Six stories that will inspire you to escape the rat race

  • Text by HUCK HQ
Six stories that will inspire you to escape the rat race
The best of Huck — Tired of office life? Want a fresh start? From skate utopias in the frozen wilderness of Finland, to radical micro-societies in rural France: we look into the Huck archive to find the best, most inspiring stories on off-the-grid living.

The hobo inspiring a new generation of restless spirits

After leaving his small town as a teen, ‘Huck’ hit the road to hitchhike, hop trains and live by his own rules. Now he’s helping other vagabonds navigate a society they see no future in.

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A Finnish skateboarder’s snow-covered sanctuary

In the frozen heartland of Finland, Jaakko Saavalainen’s do-it-yourself skatepark proves anywhere can become a skate utopia – if you’re willing to put in the work.

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How to build your own completely sustainable utopia

Since 2010, Kalu Yala has been encouraging people from all over the world to build a new kind of village. We speak to founder Jimmy Stice about the challenges he’s faced so far.

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Life inside Europe’s biggest alternative-living community

The ZAD is a micro-society in rural France where activists, farmers and free-spirits live in harmony. Photographer Kevin Faingnaert tried to find out why.

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A surfer’s life-changing road trip from Brazil to California

Years after her father and friends travelled across Latin America with just surfboards and a van, Antonia Wallig is reliving that journey with her own gang of four. Only this time, instead of riding waves just for the thrill of it, these surfers are determined to make a positive social impact along the way.

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When getting back to nature becomes a movement…

After hitting the road as a directionless teen, photographer Antoine Bruy discovered a radical community living off-the-grid: a wave of people flocking to the wild, leaving the rat race behind.

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