Viewing entries tagged

This Is So Much Harder Than We Thought It Would Be...



September 2, 2017 | 5 min read

Well hello there stranger!

Long time no talk eh? (Trust me, we know) This blog has been a blank canvas of potential energy kept empty only by the intentional pouring of our kinetic energy elsewhere. A fancy way of saying: we have been so freakin busy it's insane and keeping this thing up to date has not been a priority on purpose; though that will change soon.

I (Max) just wanted to give you guys a little update on Adventure Us and what we've been up to the past year and a half. A much bigger video update is coming soon, this blog is meant to hold you over till then. (Well for the handful of you who have cared and followed our story thus far).

So as many of you know we have been living out of our renovated Airstream "Rosemary" for the better part of 2 years. And let us tell you: it has been so amazing, dreamy, fulfilling and captivating.  Let us also tell you: it is so much harder than we thought it would be!


Now, if you've spent anytime in the tiny house, minimalism, small living world this is where you might expect me to rattle off a list of pros and cons, tips on renovations, best and worst practices, what to expect, how to make money, what you don't know going into trailer life and so on... (much of that will come later rest assured).

But right now I just wanted to be brutally honest and say that it's been hard because starting a brand you want to be excellent is hard. freaking. work.

Especially without any outside investments, no other business partners, living in a 180 square foot home you tow with you, in a new city every 3 weeks, with Bonnie Kate's chronic pain, with a few deaths of close friends, with some massive CRAZY personal family %#*!* going on, while trying to freelance and pay the bills, while working hard to create and launch what we believe will be some of the best, honest, beautiful, most thoughtful content on YouTube ever.

It's hard y'all, unless you really believe in the vision: you will give up. And if this was easy, everyone would be doing it. Last time I checked... there aren't many of us out there... 

"But we believe and are choosing to believe in Adventure Us because we believe in the people, memories, and stories we've encountered and want to share them with you in a way that is real, honest and beautiful."
Jon Foreman of Switchfoot.jpg

Hear me clear now: I'm not complaining, we chose this life and we own it with thanksgiving. While it is hard, it's important to note that hard is a very relative term. Is it hard compared to fighting cancer? Living in a war torn Iraq? Cleaning up the aftermath of Harvey in Houston? Of course not, obviously. But I wanted to try give an honest voice to the reality of our day to day for the past 600 days or so...

All of which to say: we have been very busy. Doing what you may ask? Filming a library of content for our YouTube channel while making a living until the channel can (hopefully) support us financially. So we will drive out to a place with episodes in mind, contacts made, things planned, and try to grab as many amazing stories as we can while still working on the road taking care of clients and freelancing. It's a delicate balance, and it's not fun or glamorous all the time, but we have found a stride and.... it is SO worth it!

The question "What is Adventure Us" is one we've gotten often (especially as we try to convince people to trust us and be on our episodes, or as we try to tell our friends and family what the HECK we've been up to! haha) So as we've attempted to answer this over and over the past year and a half, we have refined, thought, and considered much to come up with a simple and honest answer:

"Most people regret not having seen more of the world's beauty in their lifetime, so our YouTube channel invites folks to come alongside our adventures as we weekly share amazing stories while we work, travel and live in our 79' renovated Airstream named Rosemary."

As we say here on our site, we are a creative married duo purveying service + story as we travel the US. Service means freelancing paying the bills, and story will be our attempt to make YouTube a better place for young and older folks alike to invest their time as we become more and more connected with the ever present growth of the smartphone.

Social media and YouTube has democratized our ability to be seen in the world, which is to say it's an even playing field and we all have a chance at growing our brand. Which means we all have a chance at the privilege of having our thumb on the pulse of culture to some degree.

Whether or not we like it, we are what we consume: both at the dinner table and on our phones.

However, to rise above the noise, your content needs to not only be consistent, but must have meaning, be exceptional, carry beauty and with it a subtextual balance of high touch and high concept aesthetic that drives the story forward....whoops...sorry..... I did it again... started thinking like a filmmaker with a psychology degree and typed a fluffy sentence that makes sense to no one but me! ha Let me try that again....ah hem....

There are thousands of videos being made and uploaded daily, so we knew ours must be well-made, different, excellent and 'us'. That is why we have worked hard to define our brand, build our brand, live our brand, and then finally shoot stories that fit with our brand. This has taken almost two years, but once our channel launches, it will have been worth the wait...

The reality is: our utter connectedness online isn't going away, and while many people are using that in their own unique way, some are doing it better than others.

After our proposal documentary "Wildflower" took off, we too were inspired to take a stab at it in a way that is authentic, beautiful, hopeful and entertaining.

We believe social media can and should be something that fills not numbs, that inspires and doesn't bully, that empowers and doesn't trick you into resenting your life.

So... we are launching a YouTube channel that aims to do that through the sharing of stories centered around food, travel, music, making, florals, people and a little s'more.... 

We have given our hearts, time, thought, energy, blood, sleep, sweat, bank accounts, and tears for it, and you know what: we've already won!

Even if our channel flops, even if no one watches, even if we don't 'take off' and 'succeed' like everyone (honestly) wants to: we did it. We set our minds to a strong vision, brought it to life, learned a TON, became a better couple by learning how to work together in a TINY home, and got to travel a ton and invest precious time with friends and family we wouldn't have otherwise gotten to.

All in all, we're kinda over whether this 'works' or not, we're just at a point where we are thrilled to share it with the world and aim to very very soon.... :-)

Also, if you read this whole thing, you are amazing. Thank you for your time and energy.

Stay tuned... we can't wait to be Adventure Us with you...