How to Live an Unconventional Life of Adventure and Purpose by Becoming “Dirtbag Rich” with Blake Boles

Zero To Travel Podcast

Jason Moore

Places & Travel, Entrepreneurship, Business, Society & Culture

4.6 • 868 Ratings

🗓️ 16 June 2026

⏱️ 88 minutes

🔗️ Recording | Apple Podcasts | RSS

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Summary

What would it mean to stop measuring your life by the conventional yardstick and start building one that actually fits? Blake Boles is a writer, experiential educator, and the founder of Unschool Adventures, a travel company for self-directed teenagers, which he has run since 2008. He is the author of several books on alternative education and self-directed learning, and his newest book, Dirtbag Rich: High Freedom, Low Income, Deep Purpose, was released in March 2026. In this episode, Blake and I get into the philosophy behind "dirtbag rich" living, including what it really means to pursue a high-freedom, low-income lifestyle while still navigating the demands of modern capitalism. We also dig into the practical side of how to make a non-traditional financial model actually work, and talk about purpose, downward mobility, unschooling, outdoor adventure, and so much more. If you've ever wondered whether there's a middle path between grinding toward a distant retirement and going full dirtbag with no financial safety net, this conversation is going to give you a lot to think about. Blake shares a lot of real practical substance in this one, alongside some genuinely fresh thinking about how to measure wealth, what freedom actually requires, and what gets in the way of most people finding their version of a dirtbag-rich unconventional life. What does "enough" look like for you, whether that's money, time, adventure, or something else? I'd love to hear your thoughts, and I hope you'll share by sending me an audio message. Tune In To Learn: Why the original dirtbag culture offers a useful framework, even if you'll never live in Yosemite full-time How Blake figured out a way to earn good money in short bursts and stay free the rest of the year Why "how do you know when you're wealthy?" is a more useful question than you might expect What the FIRE movement often gets wrong about making a clean break from work How to think about "downward mobility" as a feature rather than a failure Why having freedom from something isn't enough without also knowing what you're free to do What the real risks of a dirtbag rich lifestyle actually are, and how to go in with clear eyes How purpose shows up differently for different people, and why measuring it in "I get to" days works Advice for attracting the ideal clients and building work that doesn't eat your life Why getting your ideal client to feel genuinely excited to work with you is the job before the job And so much more Resources: Sign up for our FREE newsletter Blake’s website Dirtbag Rich book Unschool Adventures Want More? The Vagabond's Way: Meditations on Wanderlust, Discovery, and the Art of Travel w/ Rolf Potts The 5 Best Hacks of “All the Hacks”: Travel, Money & Life Optimization with Chris Hutchins Digital Detox: Downsizing Your Digital Life to Create Freedom + Reboot Your Lifestyle Business with Corbett Barr Thanks To Our Sponsors Become a Fora Advisor today at foratravel.com/zerototravel Check out Morning Brew Daily for business news that's actually fun. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:55.3	criteria, and tis and Cs apply. There are all these demands placed on us, and the demands
1:04.6	are so stringent that a lot of people just throw their hands up in the air, and they say, there's no way
1:09.5	you can do this any other way than the way that we are asked to play the game. And I try to carve out this middle path.
1:15.7	And I say, no, you don't just have to go like get as rich and as wealthy and conventionally
1:21.3	successful as you can. That's the normal game to play. And it's not reasonable to be a hardcore dirtbag for more than
1:28.8	maybe a certain number of years in your 20s either. But there is this middle way that can let you
1:35.0	surf the perilous waves of modern capitalism and still retain this spirit of youthfulness and
1:43.8	adventure and a high degree of autonomy over
1:47.1	your life.
1:48.1	That is today's guest, Blake Bowles.
1:50.2	You're in for a treat with this one.
	...

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