“It’s not the truck for the truck itself, but it’s that truck as a vehicle to get me somewhere, to be able to fulfill a purpose, to be able to do archaeological or environmental expeditions,” says Holm. “And we want to do so in the least invasive ways. We don’t want to go to these pristine, naturally beautiful locations and pollute them or be very intrusive.”
Former host of the TV show Adventure Highway, Holm was no stranger to epic road trips to some of the country’s most beautiful outdoor locations. But the show often traveled with massive 4x4s and motorhomes, taking them through pristine locations like the redwood forests. “It was kind of getting under my skin that we were doing that,” recalls Holm.
Holm’s son had been diagnosed with leukemia around the same time, something that added to the unease he felt about driving huge diesel motorhomes through the outdoors. That’s when Holm decided to commit himself to helping protect the environment—and a few years later, he EcoTrek was born.
The expeditions Holm has been involved in aren’t just incredible, they’re actually helping the world—and without EcoTrek’s modified vehicles, they wouldn’t be possible. In 2017 alone, EcoTrek was involved in reintroducing native species to California’s Channel Islands and charting ancient seaborne trade routes in the area; releasing olive ridley sea turtle hatchlings in Mexico; and exploring Mayan cultural sites.