Martijn Doolaard is a 40-year-old Dutch Photographer, Travel Writer, Filmmaker, Author, and YouTuber with a net worth of over $400,000 in 2024.
He is a Dutchman from Amsterdam, Netherlands. He is a Freelance Graphic Designer specializing in packaging and branding. He is the Founder of DAMP Design company.
Martijn is a passionate musician and singer who can play guitar and keyboard player. He is the Author of two travel books. He is a Cyclist and Homesteader.
In this article, we’ll talk about who Martijn Doolaard is, what he does for a living, his early life, his personal life, how he started, his income, his net worth, etc. Keep reading!
| Name | Martijn Doolaard |
| Also known as | Martijn |
| Date of Birth | December 16, 1983 (40 Years) |
| Place of Birth | Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands |
| Gender | Male |
| Height | Around 5 ft 10 Inches (1.77 Meters) |
| Profession | YouTuber, Author, Photographer, and Videographer |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Religion | Christian |
| Education | Graphic Design (The Eindhoven School) |
| Father | Simon Abraham Doolaard |
| Mother | Marjan Van Driel |
| Ethnicity | Dutch |
| Marital Status | Unmarried |
| Children | None |
| Net Worth | ~$400,000 (Est.) |
Martijn Doolaard’s Age
Martijn Doolaard was born to his parents in a small town in Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands, on December 16, 1983. As of 2024, he is 40 years old.
He celebrates his birthday with his parents and three brothers. In his late thirties, he leads an active lifestyle with freedom.
Martijn Doolaard’s Height & Weight
Martijn stands at a decent height of around 5 feet and 10 inches or 1.77 meters or 177 centimeters. His weight is unavailable in the public domain, but he looks fit and weighs normally.
The secret to his fitness is none other than his active lifestyle. He is a cyclist who lives a self-sufficient life as a homesteader. On his second bicycle trip, he traveled through 18 countries and over 17,000 km.
Martijn Doolaard’s Nationality & Religion
Martijn grew up in a small Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands town. Even though he travels a lot for his passion and profession, he is a Dutchman.
He was born in a Dutch Christian family, so he is a Christian by religion. His parents and siblings are also Dutch nationals.
Martijn Doolaard’s Education
Martijn completed primary and high school with his three brothers at a private school in his hometown, Amsterdam. After that, he attended The Eindhoven School in 2003-06 and learned graphic design there for three years.
During those three years, he did several internships, including Full Power graphic design. He did not attend any other university. He started working professionally as a freelance graphic designer.
Martijn Doolaard’s Family
Martijn Doolaard grew up in a family of six in Southern Netherlands. His father, Simon Abraham Doolaard, worked as a landscaper, and his mother, Marjan Van Driel, was a caretaker and housewife.
He spent his childhood fishing and camping with three brothers in his family’s nursery in a big garden. His oldest brother, Cees Jan Doolard, is a carpenter. He is the only married brother.
He has two younger brothers, Anne Doolard, a landscaper, and Siebren Doolard, a videographer and animator. His father is now a minister at a Dutch Protestant Church.
Martijn Doolaard’s Wife
Martijn Doolaard is still unmarried. There is no other information about his girlfriend, relationship, or commitment.
The only possible reason for him not marrying is his lifestyle. He travels a lot, and it is impossible to raise a family along with traveling. He is a semi-hermit Dutchman.
He is now renovating and living in his two cabins in the Italian Alps. He is fascinated by homesteading. He may consider marrying soon.
Of Martijn’s three brothers, only his oldest brother is married. Cees Jan Doolard is married to Tineke Eeelkema. The other three brothers, including Martijn, are unmarried.
Martijn Doolaard’s Wikipedia
Career As A Freelance Designer
Martijn Doolaard is an average human in a small town who completed his education and started his professional career. The only difference is his upbringing.
He grew up in his family’s nursery in a big garden. He spent his childhood fishing and camping. It became the inspiration for his outdoor life.
Martijn became a graphic designer after graduating from The Edidhove School in 2006. He did numerous internships during his graduation.
After graduation, he started working at DesignBridge as a freelance designer in 2006, still working there for over 17 years. He has been a freelance designer at VBAT and dBOD since 2011 and 2013.
Over 13 years ago, in 2011, He started his own company, DAMP Design, specializing in packaging and branding. Besides that, he has worked for IVC Wallwijk, Design Bridge Amsterdam, London, Singapore, Randwalk, QNY Creative, etc.
One Year on a Bike
Martijn was living and working full-time as a graphic designer in Amsterdam, watching his computer screen the whole day and missing being in nature. He decided to put his city life on pause and travel.
In 2015, he planned a solo bicycle trip to Singapore. He would take his luggage on a Surly Long Haul Trucker bike and travel around 100 km daily.
He left for the Singapore trip on April 16, 2015, with some luggage, including a tent and sleeping bag, and reached there in a year by traveling over 17,000 km through 18 countries.
He maintained a daily diary of his journey and converted it to a book, sharing his experience. He named the book “One Year on a Bike: From Amsterdam to Singapore,” published on March 25, 2017.
Two Years on a Bike
After returning from the trip, Martijn found the city life boring and decided to go on his second trip. This time, he chose Vancouver to Patagonia and would carry his laptop and other necessary things needed for freelancing.
He traveled on a new bike, a Surly ECR 29+, from Vancouver, Canada, to Patagonia, South America. He took breaks in between when he got some freelance work.
