Sander is a Dutch self-taught programmer who works from wherever he likes. He has been able to go out and snowboard in the morning before coming back and starting work.
He also makes Checkout Page, a no-code solution for makers who want to accept online payments. I chatted to him about how he got work without a Computer Science degree, where he has been travelling and about that time his van exploded while he was in it.
Many thanks for the interview! So can you give an introduction for people who want to know more about you?
Cheers, thanks for the opportunity! I’m Sander, I grew up in a small town in the south of the Netherlands. I’ve been working as a freelance developer across various stacks and projects for the past 5 years. I’ve also built a few products over the past years and am currently working on Checkout Page. Two years ago I decided to cancel my office rent and to start working remotely, which has been allowing me to live in various places in Europe since.
I remember you went around Europe in a van while working. Where did you go and can you tell us about how your van “ended”?
Yeaaaaaah. That was something! Last year I decided to buy an old converted campervan from my savings. My girlfriend and I used it to travel around France for the summer while working on the road. This year I added solar panels and more batteries to the build so I wouldn’t be tied to campsites as much.
Unfortunately the day after we set off, there was a gas leak. The van exploded in the morning while we were inside it. It was a really intense, near death experience but amazingly enough we weren’t harmed. The van was damaged beyond repair unfortunately.
