GREAT FALLS — If you decide to be a travel vlogger, you have to do something to set you apart from the hundreds of others. If you’re Paul, that means leaning into your Scottish lineage.
“I thought, well, that would make me a little bit different to the other 10,000 people,” said Paul, the content creator behind Paul Wheel Drive on Youtube.
So for nearly four years, Paul has been wearing a kilt.
“Just gives me a bit of an idea, people who are trying to follow me on YouTube,” Paul said. “…Oh, yeah. He's the guy with the kilt.”
Paul is a van life vlogger, which is exactly what it sounds like. He films his life living out of a 2003 Volkswagen Winnebago Rialta.
“It is my accommodation, my home, my recluse, the whole thing,” Paul said.
Paul has traveled around the world twice, and four years ago decided to drive around Australia, creating YouTube videos to help people learn tips and tricks when traveling on the road. Every video ends with the same information:
“How much in fuel, how much in accommodation, how long it took me to get there and how far it really was,” Paul said.
After three years touring Australia, Paul got a six-month Visa and decided to help Americans out.
“I really didn't find much in the way of tourist offices. Not in California anyway,” Paul said, “So I thought, ‘Well, that definitely reminds me why I came here, to make up what I had made in Australia for Americans.’”
If you've ever wanted to strike out and do some van living on your own, let the man with the kilt show you how. It’s not always pretty, but that isn’t the point.
“The real joy of travel isn't being at a place, although, you know, there's obviously benefits of it,” Paul said. “It's just the travel itself.”
Even if that means living in a 22-foot, 20-year-old RV that Paul finds is plenty big enough.
“I think it'd be fine for two [people], but I've never really had two to be traveling with,” Paul said. “But, like, for one it’s just perfect.”
If you want to try this for yourself, Paul says to rent the house and the equipment, and if you are with a partner, prepare for a somewhat rude awakening.
“Now, they might have been married for 20 years and think they know each other really, really well, but suddenly when you're in this room, it's just like, ‘Get out of here, get out'," he noted.
It's not financially viable and it's not especially luxurious, but it will give you memories and experiences that last a lifetime and are priceless.
Click here to check out Paul's channel on Youtube.
