Vanlife Roadmap Podcast: Ep. 10

Pursue Your Dreams or Someone Will Hire You for Theirs

Eugene on turning a step van into a home, a recording studio, and a pop-up stage – and busking his way out of debt.

Eugene was working a telemarketing job in Tel Aviv when he met a woman singing on the street. She made his daily wage in two hours. He quit almost right away, and he has made his living with a guitar ever since – Amsterdam, Portugal, and then Australia, where he could surf and sing.

Australia is where he found vanlife. He bought a small, already-built van in Melbourne, broke down on his first big drive, and busked every day while a friend rebuilt the engine. He arrived in Australia about $11,000 in debt. A busking contest win turned into restaurant gigs and farmers markets, and within a year he was back to zero.

Today he lives in a converted step van – picture an old delivery truck – whose side opens into a stage, with curtains, lights, and a PA that pulls out. It is also his home and his recording studio. He follows the weather from Florida to Texas to the mountains, and opens the stage wherever the crowd (and the permit office) allows.

About Eugene

Eugene Kurolap is a singer-songwriter who lives, records, and performs out of a converted step van. Born in Russia and raised in Israel and Canada, he has busked in Israel, Europe, Australia, and across the US. He covers artists like Trevor Hall, Ed Sheeran, and Passenger, and writes and produces his own songs in the studio built into his van. The back of the van carries his motto, "Pursue your dreams or someone will hire you for theirs."

What you'll hear in this episode

• How a street singer in Tel Aviv convinced Eugene to quit his sales job – and why it did not take him long to decide

• Busking his way from Amsterdam and Portugal to Australia, chasing a place where he could surf and sing

• His first van, bought pre-built in Melbourne, which overheated on the way up the coast and needed a full engine rebuild

• Going from about $11,000 in debt to zero in one year – a busking contest, restaurant gigs, and farmers markets

• The paint-job barter – a German painter used his van while he was away and covered it in waves and a sunset in return

• Finding a converted step van on Craigslist in Florida and living in it from day one, in a $300-a-month rented backyard, while he built it out

• How the stage works – a solid top panel that lifts like an awning, a bottom panel that drops like a tailgate, curtains, lights, and a pull-out PA, all set up in about five minutes

• The recording studio and Murphy-bed couch, and why he sometimes records at two in the morning

• His seasonal route from Florida to Texas to Colorado mountain towns – and why permits are the hardest part of the job

• A festival crowd of 50 people fully locked in, and the stranger who went back to school to become a surgeon because of the quote on his van

Key takeaways

• You do not have to know everything to start. Eugene hired help for the electrical and the stage, and built more than half the van himself by learning as he went. His advice is one foot in front of the other – the electrical, the parking, and the rest get figured out along the way.

• Live in it before you finish it. He put a mattress in the step van on day one and built around how he actually used the space. Where the fan goes, where the stage goes, and what needs to be within reach all came from living in it first.

• Size your electrical for how you really live. His most common mistake, by his own account, is not enough battery. He started with one and is now on three, and his electric heater is the next thing to solve – he is looking at propane or a heater that runs off the van's fuel tank.

• Get insulation and the roof right the first time. He would never skip good insulation or a leak-proof roof again, because leaks turn into mold. Some of his own insulation was glued to the ceiling and may not hold through temperature swings, and he will not redo it until the next van.

• Pick a van you can get fixed. His step van is uncommon and hard to find mechanics for. Between an engine swap and a rear differential he spends roughly $10,000 a year on maintenance – still cheaper than rent, but his next van will be something common and lower-maintenance.

Resources + links

Shop Victron Inverters & Chargers

Shop Lithium Batteries & BMS

Shop Roof Vents & Fans

Shop Van Insulation

Shop Van Heaters