This story originally appeared on the Gents Cafe Newsletter. You can subscribe here.
Over the years, “Van life” has become a popular concept over the web, with carefully crafted content promoting a seemingly idyllic and stress-free lifestyle that promises to reconnect you with nature, the outdoors and a simpler way of living. The line between authentic and artificial, however, often seems very thin, leaving people wondering whether Van life is actually attainable.
With Advanture Magazine, former kitesurfer Alexander Brown set out on a narrative journey to prove that the ideal can be a realistic goal for anyone, and chose to do it through beautiful imagery and curated stories.
In this interview, Alexander told us about his background in outdoor sports, how it influenced his adult life, and especially what Van life and Adventure mean to him.
Starting something like Advanture, I imagine vans have been a significant part of your life. How far back does that connection go?
It goes back quite a long way indeed. I’m 36 now, but when I was younger—around 14 or 15—I got introduced to kiteboarding. So, at that time, I didn’t know it yet, but I was already surrounded by van culture.
Kiteboarding, for example, has three main components: kite surfing on the water, kiteboarding on land, and snow kiting on snow where you use skis or a snowboard. I got into it around 2004, and it was still early days for the sport. It was just beginning to gain traction, and back then it wasn’t as well-established as it is today. Nowadays, kite surfing is an established sport with big sponsors, but back then it was quite fresh and new.
I grew up on the south coast of England, in a town between Portsmouth and Southampton – right on the coast. It’s a very military area because my father was in the Navy, which is why we lived there. We moved from Oxford, where I was born, to the south coast when I was quite young.
One day, when I was 14, my dad came home from work with a kite. He said, “Hey, let’s go try this down at the beach—it’s this new thing everyone’s doing.” So we went out, set up this huge kite—about 10 feet across—and launched it. I remember getting pulled across the field by the power of the wind, and I thought, “Wow, this is fun!”
The reason I bring this up is that kiteboarding, along with windsurfing, became really popular along the south coast. Both sports were introduced from Hawaii, and there were a lot of pioneers in my town who picked them up early on. Some even became world champions and helped shape the sport. There were magazines, photographers, and riders constantly doing cool stuff. It really became a central hub for these sports in the UK.
And of course, everyone had a van. That’s how you carried your gear. If you were kiteboarding or windsurfing, you needed the space for all your equipment, and having a van meant you had a place to sleep, too. You could just pack your gear, head to a different beach for the weekend, and sleep in the back—whether that was on a mattress, a sleeping bag, or even just the seats if you had a basic setup.
Looking back, I didn’t realize it at the time, but everyone I knew in the sport had a van. As I got older, I turned professional at 17, and I was flown all around the world for kiteboarding by a big American sponsor. I toured the USA in a huge 40-foot tour bus with logos all over it—feeling like a rock star. It was a very cool experience, but the real roots of the van life started with practicality. It wasn’t about the camper lifestyle, it was about having the right vehicle to support our weekend sports.
Kiteboarders, surfers, rock climbers—everyone in these outdoor sports had their vans. You could sleep in them at the beach or wherever you ended up. The van wasn’t just a luxury; it was a necessity. It made everything more affordable, too. None of us had a lot of money back then, so it was really about making it work with what you had.
That’s where my connection to vans started—using them to pursue my passion for kiteboarding. And if we want to call it van life, that’s how it began for me. It was about getting out there, doing what I loved, and living that adventure.
Could you share some insights into your personal background and career journey before founding Advanture Magazine?
Where it all began was back in kiteboarding. I went professional relatively quickly. Within a couple of years, I was sponsored, working with photographers, and contributing to magazine content.
Between 2006 and 2009, I traveled the world creating material for print magazines—this was before social media had really taken off. Facebook wasn’t even a thing, and Instagram hadn’t been created yet. Back then, the way you promoted your sponsors and got noticed was by putting your work into magazines.
I kiteboarded professionally until I was about 20, but then I had a pretty bad accident during a photo shoot. By that time, I was starting to get curious about other things outside of kiteboarding. In my mid-20s, kiteboarding had consumed my life—I ate, slept, and breathed it.
