MEDIA
Over the years I’ve been fortunate enough to be interviewed by magazines, podcasts, news channels, and have been a contributor to fitness and lifestyle publications. While I see myself as just a simple guy from small town Indiana, some people think I have an interesting story. I’m always happy to talk about my experiences of living on the road, the good, the bad, and the funny, and how I make enough money to travel full-time.
Podcasts
Podcasts that for some reason think my lifestyle is interesting enough for an interview.
Digital Nomad World Podcast Interview
Published: September 15, 2024
Chris ‘Tarzan’ Clemens has been traveling the world full-time since 2015, crisscrossing North America in camper vans and bouncing around other continents on bicycles, motorbikes, and with a backpack. As an ultramarathon runner and long-distance hiker, he often finds himself in mountain locations with a healthy amount of laid-back beach time in between. He is a marketing freelancer and works with several clients to fund his ongoing adventures.
Small Truck Campers Podcast Interview
Published: January 22, 2024
In this episode I am joined by Chris Clemens and we discuss his upbringing, quitting his job at 26 to hike the Appalachian Trail, living in a Honda Element, traveling in his Tacoma, being trapped in Thailand during Covid, and much much more! This episode will take you on an epic adventure, so grab your favorite campfire beverage and let’s hit the road!
Road Dog Podcast Interview
Published: November 2023
“Slow is steady, steady is fast.” Jim Clemens, Tyler Clemens, and Chris Clemens hike the Camino. Luis chats with the Clemens family about their adventures on the trail. Hear about the logistics, food and drink along the way, the interactive app they used, interactions with fellow travelers, reflecting on the hike, what it meant to be together as a family, and if you should venture out there.
Eric Rinehart Podcast Interview
Published: April 8, 2023
Chris Tarzan Clemens broke away from traditional life to pursue adventures. He talks about his motivation and passion to live abroad, run ultras, and thru-hike. He is also involved in the execution of the snowman race – a multiday running race in Bhutan to highlight the impact of climate change.
Beer On The Run Podcast Interview
Published: January 26, 2021
Chris Clemens joins Clint and Jack this week to talk about all the adventures he has been a part of over the past decade, and all of the cheap beer that he has enjoyed along the way. Starting with a through hike on the Appalachian Trail in 2012 to waiting out the pandemic on a small island in Thailand (where he has been biking everywhere). And his love for PBR.
Business Edge Podcast Interview
Published: January 26, 2021
Interested in traveling full-time? Tune in to hear Chris ‘Tarzan’ Clemens tell us about his decision to leave behind the corporate world and start an adventure across the world. All he needs is a car and stable internet connection to make this nomad lifestyle a reality.
Road Dog Podcast Interview
Published: January 18, 2021
“I knew I didn’t want the quintessential American Dream, white picket fence, C-Level job and retirement.” Chris Clemens is a distance runner and world traveler who joins Luis from Thailand. He shares his love of McDonald’s, Rotary Clubs, and how he got started running. Chris also chats about life in Thailand and some of his upcoming goals.
Touching The Trail Podcast Interview
Published: August 8, 2017
Whether it’s waking up in his 1985 VW Westfalia camper or along the Appalachian Trail Chris ‘Tarzan’ Clemens knows how to find adventure. Chris is someone that I have been following for awhile now and have always been fascinated by his ability to seemingly live so simply and yet have so many awesome adventures. Chris lives out of his camper van, he is an ultrarunner, a thru-hiker, an adventurer, a world traveler, a freelancer and someone who has forged their truest life. Chris has driven all around the US and Canada, bike toured through Chile and Argentina, backpacked in Ecuador and Peru, ran ultras, hiked the AT, and so much more. But, regardless of how much I regale you with his exploits you need to hear about them from the man himself. That very same man gets out into our world and understands that if you go through life completely comfortable you’re never going to grow, which breeds his idea of AntiComfortable. This episode is about getting rid of the junk, of simplifying, of seeing the beauty in the basics. Everyday Chris lives the basics in his camper and lives in the present, not hindered by superfluous possessions. Listen in as we discuss how to be minimal, how to live truly, how to endure, how to get out of your comfort zone, and how to find yourself. Enjoy. – Jarod Contreras
Ultrarunner Podcast Interview
Published: January 16, 2015
In the past few years, Chris “Tarzan” Clemens thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail on a whim, discovered his love for MUT running, got a divorce, moved into his Honda Element, ran his first hundred, competed with a horse in an ultra, and is now living at the beach or trailhead in beautiful Santa Barbara…still in his car. I talk to Chris about scaling back and getting down to the essentials (in both life and running.) We talk about how he chooses races, what he’s learned, and what he wants to run in the next few years. I’m tempted to drive down to Santa Barbara today just to have a beer with him.
