Byron

His story:

I worked all throughout my 20’s, had a house, my own business, a wife. My job fell apart and, long story short, everything fell apart and I just took off with only my backpack.  Landed in Denver from LA, came to Boulder, and I’ve been travelin’ around here for almost 4 years now.

Typical day:

I have housing I can stay at anytime I want, but I choose to stay out.  Because I love being outside. My sinuses get all stuffed up inside, but when I wake up outside, I just feel so good.  

I’ve been vegan six years, four of them on the street.  I wasn’t gonna change my diet — just because I might not be able to always eat doesn’t mean I can’t still keep a healthy, sustainable diet.  

My passion is my art.  When I see someone who bought something from me out on the street, I get this butterfly feeling — it’s just amazing.  Like a high honestly. I’ve passed out nearly 2,500 pieces here in Boulder.

I choose to live like this, so I live a little bit differently than someone who was tossed into this.  

Homelessness in America:

Most people are so surrounded by media, they don’t really have original thoughts.  Most of these people are walking around in this numb state – I just don’t get it. I used to be that way, but I just can’t do it anymore.  It’s a weird world that we live in.

What is home:

Everywhere is home. Wherever I make it. I mostly love just hanging out and being in nature.  My favorite part of the day is getting up and going down with the sun. When you get far enough from the city, and look down on it, you get to watch lights turn on and off.  It’s quite amazing to watch a city actually breathe.

Community:

Everyone’s gotta find their own path.  We’re all climbing the same mountain, but there are so many different paths. This lifestyle isn’t for everyone, but it works great for me.