Influences

A book I read every year (and I did this long before Ryan Holiday popularized Stoicism in its now nearly everywhere version) is Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations. First introduced to me freshman year of college, the book is Aurelius’ private journal. I hope if there’s a consciousness within which he exists post-death, he isn’t too upset by the millions of readers snooping through his diary. 

In the first section, Aurelius lists people, good and ill alike, he credits with teaching him something. In that spirit, I’ve made such lists, too, and once concluded, follow up with little notes or calls to those people letting them know I’m grateful, at least to those who have been a positive mentor or teacher. I haven’t yet written the letter to the negative examples, though it’s tempting.

I’m trying a new version of this list exercise today in honor of “influencer” culture. The following people have greatly influenced my thought, lifestyle choices, habits, and actions, and their influence has had staying power and made me a better person living a better life than I would otherwise. I learned about everyone on this list from the internet, primarily personal blogs or YouTube channels, but also because at least once, the algorithm got it right. Some are still posting, some have moved on to other things, but I’m grateful to them all and offer this post as my thanks.

1.        Jacob Fiskar, Extreme Early Retirement, and his successor, Mr Money Mustache

I credit them for the mindset that got me out of debt for good, closed the tap on leaky spending habits, and to view frugality as freedom rather than deprivation. By training, Fiskar is a physicist and Mr Money Mustache is an engineer, but they’ve both expanded far beyond those narrow fields with their DIY mentality and problem-solving ability. Thanks to them, I don’t labor under the problematic assumption about needing X dollars for retirement where X is an infinitely increasing and unattainable amount (so that you either never retire or never feel like you have enough to retire). Both advocate using the stock market to generate passive income, but it’s not an end in itself. Finances should serve humans, not humans enslaved to capitalism. For them, it’s all about maximizing freedom. They aren’t of the Marie Kondo/minimalism crowd, but they do keep their wants in check, fulfill their needs, and have developed a great inner resilience, self-reliance, and hardiness as a result. 

2.        Bakari Kafele, Biodiesel Hauling, now Veggie Powered Handyman

Back in about 2005, I got into scavenging and dumpster-diving. I sometimes wish I’d had the foresight to record my finds over the years and to track how much completely useable and amazing stuff I’ve put back into circulation instead of its ending up in the landfill. Bakari took this a step further: he lives in the Oakland area and 1) converted his truck to biodiesel and 2) started a hauling/handyman business where he sorts what people want him to haul away, and either takes recycles, upcycles, or sells at reuse depots, or fixes the stuff up and sells it on Craigslist (and maybe elsewhere now, I don’t know). He tries his best to keep things out of the landfill, distinguishing himself from the typical hauling service that shows up with a big roll-off dumpster and takes it all to the landfill. On his website you can see that a strong sense of justice and ethics pervades every aspect of what he does, and he works within healthy limits. Mad respect for Bakari. 

3.        Thor Harris, artist, sculptor, musician, painter, carpenter, handyman, badass

My introduction to Thor was this manifesto he posted. If you read it, you’ll see the overlap between him and the other influencers I’ve listed. What sets him apart is his artistic practice, and because I love artists who also live artfully, Thor is my kind of guy. He rebuilt his house in Austin (long before Austin was the “in” place to be—I doubt he’d get away with it now) using scavenged and repurposed materials and incorporated beautiful, quirky artistic flourishes. He also has that punk edge, seems deeply kind, and doesn’t take any shit.  

4.        Iohan Gueorguiev, the Bikewanderer

Iohan—gosh, I still find this so incredibly sad—committed suicide in 2021. Before that, he traveled by bicycle through some of the worst conditions imaginable, but always managed to suffer with good humor and a smile on his face. He rode from the Arctic to Argentina, made several side excursions, tried to ride the Great Divide Route in winter, and even paddled an inflatable packraft through the Dorian Gap and in some other crazy places a small inflatable packraft probably shouldn’t go. He documented his travels on YouTube and I’ve watched them all, several multiple times. He always stopped to pet horses and cows and always, always stopped for dogs. Iohan was incredibly kindhearted and soft-spoken and very, very brave (or foolish, depending on your perspective). The Covid pandemic prevented him from continuing his travels, and he was forced to return to Canada. While waiting it out, he apparently suffered from insomnia and apnea, and the chronic nature of this led to depression—all exacerbated by not being able to travel, I think, because he seemed utterly happy and most fully alive pedaling his bicycle—and, ultimately, his suicide at age 33. It’s a great loss, but his example and spirit continues to inspire and live on in me.

5.        Dick Proenneke

I saw segments of the video Alone in the Wilderness on YouTube and eventually hunted down a DVD at the library. When Proenneke was 50 years young, he left his job (he actually was seriously injured in a work accident, but I don’t know the timeline of how that incident factors into his decision) and went deep into the Alaskan wilderness with only a few hand tools and personal gear he carried in over a couple trips, building himself a little cabin and spending the next 34 years or so living there. Except for occasional visits from a friend and bush pilot who flew in supplies for him, his days were spent in his own company and in close observation of nature. He kept logbooks of what he noticed, wrote short essays, even made some videos on an old Bolex, learning about and becoming deeply attuned to the place. He was a self-taught naturalist and conservationist. His cabin is now maintained by the National Park Service and is on the National Register of Historic Places, a place I’d sure like to visit. 

6.        Bob Wells CheapRVLiving and Simon Lamberts, aka, Foresty Forest

If you’ve seen the movie Nomadland then you know about Bob Wells, and Foresty Forest’s YouTube channel has blown up so you might know about him as well, but I was surely one of the earliest to come to their respective blog/channels, a point of pride for me. In a time where people are living in vans that cost more than my house and where everyone is cycling through vanlife highs (look at this amazing location I’m posting to Instagram!) and lows (“why I’m quitting vanlife”), Bob and Simon have both stayed true to their roots and earthiness. Bob started with a box truck and now is in an old ambulance; Simon started in a minivan—while working nightshift in a factory job and braving the winters of Canada—and is now in a full size Chevy van outfitted with a good 4x4 system and a winch so he can get further into the backcountry to climb the mountains he loves. I came to Simon’s channel for his bikepacking posts, which is what he made videos of first, and stayed for his tenacious commitment to simple living, somehow living in a minivan, his DIY, cooking, and ethos. He often hauls trash out of campgrounds, clears deadfall from trails, and just all-around seems like a great guy. Bob has directed his efforts to helping others live as nomads in their vehicles, freely sharing everything he has learned as well as connecting people to resources and community among other nomads. Good humans both, I say.

No doubt you see the connective threads between them all. My highest admiration and respect are reserved for people who are countercultural, especially regarding money, but are also good humans--have a conscience, are kind, enjoy simple pleasures, can figure out how to do things, etc. They operate outside the conventional systems and lifestyles, are thoughtful and intentional about resources and limits, and live lives and values that are deeply inspiring to me. I haven’t met any of these people in person, I don’t really know them, and I hope that the ones that are still alive aren't terrible humans in real life. I do sense from their work that they are as they portray for the most part. At root, I sure appreciate what they are putting out into the world in terms of content and service to others who might need a nudge, to borrow some courage and wisdom, to create their own version of a life well-lived. Thanks again to this passel of eight humans who have helped me do just that.