Léa & her T3
Freedom, movement, and choosing where home is
“Vanlife is much more than a lifestyle. It is a mindset that blends freedom, adventure, connection, and simplicity.”
For Léa, that is not just a sentence. It is how she lives.
She is 24, originally from France, and has been travelling since she was 18. It started simply, with a backpack and solo trips. Over time, that love for travel grew into something bigger.
She even shared it with her parents, spending several months travelling together in a camper van.
But the idea of having her own van never really left.
From solo travel to life on the road
Everything shifted when Léa met her partner.
He was already a vanlifer, and what started as a shared passion naturally turned into a shared lifestyle.
Today, they travel together.
Léa drives a 1987 Volkswagen T3, converted by her partner. A classic van, simple and full of character, shaped around the way they live and move.
A home that moves with you
For Léa, vanlife is not a break from life. It is her balance.
“It allows me to feel free and never trapped in a routine that doesn’t suit me.”
She describes herself as someone who needs movement. New places, new environments, constant change.
“I’ve always moved every two years,” she says. “Living in an apartment or owning a house never felt like an option.”
The van solves that.
It gives her a home, but one that she can place anywhere.
Daily, weekly, or monthly, depending on what she needs.
Most of the time, it is her full-time lifestyle. Although recently, work sometimes keeps her in one place for longer.
“I find it difficult,” she admits. “So I travel whenever I can.”
Turning vanlife into a career
Léa works as an actress, content creator, and UGC creator.
Instead of adapting her lifestyle to her work, she built her work around her lifestyle.
“Vanlife is fully part of who I am as an artist.”
It even became an advantage.
She is often cast in outdoor, natural or movement-based environments. Directors are drawn to the raw and authentic side she brings. Something that cannot really be faked in a studio.
For brands, she represents a travelling, outdoor lifestyle. Real, not staged.
Freedom, with a few challenges
Ask Léa what she loves most, and the answer is simple.
Freedom.
Waking up somewhere new. Choosing her surroundings based on mood, projects or season. Staying connected to herself.
But there are also the less glamorous parts.
“The shower situation,” she laughs. “Especially in winter.”
Not every day feels like showering outside.
And then there is the stress of breakdowns.
When your van is your home, everything depends on it. If something breaks, your whole life pauses for a moment.
Still, it is part of the experience.
A place that feels like home
There is one place Léa keeps coming back to.
The Landes region in France.
“It’s where I fully recharge,” she says.
Surfing, skating, nature, and a strong community of vanlifers. Especially other T3 owners.
“It feels like a real gathering place. Almost like an open-air community.”
Life after the surf
Léa uses a Single Seat Cover in Indi Blue from Cult Surfing.
At first, it was the design that caught her attention.
“It reminds me of the US and Route 66. Long roads, open landscapes.”
But quickly, it became about function.
After surfing, getting into the van with wet clothes is part of the routine.
“I can just sit down without worrying about damaging or dirtying the interior.”
After a full year on the road, the cover has been through everything.
Desert, ocean, mountains, city.
“It hasn’t moved at all. The colour and fabric are still exactly the same as day one.”
More than just a lifestyle
For Léa, vanlife is not about escaping something.
It is about choosing something that fits.
A life with movement.
A life with freedom.
A life that stays close to who she is.
And a home that goes wherever she goes.