It was no mistake or coincidence that the more we travelled, the more we connected to nature, the stronger we felt the innate urge, a calling to simplify and explore. It’s funny thinking back now, I was destined to immerse myself in a style of life that delivers what the van life does!

The pursuit of total alignment to the flow of life doesn’t happen through intention alone, it also requires action. and after a few months of deliberation, Dan and his fiancé decided to pull the trigger and purchase a Toyota HiAce, Long Wheel Base – affordable, reliable and a blank canvas for creation.

we decided to pull the trigger and settled on a Toyota HiAce, long wheel base - affordable, reliable and a blank canvas for creation.

Though with more research, comes more options, moving to the simple life wasn’t so simple.  For a moment I had paralysis by analysis.  I thought bugger it – I am just going to begin and let the flow be my guide.    I knew I needed some space for surf boards, storage, kitchen pull out drawer, and room for a fridge.  I created a vision in my mind of what I wanted as the outcome. 

• ran wires

• installed insulation

• lined the walls with bracing ply

• installed my flooring

I was ready to bring my concept to life. Fortunately, I had a trade background and was well equipped with both tools and the skills to use them well. Then over the next 3 months I would spend time listening to tunes and being in flow, creating the perfect space. 

I found comfort in solving the problems I would face in designing and building an irregular shape.  Utilising the theta brain waves to provide my solutions. In no time at all I had created not just a home on wheels, but a mobile vibe temple to experience life, life and relationships from a whole new perspective. 

For years, I loved to camp, though the packing, then unpacking and setup, then  packing and unpacking again, made short getaways a drag.  I now had a functional ready- to -roll setup for me my fiancé and my 10-year-old son and my friends.    It was a culmination of flow and the perfect addition to my life, my practice and my journey.

Before the bottle of champagne could be broken on the side, and with the same fluidity as the design process – ‘Leela’ – the Sanskrit word meaning, the play of life. That statement embodies mine and many others on the van life journey because that is all we ever have and all we ever need. The act of play encapsulates, the struggles, the victories, the unknown, and the vision of a future only limited by your own mind and perspective.

The first adventure was with my son to the beach, our maiden journey allowed us to experience the functionally of the design and reap the rewards of flow.

Through, the following week ultimately became the geniuses point of DIY Fitouts – the first adventure with my fiancé Teigan and also with awesome business partner Geoff. We drove up and into the Watagen State Forest.  I remember the Friday afternoon and what transpired as clear as yesterday.

You know that feeling that you get deep down in the core of your being – before something life changing happens for you, I had that feeling and noticed it as we were driving through the lush forest with the sun piercing thought the lush vegetation, as we wound higher and higher on the dirt road.   We had no destination in mind, just knew that the perfect place would appear.  We ended up on a look out overlooking Newcastle and the Central Coast. 

Like the way all  great ideas and concepts come, we were in a state of flow, altering liner time and in complete presence, when Geoff said “  This thing is so functional – can we flat pack these”.  That question must have burnt its way into my Psyche – and well, the Universe has a funny way of supporting things that will support life and dream affirmative.

 After all, the driving force and the ethos of what we already do is to switch people on, to provide the tools necessary to align to their best self. And perform at their peak in all areas of their life.    Take inspired action, feeling and connecting to the owner of nature.  So ultimately, proving an easy, simple, cost effective, time efficient approach to giving people the powerful foundation to spend more time in nature and off grid is serving the same causes our overarching purpose we had set out to achieve with Ascending Minds. 

Over the weeks that followed I had a number of people personally begin to ask me for my design (what would later become the City Surfer model) and for how to install. 

During the same period of time, Geoff was teaching in Byron Bay and Sydney, and was also consistently reached out to by people who either:

• Had a van and wanted to fit it out and didn’t’ know where to start.

• Were planning on buying a van and were already overwhelmed with where to start

• Had already began fitting it out  but were unhappy and unfilled with the job – due to lack of skills and direction on the job, and it was taking too long.

• Or, they already had a van fitted out, but wanted to freshen it up within a budget.
   

It was time to turn this idea/ concept into reality. We pulled the trigger and began the journey to create a low-cost, easy to install, minimalistically designed model, with an approach that would save people huge amounts of time and get them living the simple life, the van life, in no time.  We set out to create a Simple way to the Simple life. 

I was lucky, that due to my almost 20 years’ experience in the construction industry, having a trade, plus the work I was doing, I already owned all the tools I would need.   However, for the average person who wants to get out there living the dream, there are so many blocks, obstacle, and challenges, standing the the way of their dream life, and that fact alone is what inspired us to take action and create - Van Life DIY Fitouts.  

I used the challenges that arose during this time, to focus on our skillset on a daily basis, and power through that mindset perspective.  

Daily we help our coaching clients and students shift their perspective and take control over their thoughts and move into inspired action to create the life they deserve. 

So, it is with that ethos that we have transferred to Van Life DIY Fitouts. See, the collective is beginning to wake up and they are feeling more than ever the disconnectedness to nature, suffering from the chaos of everyday life and as a result are feeling gravity towards simplifying their life.  The same things that are holding people back from achieving the best version of themselves, in their health, their career, their relationships and overall fulfilment are the same things holding them back from getting out on the road and living the van life.

• People don’t know where to start

• Don’t have the tools they need

• Don’t’ know how to use them well

• And even if that do, they don’t have the skill level necessary to produce the outcome they desire. 
  

With that said, just like with our clients, we have created a way to simplify and breakdown what is needed to get people where they want to be.