Nikky Love is an incredible human doing awesome things in the Vanlife community. Providing a platform for people to express themselves, share their experiences, passions, struggles and really getting to know the PEOPLE inside the vans they roam in.

Here, she shares a brief overview of her motivation and drive to start the “Humans Of Vanlife” podcast and what it all means to her.

I grew up in British Columbia on a small island called Salt Spring and was raised by the community. This island was home to about 8,000 people and it felt like we all knew each other intimately. When I would go “downtown” I would constantly be stopping to catch up with old and new friends. It was common knowledge that an errand which would normally take you 15 minutes to complete, would end up taking at least 3 hours because of all the friends and acquaintances that you would run into. Within this close-knit community I was fortunate enough to spend many years being supported and loved by many- this is what I mean when I say raised by a community, as everyone helped shape me into the person I am today. This provided me with the opportunity to connect with all different kinds of characters from an early age and helped open my eyes to alternative ways of living and human connection. For example, it was not unusual to see a family living in a tiny home on an organic farm, or to come across people living out of vans in a commune. Growing up in an environment such as this helped prime me for my future on the road.

Before I pursued my education I took a year off and travelled to Asia, starting in Nepal and ending in Vietnam. This showed me different ways of living, I learned on an intimate level that there is more to life than working a 9 to 5. While I had a deep desire to pursue education I also longed to live a life full of magic. Whilst I was in Bali, I witnessed people living abundantly with little to no suffering, and realized that is what success looks like to me. After this I made a commitment- I would do my absolute best to live the most magical life I possibly could.

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My journey into the vanlife started around the time I was studying to become a nurse. Nursing always held an intimate spot in my heart, growing up my fathers body was riddled with cancer. Several operations helped keep him alive, however, death was always on the forefront of my mind. This delicate perspective of life and death quickly transformed my philosophy on living, and stirred up my desire for health and healing. I dedicated myself to the art and science of Nursing, in which being with people during their most vulnerable times- a true gift and privilege to me- is at the essence of what this career would offer.

Whilst I was studying, my roommate and I found ourselves living out of a motorhome on the side of a highway as I was evicted due to increasing costs of housing and could not afford to rent anymore.

Being evicted presented me with many challenges, the first being, sleeping in a vehicle is illegal in the city that I was in. We were hassled multiple times by police, one morning before class, we were ticketed and ended up being late as we had to move our vehicle somewhere else. Sadly, we were constantly on edge and always worried, this made it very difficult to focus on our studies and became a constant struggle for me. Besides the law enforcement issues, living in a vehicle with another person was extremely challenging as there were no walls to provide any sort of privacy, no wifi to do homework, no running water and much more. On top of our studies, our daily life turned into a full-time job.

By the time I had finished school I was already feeling burnt out. As a nurse I tried so hard not to become a patient myself and realized that I needed time to foster the parts of me which I had sacrificed while trying to thrive in an academic world. Hitting the road was not an option for me, it was my responsibility.

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A few years earlier I had joined my friend on a road trip in her 1982 VW Westfalia and fell in love with the community of people I met along the way. Luckily the perfect van appeared in my life and I purchased it- my very first home- a 1983 Volkswagen Westfalia. I immediately got in my van and hit the road. This van changed my life completely as it provided me with the opportunity to utilize my hands and creative skills like never before. Despite having no previous automotive knowledge, I learned very quickly how to work on vehicles through a series of breakdowns and challenges. It became clear that my soul longed for freedom. It craves the open road. I am ecstatic when connecting with others, and the people that I had met on the road were eager to embrace and meet me in a space.

During my final practicum I had a harsh realisation: the same people I was caring for in the clinic were the same people who were sleeping beside me. Unfortunately these humans experiences get amounts of stigma and oppression because of the judgements people placed on them. I began to feel really frustrated about this because I too experienced some stigma from others until I told them that I was a Student Nurse, and then their entire demeanour changed and they seemed to appreciate me.

My friends, who slept beside me did not have this opportunity, the privilege was not there for them. I decided then and there that I wanted to start a PODCAST called HUMANS of VANLIFE where I would create a platform for humans to share both their voices and stories and hopefully people would begin to learn that there is much more to people than just their looks or current state of living. My podcast means so much to me. It has provided me the opportunity to hold space for people in a sacred way and has helped me learn so much about myself. For example, I too am guilty of ‘judging a book by its cover’ and have learnt to take the time to get to know people before making assumptions or judgments about who they are. Additionally, through this journey I have learnt that every human being wants love and belonging and when people feel as though they are see and heard, healing happens. This podcast has grown significantly and touched many peoples lives. I now have 31 episodes and no end in sight.

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I have recently teamed up with Renogy and it has revolutionized vanlife for me. It has allowed me to continue doing my podcast on the road, as I often spend several days off-grid with no access to wifi or power. Thankfully I am now self-sustainable and able to do my podcast any where I go.

While words do not do justice for the experiences I have had, I will try. My favourite part about living on the road is learning to let go of control, let go of the need to get somewhere, and just allow myself to be. To specify, I think often we as humans are solely goal orientated and are always focusing on the destination, which I believe can prevent us from experiencing all the sacred moments in between. Living this lifestyle has allowed me to fully embody the saying: “its not the destination, its the journey that matters”. Furthermore, being on the road allows me to experience freedom like I never have before. I hop in the driver seat, put on my favourite audio book and just start driving, what occurs along the way, is always what needs to be.

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The thing I struggle with most about living this lifestyle is balance. Vanlife is not always glamorous, as a matter of fact, I will go as a far as saying most of it is humbling. I am constantly working on trying to find my way, for example, when I wake up in a Walmart parking lot surrounded by chaos, the last thing I feel like doing is meditating or making a healthy breakfast. When I am in a situation like this, I instantly feel like I want to flee, therefore I am unable to keep up with my routine. However, I have come to trust that letting go of control allows me to enjoy the experience in front of me. It is my belief that life is all about living out of our comfort zone and pushing our boundaries. We out here living!!

I am currently back in Canada and my plan next is to continue putting my heart soul into my creative outlets. These include my podcast and filming a documentary that i’m working on with my creative partner Nathan. I have had the opportunity to sit and share sacred space with many people with such incredible stories, I want to bring these people to light for everyone, this is at the core of my passion towards the Humans Of Vanlife Podcast and the Documentary which is called Cicada Awakening. While I am not 100% sure of where my journey is going to take me next, I know that I am fully committed to sharing the stories of those who often do not have a voice.