It’s a blazing summer afternoon in the western U.S. wilderness, and porn performer Sky Smith is giving me a virtual tour of her van. “I built it myself over nearly three months,” the 36-year-old says excitedly, panning the camera around the interior. “I’ve never been normal, I’ve always been odd and in my own bubble. And this is the epitome of living in my own bubble.”
We are talking over a glitchy Google Meet session — Sky is in a deserted and undisclosed location, and her internet connection is temperamental — but I can just about make out the van’s key features. It’s a converted school short bus, complete with a small kitchenette, wardrobe and double bed. There is also a portable toilet (“I’ve had some very scenic poos”), a fridge (“the bane of my fucking life, it takes up so much energy”) and a solitary cowboy hat, perched on an otherwise empty shelf (“my good old hat, for vibes”).
It seems idyllic: a cosy living space, decorated with blue bunting and inviting blankets, parked up in some remote, panoramic countryside. But it’s in Sky’s bed that the real magic happens — after all, that’s where her most popular cam work takes place. “My main video style is me getting too horny and having to really fuck myself good with a dildo,” she says, gesturing vaguely at the bed. “But I’m also into small penis humiliation and pegging. A lot of guys want to get fucked in the back of this bus.”
#Vanlife is much more than just quitting your job and living in a vehicle. Over the last five years, the hashtag has grown into an aesthetically driven social media phenomenon. Type it into Instagram and you will be greeted with nearly 8 million results. The majority of these images feature sun-kissed, straight caucasian couples — hair flaxen and tousled — parked up in deserted canyons, beaches and forests. Their accompanying camper vans are generally uniform in their style, adorned with soft fairy lights, Navajo blankets and some scattered “good vibes only” cushions.
The contrivance is easy to mock, but the power of #vanlife lies in its undeniable appeal. Its popularity has been surging in the age of lockdown, as our inner urgings to scrap societal pressures and find freedom on the road get louder. And after a few scrolls through the images on Instagram, your mind does start wandering. “Why,” you wonder, “am I stuck working a nine-to-five in a mold-ridden city apartment? Why am I not also #livingsimply, watching the #sunrise in a #convertedsprinter with my #boyfriend and #dog?”
It makes sense, then, that plenty of adult performers are now capitalizing on the trend. Search #vanlife on any porn site and you will be treated to a variety of videos, either of people fucking in camper vans or out on the nature trail. Sky, for example, regularly records herself stripping and masturbating in the back of her bus. Then there are the Horny Hikers, a couple who travel the U.S. in their camper van, making cinematic content with names like “Public Creampie in Lost Creek” or “Desert Vortex Sex Adventure.” There’s also the Wandering Butt Slut, who just puts various objects up her anus in scenic locations.
One of the most popular channels in the #vanlife category, LLAdventures, has more than 15.2 million views on Pornhub and sits in the top 1.8 percent on OnlyFans. The content — which mostly consists of outdoor sex and camper-van-based blow jobs — is produced and performed by Canadian couple Lowen and Logan, both 20.
“It all started when Logan went on a hunting trip for a week,” says Lowen. “We decided that when he came back, we’d record a facial to see how much [come] he’d built up. We decided to upload that to Pornhub just for fun, and it took off.”
For the pair, who come from a small town in Canada with around 5,000 people, their journey down the #vanlife route wasn’t necessarily intentional. They have only ever lived in mobile homes, moving from a truck camper to a traditional van, which is now based on a 110-acre homestead. “We’ve always been interested in tiny living,” she adds.
On the surface, at least, their lifestyle looks tempting. Free from any major distractions or responsibilities, with expenses at a minimum, it’s easy to see why people buy into the #vanlife fantasy. Throw sex into the mix — which, given that most #vanlifers are scantily clad, isn’t that radical an addition — and it makes the dream even more attractive.
“With #vanlife porn, I get to watch people explore picture-perfect outdoor locations, strip their clothes off and find a nice place to fuck,” says Emma Austin, a #vanlife porn enthusiast from New Brunswick, Canada. It’s appealing, she says, because it offers an escape from her “tethered-down” life. “I’m married, have four kids, and I chose the stability of living in a house over anything more adventurous. #Vanlife porn is a glimpse into what my life could’ve been like. It helps me fantasize about the path I didn’t choose.”
Smith, originally from the U.K., has been camming for nearly a decade. She bought her bus three years ago, and has been living — and working — on the road in the U.S. ever since. “The people that do this are confident, self-sufficient, ballsy, innovative and adventurous,” she tells me, when I ask about #vanlife’s sexual allure. “And if I can be that naked and out there in the world, imagine what I’m like in bed.”
Like Lowen and Logan, Sky’s swerve into #vanlife wasn’t a conscious aesthetic decision (she calls the majority of #vanlifers “fucking idiots” and “rich couples” who “gloss over” everything). Instead, she moved into her van after feeling constricted by societal pressures and deciding that it could be a way to take control of her life. It’s been a bumpy ride, but one she doesn’t regret.
“I wanted to uncover my true self when I moved into this van,” she continues, passionately. “I’ve done this to be isolated. I stopped brushing my teeth, wearing shoes, showering and washing my hair, just to question everything. Because when you’re conforming to societal norms, you have to be in so much denial to carry on. Once you start questioning a part of it, the whole thing starts to crumble.”
Of course, #vanlife porn can also offer financial freedom. There are plenty of ways to cash in, too. Many #vanlife performers now offer bespoke porn for clients, with streaming sites including an option for paid video content. And if you can crack OnlyFans, like Lowen and Logan, you can be funded almost entirely by subscribers (the base rate for a month of their content is around $12). Although the couple had been working full-time at other jobs, they now “make enough to live a good quality life from adult content alone,” says Lowen.
Sky is also on OnlyFans, but prefers to stream using pay-per-minute camming sites, as it works out as a more reliable hourly wage. (She fondly remembers her first cam show, a double dildo penetration shot in her apartment, while wearing grey sweatpants and a T-shirt, which saw her pocket $500 for one evening’s work). Although she still finds the work liberating, the industry is becoming more saturated, which makes standing out harder. “At first in the bus, I felt homeless,” she says. “You have to think like a business, and I couldn’t make money. It wasn’t like the Instagram dream.”
There are other challenges as well. As a lone woman and sex worker on the road, Sky says safety has always been a concern, and something she feels hyper-vigilant about. There is also the struggle to find reliable cell phone service which, in remote locations, can feel impossible. “If you’re camming, you have to be somewhere with fast internet,” she explains. “You can plan a whole spot and trip, but it’s just not good enough. I’ve spent so much time driving along with my phone, just endlessly checking the speed test with one hand.”
While nomads have always existed, the longevity of #vanlife is still up for debate. It is, after all, a trend; one led by aesthetic and centered almost exclusively on Instagram. Can it really stay around long enough to become a permanent porn genre?
For Sky, however, it doesn’t even matter — she’s planning on sticking with it anyway. “I’m doing this because I’ve got balls,” she says. “I’m doing fucking porn in a bus, on my own, in the middle of fucking nowhere. Fuck yeah! I’ve got balls for days.”
Dominique Sisley
Dominique Sisley is a London-based journalist who writes a lot about sex, relationships, and how strange humans are. She requires regular watering and withers in direct sun.
