Outskirts Overland Podcast
Welcome to the Outskirts Overland Podcast, your go-to source for all things overlanding! Hosted by a seasoned adventurer with over 15 years of experience, this podcast offers a genuine and down-to-earth exploration of the overlanding lifestyle. Whether you're a seasoned traveler or just starting out, join us as we delve into the essentials of gear and equipment, share captivating stories from the road, and provide practical tips for your next adventure. Tune in for insightful interviews, expert advice, and a community of like-minded explorers who share a passion for discovering the world beyond the beaten path. Get ready to fuel your wanderlust and embark on unforgettable journeys with the Outskirts Overland Podcast!
Outskirts Overland Podcast
When Tomorrow Isn't Promised: Honoring Matt and Stacey's Legacy
The overlanding community has suffered a tremendous loss with the tragic passing of Matt and Stacey from ToyotaWorldRunners. This episode serves as both a tribute to their incredible legacy and a powerful reminder about life's fragility and unpredictability. Their journey along the Pan-American Highway in their self-built rig inspired countless adventurers, myself included, to pursue dreams rather than postpone them indefinitely.
Throughout this heartfelt conversation, I reflect on how Matt and Stacey's passing connects to broader themes of mental health, self-care, and living deliberately. Their story reminds us that we often face a critical choice: do we want to look back and say "I did it" or "I wish I had"? Despite economic challenges, limited time off, and financial constraints, finding ways to prioritize your personal goals alongside your responsibilities to others remains possible—and perhaps more necessary than ever.
Drawing from my own experiences, I share how writing down my goals in 2017 created a roadmap that I've largely fulfilled over eight years. This wasn't about overnight transformation but persistent, intentional action. Setting boundaries, understanding who fills your bucket versus who depletes it, and refusing to accept failure of personal goals are all part of living authentically. Matt and Stacey embodied this philosophy, and perhaps the greatest tribute we can offer is continuing their spirit of adventure while also respecting the very real risks that come with it.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Outskirts Overland Today's Tuesday, the 12th. Today is a somber day. We just found out about the passing of Matt and Stacy, with Toyota World Runners, who were in an off-road incident last Thursday and they passed. So that's super heavy. That's weighing pretty heavy on me right now. It's extremely unfortunate news For those of you that didn't know about them.
Speaker 1:They were amazing and they have a YouTube channel and they document it a lot. I would encourage everyone to go over there and watch their content and continue to show them love that will be there for their families. For, you know, the rest of time is hopefully youtube allows that. So go over there and show some love. They were a huge inspiration to me, uh, I mean because they're they're younger than me and they were doing the thing you know they did the pan-american highway. They built their own rig. It's just awesome, just awesome people. I it's probably the hardest I've taken a loss from someone I've never met. Honestly, they were just a huge inspiration to so many of us that are that were on the. You know, trying to take that next leap. Watching them do it was huge.
Speaker 1:So it also lies into the conversations I've had on this podcast that were kind of that, were kind of dark, like and I've said it and it's kind of what I'm going to reiterate on today like you've got to go live your life because just you just don't know, you don't know stuff, accidents happen, freak accidents happen, stuff comes up like it, like it's why I try to talk about as much as I can on here. You know, people message me after those podcasts like are you doing all right? And I'm like I'm fine. It's just like where I'm always at, like you know you got to go do it and they did do it. You know, and I always say when you get to where you're going, do you want to look at whoever you got to own to at that point and say I did it or I wish I did it? And I just don't want to be in that position to say I wish I did it. I try to follow through the best I can and in large part due to Matt and Stacey's content and seeing them really work toward those goals that a lot of us have.
Speaker 1:So it does it just hits. It just hits pretty hard to me really and it's and it's something that I do regularly. So it's all just the safety aspect of it as well. Like it, just it, just it just hits, you know. So I'm sure there's many of us in the off-road Doverland community that feel a lot of the same. So it's just a, it's just a tough day and I wanted to make sure I, you know, I let off with that because it's it just is such a hard hit and again, I'm not gonna make this podcast very long but it just leads me to to again just guys, like I've done it before, like mental health, you know, I talk about mental health.
Speaker 1:I talk about, you know, life being fragile. I talk about these things because they're things that I've, that I've gone through myself. I don't typically open up about myself here, but like I've gone through, you know, different, different things mentally, you know, and had a lot of negative thoughts and just struggled myself and in a lot of ways, this hobby I've been doing it for a very long time but it's kind of my sanctuary to peace, you know, and it's it's the way that I can, it's the way that I can kind of decompress and and and feel at home and feel part of something, and it's what I like to do. And then you talk about the other aspect of your life being fragile and it's not going to. You know, there's tons of songs about it, there's so many things about it but, like you know, you keep putting it off and you can put it off until you can't put it off because it's not even an option anymore.
Speaker 1:And that's where it gets tough. You know it's a tough discussion and it's hard to. It's hard. I don't have any answers. Guys Like I don't, I don't, I don't have any answers. But I do know that I'm not gonna, I'm not going to be the guy that just gives everything to something else. You know what work wise. I give work, I give work a lot while I'm there, but when I'm not, I'm not.
