Today we’d like to introduce you to Pascal Driscoll.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
In October 2020, my cousin and I moved to Austin from Chicago on a whim. We were looking for someplace new to live with warmer weather and a dynamic, growing city. We didn’t know much about it. Just heard that the comedy scene was exploding here.
We lived in an Airbnb for a month. Once we decided we were staying, we rented a house for a year. After that first year, our rent jumped by almost 50%. I couldn’t believe it. By that point, I was ready to just live in a van I’d been building out. It had a fridge, a secondary battery, plus some drawers and space for a bed.
But out of curiosity, I started looking at RVs instead. I bought one a few hours away from us. Before I even got it home, I realized it was way too small for me, so I sold it for a few thousand in profit. (The RV demand in Austin was absolutely insane during Covid.)
Right around then, I’d started looking for RV spots in South Austin. I found the place where I’m currently at pretty early in its development. It was just raw land with ten power and water hookups and a bare warehouse at the front. No sewage. I booked a spot with the owner, a younger guy with a vision to turn the place into an eco-community with tiny houses and RVs.
After a few more people had moved in, I found yet another RV—a 20-footer—and had it delivered to the property. I customized it a bit to my liking, then realized it was still too small. After I sold it, I bought a 34-foot RV, only to realize it was poorly insulated and the AC was super noisy.
One of my neighbors, a Vietnam vet and chainsaw artist—a total wild man—had been framing up a tiny house from the bones of an 1930s Baptist church in North Austin and decided to sell it. It was barely built up, but I decided to buy it and custom-build the rest, turning it into a place where I could focus on creative projects, like writing comedy.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Building out the tiny house was a trip. All the walls were oddly shaped, which meant everything needed to be custom built. I’d had some plumbing experience, but I was by no means a master in construction. Everything I needed to know I learned from YouTube videos and by leaning on friends and family.
For the first year, I had a composting toilet that was pretty gnarly to maintain. (If you don’t know what that is, highly encourage you look it up.) During initial construction I had a $5 home depot bucket for a toilet (Was a grounding experience). Back in Chicago, I didn’t really have to worry about bugs, but suddenly I was on high alert for fire ants, scorpions and snakes around the house, especially before I’d had the walls properly sealed. In the summer months, the 100-degree temps turned the house into a sweatbox and pretty heavily stalled my progress.
But the end result was great. I set up a huge adjustable desk where I could organize my documents, work on my laptop, watch and write comedy, whatever. My kitchen table is a hand-made river table I put together with cedar slabs my neighbor had cut himself and a blue-green epoxy fill. The bedroom loft has a roof hatch I can open at night to get some fresh air in. Outside, I’ve set up a deck with a cold plunge and sauna.
Took a couple of years to finally feel finished, but it’s definitely a unique space.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Outside of putting finishing touches on the tiny house and working on comedy, I’m looking at potentially getting some land to build an even more personalized space, one that’s fully tailored to creativity and self-sufficiency. More to come.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Carrying fifty pounds of you and your girlfriend’s waste in and out of your front door every couple of months is a pretty horrendous way to spend your time. Get a regular toilet.
Do things right the first time.
Learning the hard way is harder.
