Gabby Petito

And we're kind of like in the desert.

You see this evolution.

You see them growing.

You see the excitement.

You see what's happening.

You watch someone grow up, right, through Instagram photos.

Van life is exactly what it sounds.

It's living in often a restored van or school bus and having this kind of nomadic lifestyle where you can travel all around the country.

It was growing in popularity largely through Instagram and YouTube.

The way to live a sustainable life as a van lifer is to have millions of followers online.

Gabby definitely wanted to be part of this community.

She and Brian were posting it on Instagram, on YouTube, and they were documenting this journey for people on the internet to essentially engage with.

Living in a van is a struggle.

It is not the beautiful picturesque life that a lot of internet creators painted out to be.

especially for Gabby and Brian.

They were struggling.

They were not the cream of the crop van life creators.

They were not going viral.

They were really living hand to mouth.

And so there was a lot of tension, you could tell, around that.