Articles
Articles that I’ve been interviewed for or have written myself.
A Father-Sons Pilgrimage along the Camino Portuguese
Published In: Portugal.com
Published: August 2024
After hiking the Camino Frances (French Way) to the Camino de Santiago in 2018, I didn’t anticipate returning to the pilgrim’s path, but when the opportunity arose to do a Father-Sons trek with my dad and brother, I couldn’t pass it up. My Dad (Jim) and brother (Tyler) met me in Porto at the end of August 2023, and we all prepared to spend September hiking north through Portugal and Spain. Geared up and ready to go, we dropped our extra luggage off with a transport service, donned our packs, and started our pilgrimage.
Home Is Where The Heart Is
Published In: The Rotarian Magazine
Published: September 2016
Chris Clemens would make a splendid case study in the liberating influence of decluttering. In recent years, he has gone from sharing a five-bedroom house with roommates to living out of an 80-square-foot Volkswagen van. The freelance marketing professional and web designer now has taken downsizing a step further by spending much of the year backpacking around the globe. Untethered, but rooted in Rotary (at age 29, he was elected president of the Rotary Club of Santa Barbara, Calif., its youngest ever), Clemens, 32, maintains contact with club members over the internet, typically from Wi-Fihotspots in hostels. Checking in from Ecuador, where he had just spent a week hiking and snorkeling in the Galápagos Islands, he jokes, “I might be one of the first homeless Rotary club presidents.” But to borrow from T.S. Eliot, home is simply where one starts from.
Chris Clemens Redefines Normal
Published In: This Deliberate Life
Published: October 13, 2014
What would you think if I told you that today’s post was about someone who lives in his car? Would the word “homeless” rise up in your mind? Would you conjure an image of someone who had failed badly, or been down on his luck? Someone to pity, perhaps, because they couldn’t possibly be living in such a way by choice? Well, get ready, because I am—or, rather, Chris is—about to shatter all of those preconceived ideas about what makes a house (or, in this case, a car) a home and what makes a man homeless.
The Mind of an Ultra-Runner
Published In: SB Fitness Magazine
Published: March 2014
Although for most of us it’s hard to imagine running 100 miles, the feat has become a reality for local ultra-runner Chris Clemens. His conditioning regime consisted of a marathon a month, hiking the Appalachian Trail, and some seriously hardcore motivation–motivation created by highs and lows, community and individuality, and adventure and simplicity.
A Minimalist Commitment
Published In: SB Fitness Magazine
Published: March 2013
The past two months, my training partner and running coach Rob DeCou has written about minimalist training for the “Are You Tough Enough?” ultramarathon. Yeah, that means I am the poor schmuck that got talked into running a 65-mile foot race through the mountains behind Santa Barbara. No, I’m not exactly sure what I have gotten myself into. And yes, I do know that we are crazy.
Need For Speed
Published In: SB Fitness Magazine
Published: September 2012
A toothbrush weighs 0.4 ounces. If you break that toothbrush in half, it weighs 0.3 ounces. How do I know this? I’ve done it. Why? Because I needed to carry said toothbrush 2,184 miles along the Appalachian Trail, and on a journey like that, every 0.1 ounce counts. While these minimalist measures may seem a bit obsessive to most, it’s what fuels a growing number of folks who fastpack.
Videos
Video interviews about my AntiComfortable lifestyle.
Adventure Begins At The End Of Your Comfort Zone
Ball State University Entrepreneurship Presentation
Published: September 2018
Chris Clemens spoke at the first installment of this Fall’s Entrepreneurial Experience Lecture Series and he did not disappoint. He is an ’06 grad who works as a freelance marketer while traveling the world living out of his pickup truck. He has worked for huge brands like Tiffany & Co. and Uggs, but prefers forging his own way. In this interview, he shares how he runs his marketing business while living the nomadic life he always dreamed of.
Going Green: Downsizing To A Van
WFFT-TV Interview
Published: September 29, 2015
Living in a house, while comfortable, can use a lot of energy and produce a lot of pollution. One way to reduce your carbon footprint, is to downsize. In tonight’s Going Green report I speak to one person who downsized to about 80 square feet. The van in the background looks like a standard mode of transportation. For Chris Clemens, it’s actually his home.