“If money were no object, what would you do with your life?” That’s the advice you’ll always hear when trying to figure out your dream career. For Andrew Knapp, all he needed was a good friend, a (mostly) reliable VW van, and a camera.
That friend I’m talking about is Momo and, in case you haven’t seen his viral Instagram account yet, he’s a dog. I’ve actually worked with Andrew for a handful of years building websites and apps together — he is, hands down, the best designer I’ve ever collaborated with (though I do wonder if Momo is the secret talent behind the keyboard). We’ve crafted some amazing projects together that I’m very proud of.
These days, Andrew spends most of his time traveling across Canada and USA with his four-legged copilot. On their 2014 book tour, my family and I hosted the duo for one night near the start of their trip. At one point, Andrew had left Momo alone with me and my wife so, of course, we whipped out our iPhones like a couple of celebrity-chasing paparazzi. I kid you not, Momo darted upstairs and out of sight, as if to say, “This wasn’t in my contract!”
The next morning, I took a quick ride in the VW van and I remember it being an experience of its own. Before we backed out of the driveway, Andrew said, “Oh, hold on a minute.” He hopped out, opened the rear hatch of the van, and proceeded to pour an extraordinarily heavy-weight oil into the engine. “It has so many miles, it won’t run on regular oil anymore,” he explained.
I’ll be the first to admit that Andrew and I are not cut from the came cloth. I like planning my road trips out, knowing where I’ll be sleeping each night, and preparing as best I can. At the same time, though, I admire his pure freedom and unwavering belief that things will work out somehow. I forget how we got on the subject but I had asked him what he had planned on doing after the tour and he said, “I’m not really sure yet. I just sold my house so I guess the first thing I’ll need to do is find a place to park my van.” You can’t help but be envious of someone with so little strings attached.
Getting back to the “earning a living” part of this story, Andrew has figured out a way to do that through selling ‘Find Momo’ books. He has two out so far (his latest called ‘Coast to Coast’ was released this month) and if you’re in need of new coffee table material, look no further. Andrew and Momo are currently on another USA tour so be sure to check the locations and you might even get a pawtograph.
I’ll wrap up with saying that Andrew is the real deal. His adventures with Momo are genuine and not an artificial ploy to make money. Some people may even wonder how taking pictures of the same dog everyday can lead to a business and the answer is in Andrew’s exceptionally creative photographs. I encourage you to follow their journey together and if you’re fortunate enough to meet them in your travels, give Momo a high-five for me.
