A Little About How I Made It All Happen
Below you’ll find a detailed story about how I got to where I am today. If you would prefer to listen and watch instead of read, click the button below:
A Journey Of A Thousand Miles Starts With A Single Step -
A Journey Of A Thousand Miles Starts With A Single Step -
I began travelling in 2014 with what I thought would be a short holiday.
It’s now been over eight years, and that one small step turned into a life of full-time travel, capturing moments through photography, writing about the places I’ve wandered, and immersing myself in cultures across the globe.
Along the way, I’ve worn many hats: farmhand, bartender, boat crew, cleaner, singer, online English teacher, and now, content creator. Each role added a new layer to the journey and taught me something valuable.
Where it All Started
Everything begins somewhere, right? But where to begin this story... Maybe with childhood, because how we grow up shapes so much of who we become.
I come from a loving, working-class family. My parents worked incredibly hard, and though we didn’t go on fancy overseas holidays or have the latest tech, our home was filled with warmth and connection. We spent time playing music, going on walks, sitting down for meals together, and learning about the world through conversation.
Growing Up
Fitting in never came easy. I didn’t have a big group of friends, but I was lucky to have a few close ones I could truly be myself around.
At 16, I made the decision to leave school and dive into full-time work. I’d wake up early to work in a bakery, then sing and play guitar in the evenings at bars, hotels, and restaurants. Looking back, I don’t know how I survived on so little sleep, but those long days gave me just enough to buy a one-way ticket to New Zealand.
A Learning Curve
I left home with around £3,500 in my bank account and a wildly optimistic sense of how far it would stretch. Spoiler: it didn’t last long. Between bungee jumping, skydiving, white water rafting, and every other thrill you can imagine, I quickly found myself in need of a job.
My first job abroad was waitressing, turns out I wasn’t great at it. Then came pizza making and cleaning. It wasn’t glamorous, but the feeling of supporting myself in a new country was exhilarating.
Catching the Travel Bug
Eventually, I saved enough to buy a car I could live in, complete with a mattress, a camping stove, and all the essentials, thanks to a fellow backpacker. That little car showed me just how affordable travel could be.
I explored the North Island, then the South, falling deeper in love with the freedom of the road. After selling the car, I started hostel-hopping and collecting an ever-growing list of quirky jobs, many of which I didn’t know existed until I did them.
My favourites? Being a photographer on a boat (still not sure how I got that job with zero experience) and working in an ice bar in a party town.
The Journey Continues
From New Zealand, I hopped on a flight to Thailand with my hard-earned savings. After nearly three years away, I made a long-awaited trip back to the UK to see my family. Being home was beautiful. I missed them so much. But something within me had me booking a flight back out of the UK.
So, I returned to Thailand. Around this time, I began taking photography more seriously and started my first blog and began sharing my stories and photos through social media.
Eventually, the funds began to dwindle again, and I set my sights on Australia, where I knew work opportunities were plentiful.
Realising This Could Be Forever?
Getting a job in Australia turned out to be straightforward. Farms were hiring, and I jumped in, potato fields by day, lime farms on the weekend. The accommodation was dire: think holes in the walls, rats, cockroaches, and spiders. The work was the hardest I’ve ever done, but also the most eye-opening.
That experience taught me a powerful lesson: physical exhaustion is one thing, but getting through tough times is 99% mental strength. There were so many moments I could have given up, but I didn’t. I kept going.
Eventually, I made it to the city, worked in a café, saved up, and bought another little car to travel and sleep in. I spent months driving across Australia, it truly was the trip of a lifetime.
Entering the Digital World of Nomadism
To keep travelling, especially through non-English-speaking countries, I knew I’d need an online job. The thought intimidated me. I had no degree, just years of life experience and a strong work ethic.
But I landed a job teaching English online. It was less about formal qualifications and more about personality, especially with young learners. Classes were playful and fun, full of games, songs, and screen visuals.
A Dream Come True
With that job, I explored Asia. The time zones were perfect: I’d teach in the evenings and spend my days soaking up new cultures. I stayed in homestays and hostels, living simply but fully.
That chapter- teaching and travelling through places like Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia, was one of the happiest and most meaningful periods of my life. Something about that part of the world calls to me and probably always will.
The World Turned Into Chaos
When the world suddenly shut down because of you know what, everything changed. Like so many others, I was caught without a fixed address. But I had experience living out of cars and vans, so I adapted.
I found a big, bright red van on eBay for £4,900 and spent four months converting it into a tiny home on my parents' driveway for under £3,000. That van became my sanctuary when everything else felt uncertain.
A Change of Lifestyle and Career…
Even though I’d lived out of vehicles before, van life felt new after years of backpacking. For once, I had a place to organise my belongings, to rest, to breathe.
I continued teaching online, but something else had been brewing for a while. Years of posting on social media, learning to edit, experimenting with writing, and understanding how to engage online had finally paid off.
All those unpaid hours of creative work blossomed into a full-time job, I became a content creator.
The Biggest Journey of My Life
After finishing my van build, I took to the road again, this time with a deep sense of freedom and confidence in the life I had created for myself. I started by exploring Spain and France in my first van conversion, soaking up the coastal drives, sleepy towns, and remote hideaways. But that was only the beginning.
What followed was the most ambitious adventure I’ve ever undertaken: I drove solo from the UK all the way to Cappadocia, Türkiye- my furthest destination yet. On the way there and back, I passed through France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, and Greece. I didn’t just pass through these places, I explored them deeply, slowly, intentionally.
Reaching Cappadocia, this dreamlike landscape of fairy chimneys and open skies was one of the most euphoric moments of my entire life. Standing there, knowing I had driven every mile to get there, was overwhelming. That journey felt like the peak of everything I’d worked for- the ultimate reward for all the risks I’d taken. I think it might be the biggest journey I’ll ever take, and I’m okay with that. Some things are just meant to stand as landmarks in your life.
Since then, I’ve kept that spirit of adventure alive. I rented a car in Morocco and drove all over the country through deserts, mountains, coastlines, and ancient cities- because by now I’d fallen completely in love with exploring by vehicle. There’s nothing quite like the open road and the endless possibilities it holds.
Building My Dream Home on Wheels
After that incredible road trip, I knew it was time to upgrade my space. I sold my original self-converted van and bought an empty removals van, a blank canvas full of promise. Over the course of four intense months, I poured my heart and soul into transforming that empty shell into my ultimate off-grid home.
The physical work was exhausting and the endless decisions felt overwhelming. The stress took a toll on my mental health in ways I hadn’t expected. It wasn’t just the build itself it was the pressure, the uncertainty, and the sheer weight of the project.
It took me nearly a year after finishing the conversion to fully heal and get my mental health back on track. But every difficult moment was worth it. Today, I live in that van—fully mobile, self-sufficient, and truly at home. It’s more than a vehicle; it’s a sanctuary that stands as a testament to resilience, determination, and following your dreams.
Now…
So, here we are. 2025.
Right now, I live a hybrid life- part van life, part short backpacking trips, using my van as my home and the world as my garden.
If there’s one thing I hope you take from this story, it’s this: you are the one who can make your dreams real.