He refers to himself tongue-in-cheek as „Vanlüstling“ - Marcus aka Mogli is the voice and face of the Vanlust blog and the first German-language Vanlife podcast, which has been published since 2017. In our interview, he talks about the changing camper life and why consideration has become a rare - and valuable - commodity.
Marcus, how has the pandemic changed vanlife, your way of living and travelling?
Phew, that's a good question. It has changed vanlife itself in that more people have rediscovered their love of camping and are exploring their own country again. But this also means more people in one spot.
My life, or rather my own travels, have changed due to the current situation in such a way that I am more stationary. And when I am on the road, I am more likely to find alternatives to free-standing. For example, land pleasure is a great thing.
Regardless of this, how has the vanlife community changed in recent years?
Quite clearly, the scene has grown extremely. When I set off with my bus at the beginning of 2016, there were already vanlifers or campers. But thanks to social media, the numbers have increased dramatically in recent years.
Accordingly, there are also many people who do not know the unwritten laws of the scene. But not only the "beginners", also many others like to disregard these laws, which in turn leads to a lot of resentment among themselves and also to a lot of resentment at higher levels. For example, regions and countries react with restrictions and closures of sites. But with a growing number of users and campers, it's not a good idea!
Would you say the vanlife experience opens people's eyes to environmental issues more strongly and sustainably than "normal" life at home? And why?
Personally, I think it's simply because as campers/vanlifers we move more in nature and at the same time we are more concerned with ourselves. In "normal" life we are busy and don't take time for ourselves and everything around us.
You are the author of the "10 Commandments for Campers". What motivated you to write them - and has something changed in people's minds in recent years?
We at Vanlust created the "10 Commandments for Campers" in the summer of 2020, because we noticed that the increased use and the change in the scene had led to a lot of resentment. This discontent has gone so far that sites are being closed or restricted and camping is simply no longer as relaxed as it should be.
So we felt called to write down the unwritten laws of the campers and bring them to the people. In the long term, we want to bring more ease back into the scene and also have an influence on politics. That means we want to cooperate with big manufacturers and also make a difference in the municipalities. We simply believe that closing down and banning everything is not the right solution. Alternatives have to be created.
So if everyone just sticks to the "10 Commandments for Campers" a little more and shares them with their friends and neighbours, we will realise how harmonious it can be.
Thank you, dear Mogli! Have fun and success on your travels.
P.S. Do you already know the MiniLoo vanlust edition we created together with Mogli? From December 13th-19th, Mogli will be giving away a MiniLoo Vanlust Edition for a good cause.
The campaign will first be presented to you in a new Vanlust podcast episode. Via a contact form on the Vanlust page you can make an offer and decide for which good cause you want to donate your money.
We will briefly tell you who the lucky recipient of this donation will be in our next post about the creative DIY toilet project by Mogli