The Bro’d trip: Visiting 50 states in a year

Two brothers desperate to escape tedious unfulfilling desk jobs set out on the dream trip of a lifetime. The pair, who hail from Florida, planned to visit all 50 of the states in America in an 82 square foot sprinter van. Justin and Adam Fricke, 25 and 23 respectively, have been surfing, climbing, hiking and partying their way around the country. They have called their adventure ‘The Bro’d Trip’.

Originally, Justin and his then girlfriend were going to take a year long trip together. Sadly, the relationship ended and Adam stepped in to help Justin get over it.

The idea became a reality when over a few beers, downed to ease the pain of the break-up, the brothers discussed the plan. It dawned on Justin that the two brothers could really work together considering the set of skills they had between them, he being a great photographer and videographer while Justin is a writer with some writing contracts and connections in the outdoor industry – what a great combination!

They decided to keep the freelance connections to enable them to earn a bit of cash to keep them going whilst on the road. So planning began for the year-long adventure.

The young men crammed supplies and equipment into their custom fitted van and got ready to head off into the country.

Just out of college, Adam Fricke had some money saved from doing freelance photography and videography jobs while Justin had saved some money working as a banker in commercial real estate while living rent-free at home. They also had some very welcome corporate sponsorship.

Together they reached the target they had set of $45,000 so that they were able to fit-out their vehicle for the trip. They added flooring, shelves and drawers, a folding table, and a free-standing bed frame which is able to hold two twin size matresses.

They installed solar collectors on the roof of the van to charge their electronic devices. In total, they spent $21,000 on the knitting out of their mobile man cave.

At times they splashed out for site rental on a paid campsite but most of the time they would stop over in Walmart parking areas, naturally, since breakfast and public toilets are right there on site.

Other times they woke up to spectacular ocean views. All the good stories were born after a few months as things began to get dirty and very real.

There were some challenges and sometimes the going got tough. These challenges, however, were the things that made the next morning’s sunrise so beautiful. They saw some of the most beautiful places on earth.

While there were challenges – like not being able to get wifi in some of the more remote areas when the freelance deadlines loomed – it was, all in all, an awesome experience.

Visiting the many different states has given them loads of unforgettable memories that they will cherish for the rest of their lives.

The brothers took footage of their wonderful experiences, swimming in lakes, cliff climbing and enjoying party time at the Mardi Gras, and much of this has been uploaded onto youtube. The brothers planned to become their own bosses while picking up freelance work along the way and the idea was always to put together a docu-movie about their adventure on the road.

We look forward to its release!

Check out the video below to see some photos of their amazing adventure.

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