The accident happened in the Maldives, of all places, during a photo shoot for kite surfing. I badly injured my foot and couldn’t finish the shoot. I found myself stuck on a beautiful island with nothing to do while everyone else was out kiteboarding. So, I decided to go snorkeling just to get some exercise. It was then that I discovered coral reefs for the first time. It’s crazy to think about now, but I had spent years kiteboarding on top of reefs in places like Hawaii and the Caribbean, yet I’d never actually seen them up close. I was fascinated.
After that, I went back to the UK and studied film production at university. In our final year, we had the option to either write a paper or make a film. I chose to make a documentary about global warming and climate change, focusing on coral reefs. This took me back to the Maldives, where I did a lot of underwater photography and filming. The project was supported by a few companies, including Greenpeace, and a major supermarket chain in the UK, which sourced a lot of their tuna from that region.
From there, I quickly got involved in film production. After finishing my university course, I worked for a long time trying to get the documentary off the ground, which eventually led to corporate-based video production for a decade. That’s where the money was, so I followed the path for a while. I worked with big brands like Amazon, Uber, and Just Eat, creating internal communications content—stuff for seminars and conferences, rather than the flashy commercials you’d see on TV.
Eventually, I ended up in Barcelona for a big film shoot. I was directing and producing a lot of the material. After finishing the job, I turned to my now wife and said, “Barcelona’s really nice. It’s warm, it’s on the beach, it has culture.” So, we decided to move there.
While in Barcelona, we bought another van. We’d had vans in every place we lived, but this time, we started traveling up to the Pyrenees. One weekend, I remember waking up in the back of our van. It was sunrise, and as I slid open the door, I saw a row of other vans with people climbing out and preparing their skis and snowboards. I realized that the van culture wasn’t just at the beach—it extended to the mountains too.
That was a pivotal moment for me. Seeing the whole community of van lifers up in the mountains gave me the idea to bring this community together. I realized there was a complete circle to this lifestyle, and that was the spark that eventually led to the creation of the magazine. We didn’t start out knowing we’d do a magazine, but that moment in the Pyrenees marked the beginning of Advanture Magazine.
So, in a nutshell, I’ve always been involved in media in some way—whether through storytelling, photography, or working with sponsors. It naturally led me to where we are now, with the magazine.
What inspired you to establish Advanture Magazine, and what initial vision did you have for the project?
The initial vision for the magazine was to create a community around van life. It’s a very personal thing—a van is not just a vehicle; it’s also your home. It’s a pretty intimate, private space, and it’s not something people typically show off or invite others into. There’s a bit of a closed-off feeling about it, but at the same time, there’s a huge community of like-minded people out there.
Van life can mean different things to different people. On one hand, you’ve got people who have to live in their vehicles due to the housing crisis, job losses, or other challenges. On the other hand, you have people with a lot of money, driving luxury vans and traveling the world, some of them even retiring early to do so. So, the community is very diverse, from those living in vans out of necessity to those living it up on epic road trips.
When we first started, the idea was to tell stories of people living this lifestyle—not just the wealthy vanlifers, but also those who were in it as a means of saving money or just experiencing the road. At first, the magazine wasn’t solely focused on sport, but because of my background, we did feature stories of people doing adventurous things—skiing, surfing, or other sports while on the road. But as the magazine evolved, it became more about the way of life, the movement behind van life.
The magazine has grown in many ways, and a lot of its success is fueled by this shift toward showcasing how van life is more than just a way to travel—it’s a lifestyle. The idea was to not just present stories, but to create a sense of belonging within the community.
We started the magazine as a digital-only platform. The idea was that we were always on the move, so our audience could easily access the magazine through their phones or iPads. The concept was to provide a digital experience for people on the go, especially since picking up a physical magazine was becoming less common.
When we launched the pilot issue, I had a mailing list of just 200 people who had signed up. We promised them this new van life magazine, one they could take with them on their trips. At first, the magazine was free to distribute. We focused on creating a digital, flipbook-style magazine, maybe 40 pages long—nothing fancy, but something that felt personal and real.
We didn’t have sponsors initially, but we worked hard to build the magazine up. After a few issues, we started asking our audience if they’d be interested in a print version. To our surprise, we pre-sold 75 copies of issue four. We then redesigned that issue and made it a print version. It was a small print run, with a size similar to National Geographic—very travel-friendly. We printed it on demand, which meant it didn’t have the luxury feel of a traditional magazine, but it was a start.
