About us

These days the blog survives mostly so we have a photo album readily available to look back at the blur that has been our lives over the last few years. We try to make updates but cant make any promises on timing or speed (mostly due to lack of wifi depending on current destination).

If it’s photos and a real-time update on where we’re at you’re looking for follow us on instagram.

Synopsis:
Our journey began when we ran away from “normal” and our paying jobs in order to drive  E, our 1967 VW bus slowly through Mexico and Central America for a few years.  We tried to find ourselves by getting lost and hoped to see life through a lens that just wasn’t possible in the day to day grind.  We didn’t know what to expect or where we would end up, but assumed it would be on a small beach somewhere warm.

Instead we found ourselves having an epiphany that ending our newfound freedom was no longer an option for us.  Instead of continuing south and spending the rest of our savings living off-grid for another year we set out trying to make our new lifestyle more permanent.

We returned to and created a “home base” in Portand, OR that could serve as a jumping off point for our travels and a place for us to call home near those we love when we choose to be close to home.  We converted our garage into a tiny home/adu for us to live in while someone else pays our mortgage… which in turn allows us to make decisions based upon happiness rather than money.

We then ended up traveling and living nomadically full-time in our 4×4 Sprinter Campervan and learned that it’s possible to survive off almost nothing but to enjoy life fully…even in the middle of an urban environment, mostly thanks to our “creative home use plan”.

At some point, we embarked on an entirely new leap/adventure… trying out life at sea (despite never having spent time on boats or knowing how to sail). Yikes!
We bought a boat (sight unseen) taught ourselves to sail (still learning) while island hopping through the caribbean. At some point a pandemic hit and shook life up for most of us, and while it was never in the list of goals we found ourselves gearing up and sailing (just the 2 of us) across the Pacific Ocean.

We have SO much more to learn but we are having an absolute blast in this new lifestyle !

We also love design projects, so we continue to offer small space design services as zenbox design to others looking to simplify, downsize or change their life for the better and in hopes that we can bring both our and their financial freedoms even closer.  We also spent a few years helping others convert their van into their perfect adventurevan as ZENVANZ and now are doing so as Z2Overland.

While we haven’t entirely solved what it looks like, we are also 100% committed to helping others face their fear, take a leap toward their own happiness/freedom and are driven to share our story so that others might find some inspiration or a gentle nudge by knowing someone else is out there doing the same (and survived…so far).
If you have a project we can help with or a dream you want to chase…let us know how we can help!

Why the Dangerz?
We honestly can’t tell you why or how exactly the name came about, but we have several friends who started calling us the Dangerz years ago, and at some point it just stuck.  It’s okay with us as we’ve grown to quite like it.  It’s also funny, since we see ourselves as anything BUT dangerous.  We’re soft and silly mostly (albeit, not quite “normal”), but we do like the name.  It’s rather like the tattoo jen wants… mostly all about floating hearts with wings, but every time we sketch it out at least one of the hearts ends up with crossbones.  Just because it’s cute, but also maybe a little badass.

We still often discuss legally enacting the name change…stay tuned.

We hope you enjoy our stories, we welcome your comments, advice and ideas,
and we look forward to meeting you (or seeing you again) along the way!
bryan and jen (and karma)
aka…the dangerz

A few other stories about us and/or our way of life:
– TIME magazine, #VANLIFE: THE (ARTISANAL) AMERICAN ROAD TRIP
– Top this place, TheDangerz, aka Bryan and Jen
– NY Times, Grandma Never Had it so Good
– Workfrom.co
– 1859, Oregon’s Magazine, Outside the Box
– Expedition Portal, You Just Got Back From an Epic Journey-Now What?
– Simple Living (coming soon)

You can also catch glimpses of past conversations we’ve had about our lives/lifestyle on past podcasts/videos here:

– Choosing Happiness First with Bryan and Jen Dangerz, the Mosiac Podcast
– Overcoming fear with the Dangerz, Wandering Workers Podcast
– This couple made a thriving van outfitter business out of their own vanlife experience, the Manual
– Living in a van & building 2 businesses w/ Bryan and Jen, Hustle to Freedom Podcast
– Couple makes garage home + campervan a consistent life combo,  Kirsten Dirksen
– Tangientially Speaking with Christopher Ryan
– The Year of Purpose Podcast with Zephan Moses
– HouzzTV: a Couple’s garage becomes their chic new home
– Tiny House Podcast
– Life Simplified Radio