Speaker 1:And I think a lot of us struggle with that in today's day and age, with the economy and with finances and everything else. You know, I think it's hard to. I do think it's hard. I think it's hard to prioritize. You know, because you're prioritizing like we don't have, things aren't as affordable as they once were, you know, and we don't have as much PTO. You can take listeners here or anywhere that can just take two weeks off work to take a family vacation and and much less even afford that, without putting it on credit, like, it's just a rough time.
Speaker 1:But I just want to continue to be a voice here, with two other voices that have now left us so tragically to be like guys, like, if there's a like, seriously, if there, if you have the will, there is a way. And it's so tough to to. It's so tough when you're in it. Like I said, I've struggled with a lot of negative thoughts and like I can, or it won't, or it's not gonna work, or that's silly to think about. And like you guys, like I am proof that you can find a way, you know, like, and there's way bigger proof than me. But I am in, to some extent, I'm a hybrid where I'm still working full-time this podcast. I'm here for you guys, but this is not something that pays me. This is not my job. This is not even a side gig at all. Like, it's just a thing I do. But I still get out very regularly. I still found a way to build a rig and get out and do things, and it was not without sacrifice for those of you that, uh, I mean, I'll just talk about it a little bit so maybe somebody will resonate with it, but, like.
Speaker 1:I wrote an email to myself in 2017 about this, you know, to myself. And here we are in mid-year 2025. And I can say that with pretty solid confidence. Most things in that email that I wrote to myself about what I wanted to accomplish, I have accomplished, but again, almost. I mean eight years, eight and a half years. That wasn't quick, but making a plan to do it as quickly and effectively as possible is a lot better than just waiting for tomorrow, like never making a plan to get out and do it. Put stuff on the books, work towards it.
Speaker 1:Don't allow yourself to accept the failures that failures of the goals that you have for yourself, like there's nothing I could tell you, guys, more than that, like so many of us are okay putting others in front of us and supporting others toward their goals, without ever even considering like that you may be giving up your goal to do so. And I'm not saying prioritize yourself over everybody else. There's a way to do it, guys. There's a way Like, seriously, like it's not. It doesn't have to be screw everybody else to do me, you know at all, not even a little. It doesn't have to be that, even in the slightest, there's ways to take care of yourself and still take care of your family and your loved ones and be there as a you know a father, a mother, a grandmother, nephew, aunt, uncle, but still also be looking out for yourself. Like, don't forget to live your life because, again, it's fragile and nothing.
Speaker 1:Nothing is sillier to me than people who think their goals are silly. You know, at the end of the day, we all live within our one single body and so whatever you believe is important should really be the most important thing to you, no matter what anybody else thinks and I know I sound like a school counselor saying that, but I really mean it and for those of you that ever meet me in person, like, I don't appear to be like a lovey, dovey individual whatsoever. I don't even think I look approachable at all. But that doesn't mean I don't have time for everybody and I'm here to validate you guys. Like, whatever it is that you want to do, you know I'm not. I'm not, I'm not telling you. I'm going to make my coffee and give it to you and you need to like it. I need to like my own coffee. You know what I mean. Like, just do you guys Like.
Speaker 1:I know that's also just such a hard thing to do and that's a whole nother process All the all together to like knowing you're important, taking care of yourself, looking out for yourself, but also, you know, still taking care of others but making sure you. You know, but not caring about, like you know, people that aren't important to you don't matter, and deciding finally, figuring out what is and isn't important, is its whole own, is its whole own thing, and what really matters and what doesn't. You know who's taking advantage of you and who's. You know I always talk in buckets, like who's filling my bucket? You know, like, and if you're not filling my bucket, then I'm just going to go back to my self-care bucket. You know, like, take care of myself and that's, that's fine.
Speaker 1:I'm not saying everything's transactional, but at some point it's, at some point it could be too much on one way or the other. You know, and that's boundaries and different things, but, guys, I don't need to get into too much of this, but the point is like you got to go live your life. Point is like you got to go live your life. Life's fragile and it too. We just lost two people that that were doing it. You know they were doing it and this is just so tragic and for somebody like me that's so inspired by it, it's just hard to take. It's just hard to take and it just further reiterates what I've said on this podcast two, three, four other times, where I've done entire podcasts on this.
Speaker 1:Like you never know when the last time you're going to see somebody is, you never know, you don't which is, and it's so hard to live life to the fullest.
Speaker 1:But, man, I don't. I really, really, really try to not live for tomorrow and be in today. And that's hard because you got to plan ahead. But, man, guys, you just never know, you never freaking know and just love everybody. You love as hard as you can every day and do your best, you know, do your best to do your best. And that's about. That's about what I could say and where I'd leave it for today. So, yeah, hopefully you guys, all you know, hopefully this can be a situation for you guys that that maybe opens your mind up to like a few things you know, or maybe even considering your own safety when you're out, because it's it's, it's a definite, it's a real possibility for a lot of us. So I'll catch you guys tomorrow, hopefully a little more upbeat, but I felt like today it needed to be said and they needed to be memorialized to some extent. So I'll catch you guys later and have a good one.
