The Baja Box : Austin Smith’s Serendipitous Surf Truck

As with most trips to Mexico, things never go as planned. For professional snowboarder Austin Smith, he had simple intentions to celebrate his buddy’s birthday, eat lots of tacos, and surf every day. At no point did he think that he would be building out a tiny home in the back of an old box truck. However, the plan deviated thanks to one small and annoying snafu: baggage fees. Smith forgot that airlines charged exorbitant fees for surfboards—$225 for just one way—that was more than he paid for the round trip flight.

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Annoyed, Smith didn’t want to fork out another $225 just to bring a board. Plus, he knew that this wasn’t going to be his last surf trip to Mexico, so why not make it a sustainable thing. One-upping the van life craze, Smith scored by buying an old box truck south of the brder to renovate. Sure it took a little TLC, but now he proudly owns what he calls the “Baja Box”. A humble surf abode, fully stocked with a fancy cooler, a sleeping space, and–of course–a dirt bike.

Way to make lemonade from some unusual lemons