Dirtbag Rich

Diana Proemm is a 54-year-old ski bum, adaptive sports professional, dual US-German citizen, and lifelong wanderer who has spent three decades saying yes to unlikely opportunities. ( dianaproemm.com ) Diana describes leaving Ohio in the mid-1990s, bouncing between ski towns, remote lodges, and outdoor jobs, and building a life through curiosity, persistence, and conversations with strangers. From...

Madeline Hryse is a 28-year-old traveler, climber, and cyclist who spent four years moving overland across Latin America and Asia—sometimes alone, sometimes with friends and strangers she met along the way—before cycling 14,000 kilometers from China to Sweden. ( @very__odd ) Madeline grew up in a family that treated adventure as a normal part of life, but her father was the biggest influence. A mo...

In this wide-ranging conversation, Ryan Jordan of BackpackingLight.com interviews Blake about Dirtbag Rich . Topics include: The historical meaning of “dirtbag” in climbing, thru-hiking, and outdoor culture How dirtbag culture has traditionally balanced freedom, poverty, adventure, and insecurity The risks and trade-offs of choosing flexibility over conventional career advancement Housing strategi...

Eric Darby is a “deeply blue-collar” builder, off-grid tinkerer, helicopter pilot, and grandfather who has spent most of his life avoiding normal jobs. Eric never made much money—his lifetime average income is about $7,500 per year—but he still managed to buy 16 acres in western Colorado and fill it with Earthships, tiny houses, workshops, kinetic sculptures, and other hand-built structures. He de...

Claire Pomykala is a 26-year-old bike tourer and accidental influencer who walked away from a $115,000 tech job because it made her feel physically and mentally unwell—and replaced it with a loose mix of guiding, bikepacking trips, and independent projects. ( livingbybike.com / @livingbybike ) Claire traces her path into cycling back to a campus bike co-op that offered an unexpected sense of belon...

Scott Stillman is a 53-year-old writer, backpacker, and desert wanderer who built his life around walking canyon country instead of working full-time. He’s the author of I Don't Want to Grow Up and seven other books. ( scottstillmanblog.com ) Scott traces his evolution from skateboarding teenager to normie bank employee in Ohio to full-time freedom seeker in Colorado. Along the way, he explains wh...

In this special episode, Blake talks with his old friend, summer camp co-leader, and High Sierra backpacking partner, Fred. Born and raised in Valencia, Spain, Fred brings a European perspective to the question of whether it's possible to become dirtbag rich in a place with different cultural norms and a lower income than the United States. Fred also discusses how professional trail runners transi...

Dave Whitson is a 40-something high school history teacher and Camino de Santiago guidebook author who has crossed the United States on foot, spent six of the past twelve months traversing Italy, and taken countless student groups on long-distance walking adventures. He has no phone plan, gym membership, or anything resembling a vice. He writes powerful travel narratives, adores the challenge of w...

Ryan Van Duzer is a 46-year-old adventurer, filmmaker, and bike-powered storyteller who has spent the past two decades turning his obsession with movement into a full-time career. ( duzertv.com ) After a two-year Peace Corps stint in Honduras, Ryan skipped the flight home, bought a $700 bicycle, and pedaled 4,000 miles back to Boulder, Colorado—a trip that changed his life and set him on a path to...

James Brown is a 43-year-old traveler, relational coach, graphic designer, and lifelong seeker caught between the urge to roam and the desire to put down roots. ( jameswonders.uk ) After spending his twenties and early thirties working long hours in England’s gray corporate offices—commuting three hours a day to a job he genuinely loved but a life that left him drained—James finally broke free. He...

Aisha Trent is a 31-year-old seasonal worker, minimalist, and car dweller who’s spent the past two and a half years living out of her Toyota 4Runner—and doesn’t see herself going back. ( @norent_trent ) After losing both parents in a tragic car accident, Aisha decided life was too short to wait for permission. She downsized everything she owned, traded a Ford Fiesta for a 4Runner, and built a life...

Diana Grijalva is a 42-year-old outdoor educator, international guide, and almost-astrophysicist who hasn’t paid rent since 2008. ( @diana.grigri ) Diana explains how she lives on seasonal wages, why she’d rather sleep in a van or hostel bunk than clock 40 hours a week, and how flexibility lets her drop everything to show up for family when it matters. We get into her peak dirtbag years—dumpster d...

