What's Hippie Van Man?

What is Hippie Van Man?

What is
Hippie Van Man?

The Hippie Van Man multimedia project was started in 2013 with the intention of sharing an epic Pan American journey from Canada to Argentina, inspiring people to fulfill their dreams, tackle DIY projects, and to live in the now.

It’s about the spirit of adventure, and spreading smiles and good vibes 1km at a time.

Since wrapping up the grand Pan American tour in 2016, HVM has continued to maintain, build and revise the hippie van, while seeking out the occasional adventure, and sharing updates with friends made along the way.

It’s about the spirit of adventure, and spreading smiles and good vibes 1km at a time.

The Man

HVM is a project by Aaron Neilson-Belman. Aaron was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. He started a freelance career focused around Web Development and Digital Communications in 2010.

Aaron was an early adopter of the ‘digital nomad‘ lifestyle, spending much of his 20’s traveling the World while building websites on his trusty laptop.

Creativity, curiosity and adaptability have long been Aaron’s strongest assets. They have proved invaluable over the years, both professionally and personally.

He now finds himself in his mid-30’s, married, passionate about DIY projects, yoga, gardening, cycling, and of course exploring.

He is a psychedelic advocate, and believes psychedelics have profound transformative and therapeutic benefits, which should be made available to all.

Aaron lost his mother to cancer in 2020. He now volunteers as a bereavement support group facilitator with Bereaved Families of Ontario.

The Van

It had long been a dream of Aaron’s to own a classic VW bus. In 2011, he was browsing Craigslist.org and came across a beautiful blue 1979 VW Transporter.

The owner was leaving the country and the van was priced to sell. The stars aligned and Aaron decided to throw caution to the wind and make his dream of owning this iconic automobile a reality.

After working on the van all summer long, right down until hours before departure, Aaron drove from Toronto to Nevada, USA for the Burning Man festival with a couple friends.

Although the crew had a minor break-down on the way, the experience was more than he could have ever imagined, and would be the first of many adventures he would have with the funkafied VW microbus.

The van has gone through a number of transformations over the last 10+ years since it has been in Aaron’s possession. Besides regular maintenance and two engine rebuilds, the interior has been remodelled twice as has the paint job.

It had long been a dream of Aaron’s to own a classic VW bus. In 2011, he was browsing Craigslist.org and came across a beautiful blue 1979 VW Transporter.

The owner was leaving the country and the van was priced to sell. The stars aligned and Aaron decided to throw caution to the wind and make his dream of owning this iconic automobile a reality.

After working on the van all summer long, right down until hours before departure, Aaron drove from Toronto to Nevada, USA for the Burning Man festival with a couple friends.

Although the crew had a minor break-down on the way, the experience was more than he could have ever imagined, and would be the first of many adventures he would have with the funkafied VW microbus.

The Paint Job

At some point during the first few months of ownership, Aaron decided he wanted a funky mural on the van.

He again turned to Craigslist, posting in the ‘creative gigs’ section, stating that he was looking for someone interested in doing a mural on a classic VW van.

Aaron received quite a few responses, but when he got an email from Toronto artist, Alex Currie aka Runt, he knew right away who would be doing the art work.

Aaron gave Alex free rein. The concept Alex came up with was a combination of his unique characters, blue roads to represent the road trips the van would be on, and flames around the bottom because the first trip was heading to Burning Man.

After Runt laid down the design, we organized a community paint in, to help fill in all the color.

Runt has prints for sale, and is also available for custom projects. If you would like to get in touch with him send him an email at runtster2001@yahoo.com

In memory of…

The HVM project was partly inspired by the loss of two special people whom Aaron lost to cancer in the years leading up to his Pan American adventure, his cousin Erin and friend Jim.

Their premature deaths were a stark reminder to make the most of the time we are given, because we never know when our ticket is up.

Erin Belman,
Aaron’s cousin, who was herself a traveler, and was always encouraging him to travel NOW while he was young. Erin was always eager to hear about Aaron’s travels and see his photos.

Jim Sissakis, one of Aaron’s closest and most steadfast friends in high school, who in one of his final conversations with Aaron said, one of his biggest regrets was not traveling more, and that when he beat this thing (cancer), the two would go on a big adventure together.

Barbara Neilson,
In 2020 Aaron lost his mother to cancer. She was Aaron’s biggest fan and supporter throughout his entire life. She road along with Aaron for the first several weeks of his Pan American adventure.

Hippie Van Manifesto:

The idea is to remain in a state of constant departure while always arriving…

I feel like my transport should be an extension of my personality. And this is like my little window to the world… and every minute’s a different show.

I may not understand it. I may not even necessarily agree with it. But I’ll tell you what I’ve accepted: just sort of glide along.

You want to keep things on an even key, this is what I’m saying. You want to go with the flow. The sea refuses no river.

The idea is to remain in a state of constant departure while always arriving. It saves on introductions and goodbyes.

The ride does not require explanation – just occupants.
-Waking Life (movie quote)