We’re thrilled to premiere VanFiles, an original collab with our friends at Lifeproof that paints portraits of rad humans living life on wheels. We visit characters ranging from iconic surfer and filmmaker Cyrus Sutton, who just wrapped up the tour for his film, Island Earth, to the nomadic Goodwin family, stars of the critically-acclaimed film, Given, to 19-year-old New Hampshire surfer Max King. While Max is at the beginning of his journey exploring America’s wonders by van, Cyrus’ multi-year stretch living rent free recently enabled him the opportunity to buy his first home (totally wheel-less!). For him, it was all about practicality.
“We felt like van life could allow people to maximize their time in nature, maximize their stoke, and also get a lot of work done. And not have to spend a lot of money,” says Cyrus Sutton. “For me, van life allowed me to buy my house. I didn’t pay rent. I travel eight months of the year; I’ve done that for the last ten years. If I was paying for a place just to have a place to make my mom feel good about me or something, I wouldn’t have been able to buy my house.”
The Goodwins took their van aspirations international on a family trek through Australia.
“We’ve really seen a lot of cool changes with our kids just by being in such a tight unit,” says Aamion Goodwin. “You realize how much they love each other.”
Each discovered the minimalist spirit of mobile adventure on their own terms and was kind enough to share a few words of wisdom when it comes to the down and dirty of living in a vehicle on the run. We hope you enjoy and these portraits fuel your inspiration to explore.
Editor’s Note: Special thanks to Lifeproof, Cyrus Sutton, the Goodwin Family, Max King, and Gabe Reuben for making this project come to life.
