MC Fireside Chats - June 8th, 2022

MC Fireside Chats

In this episode of MC Fireside Chats, we talked to entrepreneurs Jonny Feld, President of Field Van, a custom builder of vans and class B motorhomes, and Heather DeSantis, CEO and Founder of Publicity for Good, a purpose-driven PR company servicing intentional brands.

MC Fireside Chats host Cara Csizmadia opened the discussion by sharing the initiatives of the camping, RV, outdoor recreation, and tourism industry across Canada as it slowly bounces back to the pre-pandemic record.

Csizmadia highlighted that Canada’s tourism sector was the hardest and longest hit industry during the pandemic.

Feld talked about the popularity of RVing and custom vans amid increasing gas prices, noting the growing demand for smaller vans and tiny homes. Field Van has been building and customizing vans since 1989.

Feld emphasized that more people are getting into van life and working from the road over the last five years.

“[The] whole van life has been growing the past several years,” Feld said.

Heather DeSantis, a full-time Airstreamer, shared the challenges of building a family and growing a company under a pandemic and how living full-time in an Airstream has changed her life.

“Airsteaming life is chaotically graceful. Living in a small space, you just do the best that you can,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis has been an entrepreneur for six and a half years. Before living full-time in an Airstream, she intended to travel the US and figure out where to live and where to make a difference.