Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Michaels.
Hi Ryan, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
It all started when I graduated from Florida Gulf Coast University in 2018. By the time I finished my business degree, I was fed up with the rigid lifestyle that I had lived tied down to one place. I knew I wanted to travel far and travel often. That’s when I discovered people online living what they called van life.
After that, I was obsessed with figuring out how to get my life to a point where I could drop everything and travel in a van. Logically it seemed like the most cost-effective, fun, and practical way to travel all the time.
So I took everything I learned from the School of Entrepreneurship at FGCU and worked my ass off for three years to figure out the money side of the equation. I figured making money online was the goal so that I could do it from anywhere. After lots of dead ends, I found a little success on YouTube with my channel titled my name: Ryan Michaels. I got it to a point where I was consistently making $2k-$4k per month with less than 5,000 subscribers. My mind was blown and I was ready to hit the road.
In 2021, I bought my first van and built it out in the driveway of the same Fort Lauderdale home I grew up in. Thanks, Mom and Dad!
I realized quickly how much fun it was to build that first van. I fell in love with crafting the best possible thing I could make. It felt like in a world full of so much mediocrity, I finally had control to make something I loved. I learned things like how to install solar panels, a cedar tongue and groove ceiling, and custom cabinetry all within those first 5 months of van building.
Neighbors would pass by so curious about what I was doing, that I even made friends with the mailman. He’d check on my progress every day. People were starting to tell me that I was so good at building that I should do it for a living! I laughed and told them no, I needed to be traveling in vans. Not building them.
So in August of 2021, I hit the road and lived the life I dreamt of. I was having so much fun going to places, doing things, and meeting the people that I completely neglected my YouTube channel.
Eventually, the money slowed and I got burnt out from traveling so intensely 24/7. It was December while I was sitting in the van freezing my ass off in Denver, Colorado when I decided I wanted a change. Namely, some stability and sunshine. Immediately I thought of building vans for others because of how much I enjoyed it and how handy I was at it. There in Denver, I decided to drive back home, sell that first van, and start Kokomo Vans.
Now I have my boutique van build shop in Fort Myers and I’m finishing up my 3rd van build that will be for sale in the next coming weeks. I started building what I called: The Florida Signature Series Vans. They’re all inspired by and named after a different Florida beach. Each one is unique and designed from the ground up. The last one was Sanibel, and the current one is Anna Maria.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road to today has had its bumps. The biggest one was Hurricane Ian. I moved back to Fort Myers to start Kokomo Vans in August of 2022. I was just successful in selling my first van to fund the new company. I found a warehouse to rent and got myself a wonderful apartment on the Caloosahatchee River that I loved. It had a pier on the water where I’d watch the sunset every night.
I was just finishing up with getting the warehouse set up to work when Hurricane Ian came through and destroyed Fort Myers on September 28th, 2022. The hurricane destroyed my apartment and left me homeless for a month. Luckily, I had friends to live with during that time. Many others, weren’t as lucky.
The hurricane set me back from launching the company for a whole month. The entire time I was eating through the little runway I had to launch this thing. I ended up needing to borrow money to finish that first van built in the shop to sell it and turn a profit. The van turned out to be absolutely gorgeous and sold quickly. But damn, that hurricane was a real low point for me.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I build boutique vans for people who want a different, freeing, and luxurious way to travel. I buy a cargo van like a Ram Promaster and custom build out the interior into something that resembles a luxury RV in the form factor of a cargo van. This van can fit in regular parking spaces so it’s more freeing than a large RV that’s confined to only campgrounds.
I see myself as an artist because any time I show people a van I finished, I feel like I’m showing them a piece of art. They even gasp in awe and tell me I’m an artist. It feels so amazing to have people stare in wonder at something you’ve created with your hands.
From the design process to building and making the van come to life, keeping a balance of beauty, function, and durability is what I keep in mind. I want these vans to be beautiful, functional, and durable for decades into the future.
My vans go directly against the mediocrity that today’s market has grown accustomed to. It’s not scalable to put this much quality into what I make. But that’s okay, this isn’t for the masses.
What matters most to you?
Taking control of life in my way is the most important thing to me. I grew up like most people feeling like there was a predetermined path for me that I had to navigate within. Somewhere along the way, I realized all these rules I had made up about life in my head could be thrown out the window if they didn’t serve me.
I learned it’s important to design your life, or someone else will do that for you.
Designing your life is about finding the aspects of life you cherish and want more of and figuring out the actual steps needed to get there. Whether that’s chasing crazy dreams for yourself or living a safe life surrounded by friends and family, what are the actual steps you need to get there?
Without zooming out and thinking about these things, we can watch years go by where we live the life that others have given us. Take control of your life. Figure out what you want. Figure out what it takes to get there.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kokomovans.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kokomovans/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@kokomovans
Image Credits
Fabiana Solano
