Meet Kyle Fishburn

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kyle Fishburn. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Kyle, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

This is an interesting question because it is one that I ask myself all the time. Life and the struggles of trying to grow your own business feels like climbing a mountain to me. Time to time as I’m climbing I take a moment to turn around and look down which fills me with accomplishment and fear that I may fall back down. I think it is this feeling that keeps me going because I feel if I stop I will regress to a less confident and capable self. I would like to reframe this question in my head because I should be thinking more about the positives than the negatives.

I also think about the resilience of humans in general. My friend who is a young heart surgeon has been amazed by the resilience of human life amongst bad health and disease. I also found living in Haiti that humans will find a way to find happiness and dignity in the the roughest of situations.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I’ve been fortunate to live a life full of contrast, and I believe that contrast is essential to truly experiencing the world. We often need to experience opposing elements to appreciate them fully—like how we see with light and shadow, or how we recognize something is wet by its coolness compared to its surroundings. Even in our emotions, laughter often follows tears. I think exploring all sides of life (earth, humanity, and self) is one of the healthiest things we can do. This is why camper vans have drawn me in so deeply. Travel brings excitement and fulfillment, but it also comes with moments of tension and uncertainty. Camper van travel, in particular, forces you to slow down, stay present, and tune into your surroundings. You’re vulnerable, yet it’s that vulnerability that opens the door to new experiences and perspectives.

My love for road travel began with my dad, who had a deep passion for exploring. From truck campers to a 1970s GMC Motorhome, he cycled through different vehicles, taking my siblings and me to Mammoth Lakes every few months. After college, I took a leap that changed my life. With a degree in architecture and fresh off completing a custom home in the Hollywood Hills, I decided to make a drastic change and join a small organization in Haiti. After the 2010 earthquake, Respire Haiti was helping children, and I wanted to contribute. I worked with locals in Gressier to build a school, medical clinic, and housing, gaining firsthand experience in third-world development. Growing up in LA couldn’t have been more different from the vibrant, close-knit community I found in Haiti. In LA, it’s hard to even know your neighbor’s name, but in Haiti, people traded bonds instead of money and lived with an openness I hadn’t seen before.

On weekends, I’d take my shaky magenta truck to explore the beaches and countryside of the island, spending time with the gregarious, warm people of Haiti. Something shifted in me during those years—the world felt both bigger and smaller. I understood more about people and myself, yet I realized I had only scratched the surface of the world’s spectrum of experiences and ways of life. I needed more of this.

After three years in Haiti and five more working as a contractor in LA, I was ready for another big shift. Inspired by my road trips in Haiti with my makeshift camper, I decided to combine my architecture and construction background with my love for cars. It was time to turn my passion into a business, Nook Vans.

The name “Nook” was obvious to me, it represents a cozy, secure space, the perfect retreat after long days of exploration. My goal was to create a tranquil, functional living space that balances adventure with comfort: a real kitchen, a great shower, and a cozy bed. Essentially, a traveling hotel suite that recharges you for the next day’s journey.

Nook Vans is all about striking the perfect balance, combining comfort with adventure, offering a peaceful retreat after days of discovery, and being a reliable partner through it all. Over the years, Nook has grown into a full-fledged camper van company, offering various models built on the durable Mercedes Sprinter chassis. Clever solutions from our first build have been refined and perfected, resulting in a camper van experience unlike any other. Our signature feature is the Utility Spa—the largest bathroom in the business. We thoughtfully pursue efficiency with lightweight materials that are also beautiful and interiors that adapt with your needs throughout the day to make the most of the compact cabin.
Despite a year of market uncertainty, we’ve been fortunate to continue growing. We’re excited to announce the signing of a new shop lease in LA, doubling our space. This expansion will allow us to host more shop meetups and offer additional services to DIY van builders.

Looking back, I’m amazed at where this journey has taken me. I’ve been lucky to experience so much with incredible people along the way, and through Nook, I’m proud to provide a vehicle that allows others to do the same.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

curious
determined
humble

Life throws hard, nebulous, and scary things at us all the time. The best way to deal is to never stop learning. Learn about the world and learn how to understand your feelings. Then you can control their effects. We have so much information to process every day in the modern world and most don’t understand how it effects their feelings or controls them. Take time for yourself to contemplate your day, and reflect. Ask yourself how things make you feel as many times throughout the day as possible and be aware of how others are processing feelings as well. The more we know about ourselves the more we can experience others and the world, and have a positive effect.

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?

Building camper vans is both labor and material intensive. While we’re continually working to incorporate more efficient manufacturing processes and value engineer our vans to lower costs, the reality is that these are complex, high cost items. I sympathize with customers who are excited about our vans but find them out of reach financially.

I started as a DIY’er and it was the only way I could afford to build a van, which is true for most people wanting their own camper van. However, building systems like water, power, and heat can be daunting. These systems are crucial for daily living, and any installation mistake can lead to serious, even dangerous, issues. We’ve seen firsthand the devastating outcomes of faulty systems.

That’s where we are finding Nook Vans can help. We are offering the same Utility Spa with power, water, and heat systems as our full builds, built by certified professionals with a 2-year warranty, ensuring no heatless nights, burst pipes, or powerless workdays. By refining our Utility Spa over the years, we’ve created an efficiently packaged unit that can be installed in just one week. This package provides everything you need to hit the road with a fully functioning bathroom at a fraction of the time and cost of a full DIY van build.

It has taken us 4 years of development to reach the installation speed and price point that makes this a compelling option. We are truly excited to offer a unit the provides the opportunity for DIYers to start traveling off-grid to their hearts desires while having the piece of mind that they have reliable and safe systems.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nookvans.com
• Instagram: nook_vans
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylefishburn/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@nookvans