ONCE UPON A TIME...
A young-ish dad, William Jarvis, and his son Jack (then 5yrs old) rented a 1987 VW Westfalia and the two of them drove up the Sunshine Coast in British Columbia, for some memory making. The experience of living out of a retro VW van inspired William to think, “More people should be doing this!”
Like millions of others who work behind a desk, when William found himself captaining this ‘adventure time machine’ there came a moment of profound relief. A giant exhale as they drove up the winding roads on the stunning coastline of BC. No phone service. Stopping to cook food on the cute but highly functional stove in the van. Sharing stories at night in the pop-top while wearing headlamps. Meeting friendly travellers along the way. And truly enjoying the company of someone who was literally experiencing everything that the road brings, for the first time.
It was time to shift gears (no pun intended) and work on his own business. A business that is built on amazing experiences and wanting others to enjoy that too. Not behind a screen, not on a phone, but out in nature, out in the real world. A return to your roots.
check the google
Turns out, #vanlife is one of the most popular lifestyle hashtags in all of Instagram.
It didn't take long to stumble down the rabbit hole and see that VW's and Mercedes Sprinters were highly popular in these posts.
Meanwhile, the tiny home movement had been occurring for some time. William being an avid Dwell Magazine drooler, also had an affinity for these tiny slices of heaven. Multiple shows on HGTV, a social feed of prefab tiny homes, the resurgence of Airstream trailers, the Minimalism documentary, it all pointed to small and functional spaces.
Well, a camper van is a small and functional space isn't it?
The name
The notion of getting away from ‘the machine’ and being subversive in a sense, is kind of what camping is. Rebelling against the desk. None of the usual distractions. Being honest with ones self.
Hence, “The Honest Camper” name.