A NATURE lover has revealed why he decided to live in a van and forage for food – while only working two days a week.
Graphic designer Matty, known as the ‘Woodland Nomad’ online, says commuting in for his 9-5 job afforded him precious little time to enjoy life outside of the weekend.
After the coronavirus pandemic forced businesses across the world to set out working from home protocols, Matty took the opportunity to alter his relationship with his employer.
He argued for his right to work remotely on a permanent basis, and narrowed down his contract to just two working days a week.
Now he lives in the road in his Nissan Interstar van, ‘Big Bruce’, which has been kitted out with a wood burner to keep him warm through the winter, he told Liveration.
Solar panels adorn the vehicle’s roof, providing energy for Matty’s laptop during the winter.
He fit a large light bar on the top of the vehicle to help light up the road, meaning he can get a better view of wandering animals who might prove hazardous.
Matty says he chose the dark green colour scheme for ‘Big Bruce’ to help it blend into its rural surroundings, letting him remain unnoticed – especially after dark.
Big Bruce’s crowning feature is perhaps the ‘apothecary’ – a section dedicated to dried plants, fungi, and all sorts of natural herbs and “remedies” Matty has picked up while on the road.
“The favourite part of living like this is opening that door in the morning and not recognising where you are.
He added: “To have that freedom of just always waking up somewhere else is incredible, I just adore it.”
When asked about the negative sides of living in a van, he said he struggled to think of one, but not everyone “responds to you in a kind way”.
“Eventually, you just end up being like, ‘you’re miserable’.
“It’s just petty isn’t it.”
Much of the van’s interior is made up of salvaged wood from sheds, firewood, and other “reclaimed” bits and pieces.
On the topic of what he does when he has to answer nature’s call, Matty said: “I do what we did for thousands of years… go to the Tesco toilet.
“I go in the woods. Or I go in Tesco, it’s not that hard.”
He said he does not need a fridge because he does not eat meat, explaining how his oat milk can last for four days, even during hot weather.
On the topic of bathing, Matty said that he’s a lover of wild swimming and plans much of his routes around waterways.
“I love to just park next to water. Maybe it’s being Scottish and being surrounded by lakes… I’ve just got it in my blood to be surrounded by water.
“I just swim, I get out and I don’t smell. Like I haven’t washed but yeah I don’t smell.”
He also revealed how he sometimes does the “classic hobo wash with the baby wipes”, but he also has a USB-charged shower.
Matty is not the first person to choose the van life.
Earlier this year, The Sun reported on how a couple dashed their home and hit the road in a converted van that cost £600 a month to run.
In January, it was revealed how a software account manager and his nutritionist wife ditched the rental life to live in a van and work from the beach.
While another couple spoke about how they gave up normal life to travel around Europe in a long wheel base Mercedes Sprinter.
