Essex DJ Begins European Tour in Custom-Built Mobile Booth

A man who transformed his van into a portable DJ booth has embarked on a European tour. Jack Lydon, 29, from Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, converted the vehicle into a living space featuring a double bed, kitchen, and shower, alongside record decks and CDJs. The freelance project manager and DJ indicated that the van, which is covered in hand-cut, Japanese-inspired wooden slats, was the outcome of “painstaking, long hours” of work. He stated, “It’s my bedroom put on some wheels, so that I can take it around Europe.” Mr Lydon, who specializes in funk and soul music, started the project in September 2023. He recounted, “There was a full solid six months of planning, designing, on my laptop in computer-aided design beforehand, and just making sure that I got the layout right.” Mr Lydon added that the completed design was not his first iteration. He reviewed approximately 12 different layouts for the van, seeking to position his DJ decks permanently so he could open the doors and play music for people. His European adventure began on Monday, in the Netherlands. “I didn’t want [the DJ decks] to be in the way of the bed, but it was when I came up with the idea to have the bed on the wall and take away all that space,” he said. “The essence is just me combining my two passions – which are travel and music. “I didn’t want to just go back-packing.” His endeavor was recognized by a competition organized by eBay, which awarded him a £10,000 prize for being named van conversion of the year. He mentioned he was “super grateful” to receive the award, “because not only was it the validation that I needed, but it came with a nice little cash prize as well”.