How to live traveling by van, with Íñigo Mendia

I am from a small town, from a place where people are quite similar to each other, and I felt a little out of place.

But I started hosting people from other parts of the world who were more like me than my friends, and I said wowI’m not alone, there are more people as crazy as me.
— Inigo Mendia

Inigo (@travelingsimple) has been living and traveling in a van for more than 3 years; he is the author of the book “How to live and travel by van”, of which he has already sold more than 4,000 copies; and he is the director of Camperizando.es, a project that aims to connect van owners with campervanization workshops.

In addition, Iñigo participates as a presenter in 4 different podcasts (Traveling simple, How to travel, Undertaking and traveling, and Chatting and traveling), and he is super active on Social Networks, where he already has more than 300,000 followers.

In our conversation, Iñigo and I cover his entire career, from his beginnings as a graphic designer until today, which is one of the leaders in Spain in everything related to living and traveling by van, and we talk about topics as interesting as…

• Why Iñigo left a job and a life that he liked to go live in Australia
• How Iñigo’s passion for the camper lifestyle began
• What was it that led Iñigo to consider for the first time the possibility of living traveling by van
• What were the different projects that Iñigo created to try to generate income while traveling, and what finally worked for him
• What is Iñigo’s day-to-day like in the van, and what does he do to park, find water, go to the bathroom or work without hurting his back… among other things

This is an interview that will show you that living while traveling is within everyone’s reach, and that we need much less than we think to be able to live well, and also Iñigo is a guy who is a pleasure to listen to, because he is super positive and transmits calm and good vibes… so I’m sure you’ll love it.

But well, I prefer not to anticipate anything else and that you discover it yourself, so without further ado I leave you with the great Iñigo Mendia.

listen in itunes | iVoox | Spotify

Episode Links

Where to find Inigo:

Mentioned in the episode:

Mentioned people:

Mentioned books:

quick index

0:48 – Presentation of the guest

2:30 – Start of the interview

5:03 – Is it true that there are times when Iñigo dreams and then these dreams occur?

8:28 – Why you decide to study Graphic Design

10:49 – Why did you decide to leave Diario Vasco and what was your plan B?

13:06 – What did your job consist of at the Vodafone store?

16:51 – At the end of 2013 you decide to leave everything to go live in Australia. Why did you make this decision?

18:59 – Why did you decide to go to Australia instead of other countries in the world?

7:45 p.m. – That is when, in June 2014, you decided to take your first trip in a van. How was the experience?

22:05 – Were there any rookie mistakes on that first van ride?

22:59 – Iñigo bought his first van and in June 2015 he decided to leave his apartment and go live in it. How did he come up with this idea?

26:05 ‘How did you get all your belongings into the van?’

27:33 – Where do your girl and Iñigo settle to live in the van?

28:57 – How is the day to day living in a van

30:18 – In Southeast Asia, he decides to ask his girl to marry him, how did he ask her?

33:43 – How was the return to San Sebastian

36:10 – After a few months of crisis, you decide to make a big change. How did you get out and what did you decide to do?

37:53 – Why do you think people get paralyzed when it’s bad? what happens to us?

38:46 – What effects did this change have? how did it work?

40:20 – You buy your first van in Spain, what makes you reconnect with that love for camper life?

42:56 – Where did Iñigo go on his first trip with a van from Spain?

43:37 – In 2018, Iñigo asked to work remotely to go live and travel in the van, what prompted him to make that decision?

47:01 – What did your boss say when he found out you were leaving?

47:54 – What questions do you have when deciding to change your life? Was it worth the resignation?

49:40 – What did you plan to live on while traveling?

51:42 – One of the first things you do is create a personal blog. Why did you create the blog and what did you plan to share on it?

53:13 – Did you intend to generate income with the blog and social networks or what was the purpose?

53:59 – Why of all the online business options did you choose niche pages?

56:04 – What attracted you to dropshipping and why you opted for it

1:01:03 – In October 2018 you decided to start writing a book. What led you to embark on this project?

1:02:59 – Start a platform to find Virtual Assistants, what is the business model?

1:06:25 – When Iñigo sees that he is not capable of getting the different online businesses off the ground, what does he plan to do? what was plan B?

1:08:56 – How was the first year of living in a van

1:10:41 – What expenses did you have per month approximately

1:11:01 – Why did you decide to create a podcast?

1:14:14 – What do you decide to do when you realize that you have run out of savings and are in Norway?

1:16:57 – You finish writing the book on your way back to Spain. Where do you publish it and how does it work?

1:18:41 – How did you publish the book? in what format? at what price?

1:20:24 – What margin does a self-published book leave on Amazon?

1:20:50 – What did you do to promote it?

1:22:30 – In December 2019 the book began to sell well. How does it feel to achieve the goal for which you have fought so hard?

1:24:12 – The pandemic begins and you cannot travel, what do you decide to do and what do you spend your time during the confinement?

1:27:02 – You decide to hire a Virtual Assistant, how did you do it?

2:28:51 – How the reach increased when the new person joined the team

1:30:53 – How your business evolves as of May 2020

1:35:18 – Why did you decide to bet on investing in the business if you already had enough to keep traveling

1:37:10 – How has 2021 been for you personally and professionally?

1:38:18 – What is Camperizando’s business model?

1:38:30 – Did this platform also mean increasing the team?

1:39:45 – Iñigo hires Trini, a former student of Ángel from the program Find your way. How did you meet her?

1:46:19 – In October 2016, Iñigo decided to do a series of monthly experiments. Is he still doing it today?

1:50:24 – What has been the most revealing experiment you have done?

1:52:28 – What project do you have right now and how many are in the team?

1:56:30 – How much are you earning each month and what is your current source of income

1:58:08 – How Iñigo organizes himself to manage so many projects and travel at the same time

1:00:17 – How is a day in the life of Iñigo Mendia

2:02:29 – Are you happy with your current life?

2:03:32 – Advantages and disadvantages of living and traveling in a van full time

2:07:45 – What is the monthly cost of this type of life

2:09:19 – Is it a lifestyle valid for everyone? What profile is the best to live like this?

2:11:32 – What van do you recommend that someone who wants to start living this experience buy?

2:13:41 – Better to buy a camper van or make it yourself?

2:14:08 – What websites do you recommend to buy a van with these characteristics?

2:15:42 – Why a van instead of a motorhome? what is the difference?

2:17:10 – What is the minimum equipment that a van should have?

2:19:18 – How much can fit inside a van?

2:22:45 – Where do you recommend going on the first trip? at what rate?

2:24:54 – Basic notions of living in a van

2:27:46 – How does water work in a van? how much is consumed per day?

2:31:13 – How is cooking in the van?

3:35:41 ‘How’s the electricity in the van?’

2:37:55 – How does the heating work?

2:39:13 – The topic of the bathroom is important, how is it organized?

2:44:50 – Can you really work well from a van?

2:48:21 – Tips for traveling safely

2:52:01 ‘Isn’t life so lonely like that?’ how do you meet people?

2:52:54 – Is it compatible with having a partner or is it only for singles?

2:55:28 – Advice that I would give to Iñigo from the past to live traveling by van

2:57:32 – What are your plans for the coming months, both personally and professionally?

3:01:48 – What are the 3 books that have marked a before and after in your life?

3:04:26 – Advice, message or final recommendation for listeners

3:05:42 – Where to find Inigo

3:06:25– Farewell