I look back at that first print version now, and while the layout and logo were far from perfect, that’s where the magazine began. It was a concept that resonated with people, and we wanted to see if they were interested in supporting it. I had worked with magazines as a contributor for over a decade, but publishing a print product was a completely new challenge for me.
We faced all kinds of logistics issues, especially since I was based in Spain but the magazine was being printed in the UK for a UK audience. Shipping, printing, distribution—there were so many aspects I had to learn from scratch. Coming from a digital video background, transitioning to print was a huge industry shift for me, but it was a necessary one.
Could you walk us through the process of putting together an issue of Advanture Magazine? Besides writing and layout planning, how do you curate the most compelling stories?
Aside from writing and layout planning, curating the most compelling stories has evolved over time. In the beginning, our magazine was smaller and less refined. That was definitely me being an amateur in publishing. The first six issues were pretty basic in terms of content and structure. We published issue six in August 2021, about one and a half years after the launch of the magazine.
At that point, my daughter was born, so I took a step back to focus on fatherhood. I slowed down the magazine’s production and really thought about where I wanted to take it. During that time, I received a magazine from a UK publisher called The Wind. It’s a running magazine that focuses on why people run, and it’s independent.
I remember opening it and being struck by the experience. The first thing that hit me was the smell. Then, as I held it, I realized I’d never seen a magazine that felt, looked, or smelled like this. I was used to glossy, disposable magazines, but this was something entirely different. It was a coffee-table magazine, something that felt substantial and lasting.
That moment was a turning point for me. After working in digital for over a decade, I hadn’t been exposed to what magazines could truly be. I thought, “This is the kind of experience I want to create with Advanture Magazine.” So, I took about six months off to study magazines—lots of independent ones. I bought a variety of them, across different genres and languages, to understand everything from paper quality to size to layout flow.
This research helped shape how we now curate Advanture. The experience I want to offer readers is more than just stories; it’s about immersing them in adventure and travel, with a focus on van life and alternative ways of living on the road.
We loosely follow the seasons because they’re relevant to our readers. For instance, if you take a van out in Europe, you know what to expect with the changing weather. However, we don’t exclusively define our issues by season—our magazine is evergreen. You could pick up any issue and enjoy it, whether it’s about surfing in summer or the feeling of surfing in cold water. It’s not about the specifics; it’s about the essence—the feeling of the activity, the lifestyle.
When curating an issue, we always pick an overarching theme. For example, the next issue I’m working on is focused on “comfort”—that cozy cabin vibe you experience when you come back to your van from a cold or wet adventure. We build our stories around that theme, often incorporating editorial pieces and working with sponsors. For our upcoming issue, we’re doing a photoshoot in the woods, featuring outdoor pizza ovens. The story is about a small group of friends gathering for a social event, enjoying the outdoors, and then retreating to their vans for warmth and rest.
We actively search for stories all the time. Instagram is a fantastic source of inspiration within our community. People love to share their adventures, and the images they post are often fantastic. However, because of the nature of the platform, people usually only share images, not the full story. That’s where the magazine comes in—we provide a platform for people to become their own storytellers and share their full experiences.
So, the magazine is made up of real-life stories from people out there living the van life, mixed with some editorial and advertising. The photography plays a huge role in what we do. We set a very high bar for photography, and we don’t use any stock photos. Most of the time, contributors supply their own images, which is fantastic because it allows us to capture the raw, authentic experience of van life.
However, the level of photography can be a make-or-break factor. While we get a lot of submissions, some photos—especially from iPhones—might look great on a small screen but don’t hold up when blown up for print. We need high-quality images to accompany the stories. So, while the written content might be inspiring, the photography must match it in quality.
We never use AI-generated images or stock photography—everything in Advanture is authentic and created by the community we’re sharing stories about.
Can you share a particularly memorable story or feature from Advanture Magazine that resonated deeply with you or your readers?
This is actually an easy one. My wife wrote a piece in issue 12, which is one of our most memorable stories. It’s about the impact of social media and how people communicate with one another. When we were publishing that issue, I remember feeling like it was something really special. I can’t recall the exact page, but it’s in the front half of the magazine, and there’s a picture of her lying back in a field with a book.