Martijn wrote his second book, Two Years on a Bike: From Vancouver to Patagonia, to share his second bike trip. He published it on November 9, 2021.
He learned the lesson of minimalist and independent life. He met new people and made new friends along the way. He met a couple traveling independently for over 35 years.
Please read our article on another traveler, photographer, and videographer:
Martijn Doolaard’s Cabin
After traveling for two years on a bicycle, writing two books, and recording numerous videos on YouTube, in 2021, Martijn Doolaard started looking for properties in mountainous regions he could call home.
He was living full-time in Amsterdam. He started in Spain, then Italy. After four weeks of traveling, he found two small stone cabins in the Italy Alps, just under six acres of land.
They are two 1903-built stone cabins located in Piemont, Northwest Italy. He paid €21,000 or $21,600 for those four walls and a leaking roof with no plumbing, electricity, and toilet facility.
He decided to renovate them and make them his homestead. He recorded videos of him renovating and put them on YouTube. For the first year, he spent over $20,000 on renovation. His YT channel’s growth skyrocketed.
After renovating these cabins, Martijn plans to convert them into a homestead to grow his garden, vegetables, animals, chickens, etc.
Besides these cabins, he owns a meadow near the hill and an apartment in his hometown, Amsterdam, which he bought at 27.
Martijn Doolaard’s Net Worth
Martijn Doolaard has worked professionally as a freelance graphic designer for about two decades. He worked with numerous clients and specialized in packaging and branding.
He started his design company, DAMP Design, in 2011. He travels a lot and shares his journey on his blog, EspirituLibre. From 2018, he does not work on it anymore.
He is the author of multiple travel books including One Year on a Bike: Amsterdam to Singapore and Two Years on a Bike: Vancouver to Patagonia. He also sells art prints for around $16 and a film based on his One Year on a Bike for $6.
His books are available on Amazon for $65 each with good reviews and ratings. He must be making a good amount of royalties. He sells a $7 monthly membership on Patreon. It has 525 members, which brings him $3,500 monthly.
His YouTube channel with over 650k subscribers is monetized with YouTube Ads Partner Programs, which pay him approximately 3 to $5 per 1,000 views. It is his primary source of income now. As per vidIQ, he makes around $8,000 monthly and $96,000 yearly from YouTube ads.
Martijn makes a considerable income as an affiliate of bikes, gears, and Patreon donations. He owns two cabins over six acres of land, a meadow near the hill, an apartment in Amsterdam, and some traveling, photography, and videography gear.
As of 2024, Martijn Doolaard has an estimated net worth of $400,000. This is not an official figure. It can vary based on estimates of his earnings, ads, freelancing clients, book sales, etc.
Martijn Doolaard’s Social Media
Martijn Doolaard created his YouTube channel in 2011, uploaded his first video on April 20, 2015, and started uploading regular videos in 2021. His most-viewed video has over 11 million views.
As of 2024, His YouTube channel has over 652k subscribers with only 115 videos, gaining over 72 million views.
He has over 195k followers on Instagram, 6k on Facebook, and 1k on Twitter.
| Platform | Followers |
| YouTube | 681K |
| 195K | |
| 6K | |
| 1K | |
| Total | ~855K |
FAQ
Is Martijn Doolaard Married?
No, Martijn is not married yet. There is no information about his girlfriend, relationship, or commitment.
Where does Martijn Doolaard live?
Martijn lived in his apartment in Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands. He bought two cabins in Piemont, Northwest Italy. Now, he is living there and renovating them.
How do I contact Martijn Doolaard?
You can contact Martijn at his provided email address, mdoolard@gmail.com. You can also consider contacting him through his website, oneyearonbike.com.
What Is the net worth of Martijn Doolaard?
As of 2024, Martijn has an estimated net worth of $400,000, which he made by working as a freelance designer, his YouTube channel, book sales, etc.
I love these videos. The Italian alps are magnificent. I live in Texas. I am an 81 y.o. woman. Retired with a lot of time on my hands. I live alone. My family is near by. My travels are from tv. Italy, Portugal, Israel. And of course USA. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PTOGRAM MARTIJN. MAY GOD BLESS YOU. P S. I love the bight sky shots
Very much enjoy this sight. I enjoy the gorgeous scenery and watching the renovation as it progresses. I li e I barrie canada. My grandparents come from Belgium and s
Spoke flemish. Myself I lived in germany for 8.5 yrs. Love the scenery so reminds me of my time there traveling around the black forest.
I learn so much from you as a person. You are meticulous and so patient in renovating your stone cabins, brick by brick, layer upon layers into the night, mostly alone and loving it. It’s fascinating and a joy to watch you build your bell tent, put together the stone picnic table and bench, growing your little herb plots, digging and laying the water pipes, transporting the building materials batch by batch in your trailer. It speaks volume of your patience and your zest for the homestead life and I wish you godspeed in your aspirations and passion to live and enjoy nature and the land as much as possible. I am from Singapore and my eyes light up knowing you actually made a trip and visited our little red dot. 😊
I love love watching your videos. However I do believe you need a dog. Please get cha one won’t regret it. I promise. Thank you for the entertainment, Tamara Baumgartner
I make sure and watch your videos every Sunday I enjoy the scenery shots of the mountains and your skylines and the drone shots are all mesmerizing Your hard work and calmness are inspiring I’m 70 years old and I will never get to travel places you go so thank you for your videos you have given me parts of my dreams in just watching you Life is a journey and you are living it to the fullest Martijn Doolaard