The Ugly Road to Vanlife Freedom (You Didn’t See...)
2014–2017: Lost, broke, and escaping reality with alcohol, cigarettes, weed, parties. Was left heartbroken, which sparked my self-development journey. Dropped out of university. My family was disappointed. I felt like a failure. Dreamt of earning money online. 2017–2020: Tried dropshipping. Failed. Became a digital artist while everyone told me it wasn’t a “real job.” Then Covid hit — lost my "dream job" in snowboard store, moved in with my sister, battled weed addiction and mental breakdown. Bought my motorhome and dreamt of vanlife freedom. I started my 1st YouTube channel. I built and sold my first $7 digital product. Started rebuilding from nothing. 2021–2023: Officially moved full-time in my van. Buddy joined the adventure. Worked on my online income alone. It was inconsistent. Stressful. Many months I struggled to make ends meet. Felt isolated and misunderstood, having to figure out everything by myself. Almost quit the whole dream multiple times. But I had unlocked location and time freedom. 2024: Found Skool and started my first community. Reignited my passion for digital art and love for community building. Earned $947 in 21 days, built a top 1% community, and crossed $80k as online entrepreneur. Best month: $7k in low-ticket digital sales. 2025: Was living vanlife snowboard dream in French Alps when life hit hard. Lost my dad. Questioned my whole life. Had to start from zero again. Started taking care of myself and signed up for half-marathon. Got inspired to create The Vanlife Network to help other vanlifers. Became top 1% Skool community too. Became a Skool Ambassador. And finally… after 10 years of trying, failing, rebuilding, and learning the hard way… I’m living the vanlife freedom I dreamed about for a decade. But here's the thing: Most people only met the “disciplined” version of me. You didn’t see the breakdowns, the addictions, the debt, the nights I almost quit vanlife because I couldn’t see a future. You didn’t see the loneliness, the panic of watching savings disappear, or the pressure of trying to figure everything out alone.