The piece has been the most commented-on article we’ve ever published, which was a wonderful surprise, especially since she wrote it. The feedback we received from readers was overwhelmingly positive. The article explores how people interact in the age of social media, where everything feels like it stays at the surface level. You know, you can go on amazing trips, but when you return home and try to tell your friends and family about your experience, it’s hard for them to connect. They’re caught up in their own daily routines, and the things that felt larger-than-life to you just don’t resonate the same way with them.
Publishing that article made me realize how much our readers can relate to those feelings. Our audience isn’t just looking for stories of big trips to faraway places; they want stories that feel real and human. Our magazine is all about alternative travel experiences—smaller, more local adventures, often experienced in a van. Our readers are discovering unique places, and they’re excited to share those discoveries, but we learned through this piece that they also crave deeper, more meaningful storytelling.
What surprised me most was that our community isn’t just interested in travel stories anymore. The focus has shifted to real-life stories that make people think about what brings us together. It’s never been just about the van itself—whether it’s new or old, shiny or beaten up. What’s really resonating with our readers is the storytelling and the deeper connection to the experiences we share.
Selling a print magazine in 2024 is tough, especially when everyone craves fast content. We’re up against newsletters, Instagram, YouTube, and so many other platforms offering quick bites of information. Yet, we’ve found a niche audience that truly values sitting down with a physical magazine and engaging with it. It’s incredibly rewarding to see that the community is receptive to this kind of storytelling. Despite the fast-paced digital world, people are still willing to take the time to read and reflect, which is exactly what we hoped for when we started the magazine.
Can you share a moment when you felt particularly proud of what Advanture Magazine has accomplished?
It happened when the first luxury-level advertisers started taking an interest in Advanture Magazine. Early on, I was able to sign up smaller brands—things like independent companies making products for campervans or artisans creating accessories for the van life. But my goal from the beginning was to get the attention of the big brands—car manufacturers, outdoor giants, the ones we all recognize. I wanted them to see the value of the magazine and recognize its potential.
Coming from the kiteboarding world, I was used to working with top-level brands, so I always envisioned Advanture reaching that same level. I wanted it to be a magazine that big outdoor brands, like Patagonia, would take notice of. Even though I spent years doing corporate work, I was always out there shooting small projects with trail runners, surfers, and climbers, hoping one day a big brand would call me up for a shoot. Unfortunately, that never happened.
But with Advanture, my target was always to get on the radar of those large companies—to make them recognize the magazine. And over the last 12 to 18 months, that’s exactly what’s happened. Luxury brands have started reaching out to us. I haven’t pitched to them at all—they’ve found the magazine through their own channels and come to us.
Now we have a small but growing group of luxury advertisers buying print ads in the magazine, which is a huge accomplishment. This recognition—by both the audience and the brands—feels like the ultimate payoff. We’ve built something that’s not only being found by people but also respected by the brands in our space, outside of social media.
What I’ve always wanted for Advanture is for it to be more than just a van magazine—it’s a lifestyle magazine. It’s never been about the latest vans or specs like you’d find in a typical car magazine. Instead, we focus on the experiences that vans enable, on the people living the van life, and on the adventures they have. It’s about a lifestyle that’s bigger than the vehicle itself.
When these brands recognized that, it felt like we had truly found our niche. And that’s what makes this journey so rewarding—not just having advertisers but having companies that align with our vision.
What advice would you give to someone considering the transition to van life or looking to explore this lifestyle for the first time?
My advice is simple: don’t worry about getting the latest vehicle. They all do the same thing, as long as they drive. Some of the older vans don’t drive as well, but it’s more about the experience than the vehicle itself.
The market can be overwhelming, and many people get caught up in trying to make everything perfect before starting. But I believe it’s more important to just get out there and begin the journey. Many people are building and converting their own vans—putting in beds, kitchen units, and creating spaces on their driveways at home. It’s like building a tiny home; it’s a process, and it’s about designing your space to fit your needs.
This approach appeals to a lot of younger people today because the cost of buying a small van and converting it is much lower than purchasing a house. It gives people the freedom to explore and discover themselves. By nature, you also pick up new skills—using tools like saws and drills to build your van is part of the fun.
