Video version
Transcript
Welcome to Dirtbag Rich. I’m Blake Boles.
This podcast shares the stories of people who…
- spend most of their time doing what they want
- while supporting themselves without a normal full-time job
- and prioritizing physical movement and geographic exploration
If you’re not familiar with the term “dirtbag”, it’s used in the climbing and hiking community to describe someone who is so dedicated to their hobby, passion, or cause that they forsake the comforts and social status of the conventional way of life in order to focus on doing what they love.
The term “dirtbag rich” is one I borrowed from the author Tim Mathis, who wrote The Dirtbag’s Guide to Life. According to Tim, someone who is “dirtbag rich” is someone lives like a dirtbag but earns money like a professional, allowing them to live a dirtbag life sustainably over a long period of time, rather than always stressing about money.
As soon as I discovered that phrase, I knew it described me. And when I sat down to start working on my new book, also called Dirtbag Rich, I took a moment to explain why. Here’s what I wrote (read the full introduction).
Hi, I’m Blake.
I’m not wealthy or famous.
I don’t have a house, car, spouse, child, advanced degree, or prestigious title.
I lack many things that others my age possess.
What I do have is my own little version of the good life: one overflowing with freedom, nature, travel, adventure, friends, and romance.
For almost two decades now I’ve worked just a few months each year. The rest of the time I spend reading, writing, hiking, biking, dancing, thinking, traveling, dreaming, and conversing.
I’m not subsidized by my family or the government. Nor did I sell a company, ride the stock market, go viral, traffic human organs, or take an online course revealing the one secret that will make all your financial dreams come true.
Rather, I found a form of work that I genuinely enjoy. Work that does good, pays well, and doesn’t monopolize my life.
“Found” isn’t really the right word. I stumbled, sweat, tinkered, and charmed my way into this work. Year after year, I do it all again. Nothing is guaranteed, but this energizes me.
I don’t have a permanent residence. At various points, all of my possessions have fit into a small storage unit, the back of a car, or a few plastic bins. When I tire of migrating, I settle down for a few months or longer. Then
I pick up and move on, in pursuit of the people, nature, and activities I cherish most. No one place holds my heart. I am geographically polyamorous.
Relationships are my first safety net. Good health is my second. Savings are my third.
I may not earn much, but compared to how I spend, it’s a ton.
I’m not conventionally rich. I’m dirtbag rich.
When I started writing the book, I decided that starting a podcast seemed like a good idea, to help me gather stories that I could add to the book and round out my own experience. What I didn’t expect was how big the response would be! With just a few posts, I quickly ended up with more than fifty truly fascinating people leading extraordinary lives that they’re ready to share with me. But for the most part, you have never heard of these people. They are quietly crafting lives of flexibility, time wealth, high-quality relationships, and meaningful work. They’re not all “dirtbag rich” in the same way as me, and that’s great—they all have somewhat different values and personalities, rather than being cookie-cutter duplicates of each other. They’re not all outdoor enthusiasts, or single people, or younger people, or childless people, or gifted entrepreneurs. What they do share is boldness, courage, passion, and a commitment to living life on their own terms.
Let me give you a little preview of what’s to come.
My first two interviews exemplify the classic dirtbag spirit. I speak with Brittany Goris, a 31-year-old climber who lives in her van and supports herself with 15 hours a week of graphic design work. Brittany is actually inside her van when I interview her, parked in her friend’s driveway. She talks about the ups and downs of her travel- and adventure-heavy lifestyle, although it’s mostly ups.
Then I speak with Brendan Leonard who spent many years as a dirtbag before settling down in Montana, where he now lives at age 45 with his wife and young child, writing and drawing for his website “Semi-Rad” while still going on cycling and trail running adventures. Brendan never saw himself having a house and rooted life when he was younger, but he loves his post-dirtbag existence, because he gets to wake up each day and essentially do what he wants.
Then we hear from my friend Hannah Bowley, who I met while passing through Seattle and who I convinced to join me for an adventure in Patagonia while she was cycling across the world for a year. But back in Seattle, Hannah has a very normal 9-5 job in the public school system. She genuinely cherishes her stable, everyday life, but while many of her friends are getting married and having kids, her thirst for adventure just won’t die. She plans to take a full year off after every three years of working for the foreseeable future, because that’s the kind of life she wants to look back on when she’s old.
Then you’ll hear from Suzanne Roberts, a 54-year-old ski bum with a PhD and no kids, and Kelsey Shipman, who moved to Mexico from Texas at age 38 in order to raise her young daughter in a more financially and emotionally sustainable way while also pursuing her writing.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg! There are so many fascinating guests in the pipeline, I can hardly wait to interview them all, and share what I discover with you.
My mission with these interviews is to go deep and get vulnerable. I’m asking questions about money, time, purpose, privilege, doubts, and insecurities. This is the stuff that we all think about but usually only discuss with those closest to us. Over the past years as I’ve opened up and written more vulnerably and publicly—you can google “The Adventures of Blake” for evidence of that—I’ve discovered how good it feels to bear it all. So if you stick around, this is what I promise to deliver: deep, vulnerable, and provocative interviews with normal people who are living extraordinary lives. No advertising, no sponsorship, no long introductions, no wasting your time. I don’t even have intro music at this point.
If you’ve followed my previous work in alternative education, unschooling, and self-directed learning, you might wonder what the connection is. Here’s how I see it. I spent the first twenty years of my adulthood on the question of what to do when young people don’t like school. Now I’m asking, what can adults do if they don’t like conventional jobs and conventional lifestyles. I especially care about the plight of young adults who aren’t finding their place in the world of work— those whose call to adventure and desire for self-ownership outweigh their need for security and social validation. I care because I was one of them! My early and mid-twenties were a mess! I was quitting most of the jobs I started, even the ones I thought I really wanted. My mind overflowed with romantic visions of wilderness immersion, perpetual travel, and social activism. Whenever I saw a peer taking a stressful job to pay for a house or apartment to fill with furniture and appliances, I felt sick. I wanted freedom, purpose, and adventure. I craved experiences, not things. I wanted to be in love with the story of my own life. The normal path would not suffice.
So I’m writing the book I wish existed when I was 25. But I already see that these questions go far beyond the realm of confused twenty-somethings. There are so many of us out there in our 30s and beyond who are trying to strike that magical balance of time, money, and purpose, to achieve some version of “dirtbag rich.” Kids and houses and spouses complicate things, but they don’t disqualify you from becoming dirtbag rich. I’m just as curious as you are about how people keep the core dirtbag ethos alive—spending most of your time doing what you love—into the next stages of adulthood and responsibility. There are amazing people out there to learn from, and that’s who I’ll introducing you to on this podcast. And if you know someone who you think I should interview, please reach out.
To listen to the podcast, just search for “Dirtbag Rich” on any platform, or visit my website, blakeboles.com. That’s also where you can follow the progress of the book and find stories from my life on the road. Because while I’m writing and speaking about this “dirtbag rich” thing, I’m also living it, in all gloriousness and messiness. This is a very active experiment, and I’m not yet sure how it will turn out. These conversations are as much for me as they are for you, and I’m delighted to have you here. Thanks for listening, and enjoy the show.