it is the lifestyle, but that is a direct result of my approach on my work.

I think it is the freedom to explore my own curiosities and also think of ways to make that work from a business perspective. I love taking some time to map out some goals and objectives for myself and my business, and then go do it. No questions asked and no huge life changes. Just start driving. There is power and freedom in letting go of what convention has taught us.

That and the fact that kayaking, snowboarding, backpacking, kiteboarding, etc… are all a part of my job description.

Is any of your time in different places spent on being a tourist, or is it usually all work? Do you have much time off to have vacations or personal time or do you even notice such a thing?

I am really never a tourist in the normal sense. Pretty much everywhere I go has a reason and a mission involved, so I don’t spend much time sightseeing or having lazy mornings. The standard idea of a vacation is not really in my plans either, but I am in the fortunate position (I think) to have no weekdays or weekends.

I work many more hours than your typical work-week, but it is by choice and personal drive. And because of this, if it is a beautiful day outside and I have had enough, I can go kayaking, snowboarding, sailing or whatever. I just make sure that whatever goals I had for the day get finished and any obligations I may have are fulfilled.

And shooting outside, though it is physically and mentally taxing, is too rewarding for me to think of as a normal day of going to work. That is the best part of my job.

Favorite place to visit so far? Any place you still want to go?

Another tough one. I love too many mountain towns to describe, and I keep finding more, so I’ll stay away from the favorites for now. And highest on my list of places to go would be Antarctica, Mongolia, Nepal and probably, the Moon. Yeah, it would be cool to go to the Moon.

Any advice to anyone thinking of doing more traveling work or lifestyle?

I would just say that whatever it is, if you are truly passionate about it, you WILL find a way. Go with your heart and forget about everything else. There will always be reasons not to do something; I believe it is the one reason you should that counts.

–

You can find Trevor on his website at www.trevorclarkphoto.com. You can also follow his adventures on Twitter, or on Facebook.

Adventure Photographer Trevor Clark – Part 2 is a post from: Live Collar Free

“What do you do?”

We all get asked that common social question. Rarely does one’s job title paint an complete picture of who that person is as a whole. A more accurate question for Trevor Clark would be, “what don’t you do?”

Trevor is one of those who does what many people only dream about or believe impossible. A self-described Adventure Photographer, Trevor lives and works wherever a story takes him. Whether kayaking, sailing, snowboarding or any other outdoor activity, he is there to capture it and tell a story.

Trevor was kind enough to allow us to interview him. He was in Georgia, parking the custom 4×4 Van he lives and works out of most often, before flying to Hawaii to live aboard a sailboat for a few months.

He gave us so much good information, we decided to post the interview in two parts. We’ll go over his background and get a general idea of his lifestyle first. Part two will cover the tools and equipment that makes this lifestyle possible.

First, tell us a bit about yourself. Your job title or what you do or consider yourself to be.

Well, I would say that I am an adventure photographer. I am on the road 12 months out of the year working from a 4×4 Sportsmobile converted studio/van. My life and work are one in the same. I am a photographer first, but also a whitewater kayaker, sea kayaker, kiteboarder, back-country snowboarder, wakeboarder, sailor and all around outdoor addict. The activities I get into are a tool for getting me into the situations and stories I want to shoot. I am 26 years old, self-employed and mobile.

Can you tell us first a bit about what kind of work you do? Your work/school background? Was any of your education related to what you ended up doing?

My work is focused on documenting adventure sports and telling the stories of the people who truly live by them. Even a rapid can have a story, and I have found it is very rewarding to try to show these stories from an insider’s perspective. I rarely shoot something that I am not intimately involved with myself, and that has been a very conscious decision in my approach.

If there is something that I would like to shoot, but am not an active participant in, then I will do everything I can to get into it or somehow work on an understanding from the perspective of that activity. I focus on adventure sports, but more importantly, it is about the places those activities take us and the experiences we can have just by kayaking or skiing, or whatever the case may be.

I have a BA in Magazine Journalism with an Emphasis on Photography from the University of Georgia. Though in magazines, my photo program was newspaper based, and even though I never thought that was my path, it was a very crucial and necessary step in my development. The newspaper background has absolutely helped shape my approach, my thoughts and my need for a story.

After college, I did some traveling and guiding, then settled in with a newspaper group and worked with another photographer in the Lake Tahoe area to hone in on some skills and really make my big push toward shooting on my own.

What made you decide on this kind of work life? Was this something you always wanted or knew you would do, or something accidental?

I was lucky enough to do a lot of traveling and living abroad as a kid, and I would say that started my interest in people and places. Any time I would see images, I would think about what it must have been like to be in that image, to be there in that spot and in that moment.

I know I started associating feelings and emotions with pictures from an early age, and it also didn’t hurt that my grandmother (who I traveled to Australia to see) had a library of National Geographic Magazines dating back to the early 1900s. That said, I actually didn’t really pick up a camera until I was in college, but that was a very powerful day.

Since then, every ounce of my energy has been directed toward what I am doing right now and what I intend to do down the road.

Do you have a “home base” where you live or have an office? How often do you travel away from home for your job and projects, on average?

My “home base” is currently my 4×4 Sportsmobile converted Ford E-350 studio/van. I am on the road 365 days a year, but I am also always home, and that was the premise behind shifting my life into a vehicle. That said, there are travel circumstances that separate me from El Guapo (the acquired name for my van), but they aren’t all that frequent.

I think this year I will have spent about three to three and a half months away from the van, traveling and working from whatever vehicle, boat or other vessel I end up in.

What countries have you worked or done projects in while doing this type of work?

So far I have been localized to the US, Mexico and Canada in my professional life because that is about as far as I want to drive my office, but I have a few things in the works right now that might land me in South America, Africa or Mongolia in the next year.

Are there any other languages you speak fluently? In the countries you’ve traveled, has language ever been a problem?

I was actually born in Curitiba, Brazil, then moved to Sao Paolo, then Montreal, Quebec before my family finally ended up in Georgia. I grew up speaking English and Portuguese, then I traded out the Portuguese for French. Once we made it to Georgia, Spanish seemed like the next logical thing, so I jumped into that. I also minored in Spanish in college.

Of course, it has been a few years since my formal training ended, and I have not spent much time in any of these places since then, so I am definitely rusty. There is a solid understanding for me behind romance languages in general, so I can get along okay when I do travel abroad. That said, I would love to spend a sizable amount of time in any of those countries and focus on being more conversational.

Do you have an office in a home city besides El Guapo? Is it a priority for you to have an “office” at all for you?

I do not currently have an immobile office, but I am working in that direction. Ideally, I would still be on the road, and not a whole lot would change from a lifestyle perspective, but I would have somewhere to be whenever I feel the need to settle in for a little while.

Being that I still wouldn’t be around all that much, I would also like to have someone handling a few items part-time so that I could focus more on shooting. The toughest part is figuring out where to put down some roots.

If you could change anything about your job, would you? And what would you change?

Yep, I would have two of me, maybe three, just to even out the responsibilities a bit, but that’s it.

Part Two of our interview with Trevor Clark with be posted next week. We will talk more with him about the tools he uses to work and live such a mobile lifestyle.

You can find Trevor on his website at www.trevorclarkphoto.com. You can also follow his adventures on Twitter, or on Facebook.

Adventure Photographer Trevor Clark – Part 1 is a post from: Live Collar Free