So, my advice is: don’t wait too long for the “perfect” van or the “right” moment. Just get started. The process is a lot of fun, and there’s so much to figure out and learn along the way.
Also, you don’t have to dream of a long three-month trip. Some of the best trips are the short ones. I’ve done my fair share of big trips, but honestly, my best experiences have come from weekend getaways. You don’t have to go far—just an hour outside your town can lead to an amazing experience. The beauty of van life is that you don’t have to come home that night. If you’re not staying in a hotel, you can park up in your van and enjoy more time in a place, even if it’s close to home.
So, my advice is to dive in, embrace the adventure, and don’t overthink it. There’s a whole world to explore, and you don’t need to wait for the perfect circumstances.
What are your thoughts on the enduring appeal of printed magazines in today’s increasingly digital world?
I think the appeal of print magazines comes from the experience they offer. In today’s world, you can spend all day swiping through your phone, but when you finally find that perfect place to park your van, you’re not really going to want to be scrolling on your device. Instead, the romantic idea is to sit back with a book or a magazine and disconnect from all the noise. That’s really the essence of what we’re trying to offer with the magazine.
In a fast-paced digital world, you have your phone, your newsletters, websites, and YouTube videos for most of the week. But when you go camping, the whole point is to disconnect and enjoy the moment. That’s where the magazine fits in. It’s an analog product that doesn’t need charging. You can throw it on the backseat of your van, and it complements the lifestyle perfectly. It’s something that goes hand in hand with van life—whether you’re relaxing in your van or sitting by the campfire, it just works.
I do believe print is making a small resurgence right now. Vinyl records and cassettes are making a comeback, and there’s a whole retro nostalgia happening. It’s crazy to think about, but when you look back at things from our childhood—things that no longer exist in mainstream culture—you get excited about them again.
One of the most interesting things I’ve noticed recently is that people our age and older are starting to subscribe to print magazines again for the first time in years, which is exciting. But there’s also a whole generation of younger people who have never had a print magazine before. They’re just now discovering the tactile experience of flipping through a real magazine, feeling the paper, and even folding over pages. I’ve received messages from younger readers saying how cool it is to finally hold a print magazine, and that was a big realization for me.
That’s a whole new audience for us, and it’s exciting. I have high hopes for the future of print, whether it’s magazines, books, or coffee-table books. Something physical can deliver an experience that a phone or a YouTube video just can’t. Print is not dead, and I think it’s far from it. Sure, digital took over for a while, but in a world where people go camping to disconnect, look at the stars, and unwind with a book, that’s where the print magazine truly shines.
I agree. The magazine gives people that opportunity to unplug and enjoy something more tangible. Have you ever thought about publishing a coffee-table book, like a special edition of highlights from past issues?
I’d love to. The idea of doing a special edition or even a standalone coffee-table book has definitely crossed our minds. We’ve already tested the waters with our special edition, where we took the first six issues, redesigned them, and printed them in a much larger format on nicer paper. It was really well received, and that has encouraged us to think about doing more. We’ve considered doing a book on van life, but there is some competition in that space with brands like Lonely Planet already covering it.
However, the beauty of the magazine is that it’s something unique. There’s nothing like Advanture Magazine out there. We’re able to sell it globally, and there’s no other magazine with the same niche focus. A book would be competitive, but the magazine is truly one of a kind.
The magazine itself has become a bit of a statement. We’ve got a soft-touch cover, and people leave it on their coffee tables. That’s something we love hearing—that someone is proud enough to leave it out as a display item. It’s more than just a magazine to some people; it’s almost like a piece of art.
As for distribution, we print about 2,000 copies per issue, and the magazine is predominantly read in the UK, where we have around 70-75% of our readership. We’re also stocked in boutique shops across Europe and the USA, although the US market is smaller for us right now. Initially, we were in a lot of Barnes & Noble stores in the USA, but we quickly realized that the content was more focused on the UK and Europe. The US is a different market altogether, so we pulled back a bit.
Currently, we’re stocked in around 600 stores across the UK, including major airports and train stations. It’s pretty cool to think that someone could be flying around the world, grab a coffee, and pick up a copy of Advanture Magazine. It’s surreal, especially since I used to visit these stores and flip through kiteboarding magazines, hoping to find a picture of myself. Now, it’s my own magazine on those shelves.
