Deviate with Rolf Potts · Monday, September 7, 2026
Rolf Potts discussed how early life adventures, even simple ones, can profoundly change a person's life more than similar experiences later in life. He specifically mentioned jumping trains in 1992 and a seven-and-a-half-month trip living out of a van across North America as formative experiences.
“Is there a particular adventure that you went on though, that impacted you more than others?”
“I think when you ask that kind of question, it's obviously going to be the early life adventures. I've had some pretty amazing adventures in the last few years. But man, I think just a simple adventure when you're young can change your life in a way that it wouldn't if you had the exact same adventure when you're twice the age.”
“So like, I jumped trains in 1992 across the Pacific Northwest. It was only like two or three nights, but like, who jumps trains anymore? Actually, Alexander Supertramp from Into the Wild, he jumped trains that same summer.”
“But really, to be honest, it was my very first vagabonding trip affected me. I lived in a van for seven and a half months. I traveled around North America.”