ABOUT US
KICKSTANDSDOWN.TENTS UP.
Tin Can Moto Camp breaks ground in Murphy, NC in October 2026, and we open in May 2027. A campground for moto peeps. Save a spot on your calendar!
THE TWO BEHIND THE TIN
THE TIN-SIDE STORY.
We saved each other’s lives, met in 2022, moved onto a boat together, and never looked back.
Melodie’s the dreamer behind the lens, with twenty-plus years capturing people’s most treasured days. A survivor turned artist, she’s chased her own healing to rivers, oceans, and mountaintops, and now she curates the kind of trips she once needed herself.
David’s the one who makes the aluminum shine and keeps the power on. An engineer and motorcycle frame and welding fabricator by trade, and once founder of Voodoo Vintage Moto, he’s now just as happy with dirt under his boots as salt on his skin: backpacker, sailor, designer, engineer, builder of all things vintage and vagabond.
Home base? A sailboat, always has been. But even wanderers need somewhere to plant something shiny, so we added a slice of the Smoky Mountains to the dream. These days you’ll find us splitting time between the sea and the summit, and Tin Can Moto Camp is where the two collide: moto camp, open fires, and an open road (and open water) always calling next.
Come get Aluminated, and camp with us.
MEET THE CREW
THE DRIVE AND THE GEARS.
DAVID
I live in the details of a project, usually found building, modifying, or repairing something with a coffee in one hand and a cigar in the other. I’m drawn to the high country, open water, and classic machinery, and known around here for my PF Flyers and for building vintage motorcycle frames from scratch. A full-blown introvert, I save my best sailing and moto stories for a select few around the fire. Pick my brain on anything culture, creative, moto, sailing, or gearhead.
MELODIE
I’m fueled by the ocean, adventure, and creative connection. Whether I’m capturing people through my lens, designing websites for small businesses, or painting for personal peace, my creative heart guides everything I do. As a true Gemini and an expressive Italian extrovert, I’m the vibrant energy and vision behind our hospitality. David is the quiet engine: the essential gears that turn my big ideas into a seamless reality.
FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
We’re obsessed with our first and only granddaughter (so far!), Noa Bear, and love our little family spread between Texas, Nashville and North Carolina. And we’re grateful for the small circle of friends who have helped, supported and encouraged us every step of the way.
OFF THE WATER, INTO THE WOODS
SEA TO SUMMIT.
ALWAYS TAKING PICTURES.
Half the year you’ll find us on a sailboat in Samaná, Dominican Republic, with Mel behind the camera, curating all-inclusive island escapes for the brave ones: elopers and seekers, women ready to rise, friend groups chasing real connection. Twenty-plus years of capturing people’s most treasured days taught us what matters most: to feel, connect, wander, and truly live.
THE MAGIC.
When the sails come down for the season, the mountains start calling, and that’s where Tin Can Moto rolls in. Same spirit as the islands, just swap the marina for a campfire: an elevated, community-inspired camping experience in the Smokies. Fun adventuring, nature at its best, and campsites in a forest clearing.
COFFEE, CIGARS AND A URAL.
On the boat or on the mountain, you’ll find David the same way: coffee in one hand, cigar in the other, and a project close by. Even at the marina he’s got the welder out, fixing, building and modifying something. And when it’s time to ride, we take the Ural, with Mel riding shotgun in the sidecar, coffee in hand.
VOODOO VINTAGE MOTO, 2008 TO 2018
BUILT BY DAVID.
Before Tin Can, David founded Voodoo Vintage Moto and spent ten years building vintage motorcycles and their frames by hand. This one is his work, and those same hands are building our camp: the covered bike parking, the bathhouse, and the Toolbox.
SO WHAT’S NEXT?
A shiny little glamphood for motos, where you come to gather, slow all the way down, kickstands down, tents up. We’d love for you to pull in.
HERE’S WHAT’S COMING.
- A level camp area with tent pads and forest views
- Every campsite stocked with 5 gallons of water and a wash bin
- Personal fire pits, plus a community fire and gathering place
- Covered bike parking and a covered common area
- Drip coffee every morning at our cabin window, with cream and sugar, in tin cans
- Bathhouses with a toilet and a hot shower
- Wi-Fi, plus phone charging up at the container
- Security and lighting
- The Toolbox, the tool shed half of our shipping container, for when your ride needs a little tweak, some air, or some therapy
- Hosted weekend BBQ and Taco Bar extravaganzas
THE NEWSLETTER
FOLLOW THE BUILD.
We are building the camp from the ground up. Join the list to follow along, hear first when booking opens, and get first dibs on merch, coming February 2027.