The Rich Roll Podcast

A mysterious artist on the cusp of breakthrough success walks away from it all. Beyond the public’s gaze, he spends the next decade pursuing purity, beauty and truths both personal and universal. Then, like a Jedi returning from parts unknown, the artist resurfaces as ‘The Spirited Man’. And this ‘Spirited Man’ goes by the name Van. Van Neistat to be precise. The elder half of The Neistat Brothers, it’s a name that will ring familiar to many, a name typically associated with a superstar YouTuber, OG vlogger, and friend of the pod, Casey Neistat. In the Neistat Venn Diagram, Van and Casey overlap on many traits. Both are artists with an utterly distinct aesthetic. Both are exceptional filmmakers who honed their skills in the days before YouTube even existed. Both have a preternatural aptitude for storytelling, perfectionist dispositions, an appreciation for the analog, and extreme respect for detail. The list goes on. And yet, Van and Casey are also very different artists with disparate sensibilities. Back in