Julieta Duvall is a 42-year-old flight attendant, unschooling mom, and part-time poet who spent years chasing job security before realizing that freedom mattered more. ( @the_unschooling_lifestyle ) Originally from Mexico, Julieta studied law, dropped out, and ended up taking the midnight shift as Spirit Airlines’ only Spanish-speaking reservations agent in Michigan. One year later, she joined the...

Michael Hughes is a 37-year-old river guide, training director, and year-round rafting company employee who’s built a stable yet unconventional life around whitewater. ( @ northwest.rafting.company ) His journey started at age 19 on a canoe float down the Rio Grande, where he realized that working on rivers could actually be a job. Michael spent his twenties chasing the guiding season between Cali...

Jack Schott is a 36-year-old summer camp consultant, former camp founder, and self-directed learning advocate who spends a lot of time thinking about money. ( jackschott.com ) Jack occasionally earns $1,500-$3,500 in a single day by running corporate trainings and camp staff workshops: work that doesn’t always light him up, but work that is very useful for buying time, freedom, and very possibly,...

Morgan Sjogren is a 38-year-old environmental writer who has spent the last seven years living as a modern-day desert nomad, crafting a freelance journalism career while residing primarily in the remote wilderness of Utah's Canyon Country. ( morgansjogren.com ) After growing up in Southern California suburbia and spending her twenties pursuing a marketing career, Morgan left her more conventional...

Blake Boles is a 42-year-old writer, cycle tourist, trail runner, partner dancer, and California-born temporary European expat who leads international trips for self-directed teenagers and young adults. ( blakeboles.com ) In this special episode, former guest Jenny Abegg interviews Blake about what he's doing with his life, the Dirtbag Rich project, his early influences, and how he thinks about fr...

A quick update about the Dirtbag Rich podcast and book-in-progress. Links: Dirtbag Rich: an update ( The Adventures of Blake ) Paul Millerd's episode appears on The Pathless Path Luke Mehall's episode appears on Dirtbag State of Mind Hike More, Work Less: the “Dirtbag Rich” Lifestyle ( hiking-trails.com )

Kaya Lindsay is a 32-year-old climber, filmmaker, vanlife veteran, and accidental gym owner in Moab, Utah. ( onechicktravels.com / @onechicktravels ) In her early twenties, Kaya fell in love with bouldering at a Santa Cruz gym, met a tattooed vegan woman with a Sprinter van, and realized she could climb full-time. She built out a van, hit the road, and spent four years chasing perfect weather and...

Peter Kowalke is a 45-year-old relationship coach, "half monk," and Bangkok-based nomad who has crafted a life of radical simplicity. ( peterkowalke.com ) Peter explains his life through multiple levels of understanding—from the simple "I help people have good marriages and travel around the world doing it" to the complex spiritual journey that led him to nearly become an ordained monk in the Veda...

Luke Mehall is a 46-year-old climber, writer, and self-described dirtbag who turned a one-time zine into a print publishing business and podcast. ( climbingzine.com / @lukemehall_writer ) After escaping a Midwest upbringing and mental health struggles in his early twenties, Luke found stability through poetry, climbing, and the encouragement of writing professors at a small liberal arts college. H...

Courtney Bierschbach is a 36-year-old nonprofit consultant and writer who calls a converted fire rig named Rigby her winter home. ( thewanderingcourt.substack.com ) Courtney tells the story of her unconventional path—from graphic design and incentive travel jobs that left her drained, to a joyful stint teaching Leave No Trace in national parks, to eventually launching her own consulting business t...

Miya Tsudome is a 32-year-old outdoor photographer and climber who turned a summer job in Yosemite into a whole new life. ( miyatsudome.com ) She grew up in New York’s Hudson Valley, studied English, and had $30,000 in student loans when she decided to skip the New York City career path and head west. A one-way ticket to San Francisco led her to a service job in Yosemite Valley, where she earned $...

Tracy and Andy Duncan are a couple living full-time aboard Another Summer , a boat they call home with their five children. ( linktr.ee/SVanothersummer ) Leaving behind suburban life in Atlanta, the Duncan family embraced a life of adventure, spending their days on the open water and learning to balance work, family, and self-sufficiency. Tracy shares how COVID pushed them to rethink their lifesty...

Jonathan Kalan is a 37-year-old photojournalist-turned-entrepreneur who built his career reporting from the front lines of revolutions, refugee crises, and emerging tech scenes across Africa and the Middle East. ( jonathankalan.com ) Publishing in outlets like The New York Times and The Atlantic , he covered the sharp edges of globalization—until the stress, financial instability, and nonstop trav...