Van life: Southend friends hope to inspire adventures

Sam Rook, left, and Luke Dokic, right, created MTB Van Life on Instagram after converting a van into a "base for exploring"

Two friends who share their van-life adventures to more than 13,000 followers on social media said they hoped to inspire others.

Luke Dokic, 28, and Sam Rook, 29, from Essex, created MTB Van Life on Instagram after converting a van into a "base for exploring and riding from".

The vehicle is set up with solar panels which means they can charge their e-bikes and explore "off grid".

Mr Dokic said: "We just want to inspire people to have their own adventures."

The best friends from Southend-on-Sea, who both work in IT, converted the van after Mr Rook bought it in 2017.

They have 13,200 people following their adventures on their social media page.

Their van has solar panels, which allows them to charge their e-bikes and explore off-road

Mr Dokic said they "never intended to create a social image online" but after converting the vehicle "van life at the time was already taking off".

He said it had "since exploded, but to add a twist, we wanted to merge and incorporate riding into the main ethos".

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Mr Dokic said the pair had both enjoyed cycling since school, but "it wasn't until the van came along that we really got into mountain biking seriously".

He said they had travelled across the UK and over to mainland Europe, and had been making their trips more sustainable.

"We understand being more environmentally-friendly is the way to go," said Mr Dokic.

The pair document their travels to a variety of locations on social media

He said while electric vans were "still advancing and not affordable to the average buyer", they had installed a battery that charges while the vehicle is moving, and by solar power when stationary.

"We love going off-grid and getting away from the fast-paced towns and cities, and this means that we can be as remote as you want with a camp setup and be able to charge our e-bikes," Mr Dokic added.