From Road Trips to Revival: How a Beat-Up Land Rover, a Rooftop Tent, and a lifetime in Fashion Sparked a Brand Built on Grit
Some brands are born in boardrooms. LANDOVERLAND was born somewhere between a busted hose in Texas and a rooftop tent surrounded by wolves.
It started with a truck. A dusty Land Rover Discovery I picked up in Dallas, in the middle of summer, with plans to drive it back to Los Angeles. I named it Lando, after Lando Calrissian, the original owner of the Millennium Falcon. The thing was half guts, half gamble, and always one repair away from total collapse.
On that first trip, the power steering fluid line ruptured. I patched it with a rubber band and some hope. Just enough to get me across Death Valley, where temperatures hit 110 degrees and the only thing more dangerous than the heat was the silence.
That journey was the beginning.
Over the next several years, Lando became more than a truck. I blew two head gaskets, rebuilt the engine two and a half times, and replaced the air shocks so many times the mechanic revoked the warranty. It was even stolen once. I found it stripped in another town, dragged it back, and rebuilt it again.
This truck wasn’t just surviving. It was living. It even starred in a few fashion ads, dusty and dented, parked beside beautiful models on polished campaign sets. It didn’t clean up well, but it didn’t need to. It had character.
All the while, I was using it for work, producing brand campaigns for foreign and domestic fashion labels while road-tripping from coast to coast. I’ve gone through four career shifts across seven countries and nine states. I’ve experienced the full arc. Retail roots as the youngest employee in Barneys New York history, then in front of the camera, and eventually behind the scenes. I’ve worked every corner of the fashion world. Along the way, I saw the outdoor industry evolve. Rugged turned to street. Surfwear became fashion. Athletic gear turned to athleisure. And all the while, brands that shouted sustainability were quietly fueling landfills. I saw one for myself — acres of discarded clothes and wasted trends. It shook me. It made me rethink what really matters.
So I kept working. I kept building. Inspired by a photo I’d cut from an old 4x4 magazine and a YouTube series called ODYSSEY: Driving Around the World, I began outfitting Lando like the rigs in that show. Eventually, I met the expedition leader from the series, who had driven his own Discovery II across continents. That full-circle moment stuck.
Once Lando was kitted and road-ready, I hit the road again. I explored every national park I could reach on the West Coast. I camped on cliffs, beside hidden lakes, under waterfalls, and out in high deserts. I chased fire roads and surfed remote breaks I couldn’t find again if I tried. One night, I even woke up to wolves sniffing around the rooftop tent. Somewhere in those long stretches of solitude, LANDOVERLAND started to take shape.
At first, it was just a branding exercise — something to work on while I was between companies. I was updating my portfolio and practicing storytelling. But the brand began building itself. The stories turned into identity. The rig became a symbol. The lifestyle became the blueprint.
LANDOVERLAND is the result. A collection of vintage clothing that honors that same mindset: resilience, utility, and quiet strength. We curate timeless pieces, many made in the USA, for their integrity and craftsmanship. The kind of gear that was built to last and deserves a second life.
This is a slow burn. It will take time to perfect. But I’m rolling up my sleeves and leaning in. Patience and hard work is key. This is a man’s brand, and it celebrates everything that comes with that — the grit, the mistakes, the hard-earned lessons. We may celebrate the failures, but we let others celebrate the success.
Everything has settled here in Ballard, Washington, a place long known for its builders, welders, brewers, boatwrights, and craftspeople. People who know how to make things work. It’s a quiet corner of the Pacific Northwest, but it’s where my life began. And it feels right that LANDOVERLAND finds its footing here too.
This isn’t about trends. It’s about legacy. And the long, dusty, beautiful road that gets you there.
Welcome to the trail.
🌲 Explore the latest collection → www.landoverland.com
🧺 Donate your vintage → jason@landoverland.com
📸 Follow the journey → @landoverland