Grease, Grit & Girl Power - Annie's VW - Annie Van Orman Ep34

WEBVTT

00:00:38.577 --> 00:00:43.577
All right, welcome back to Dub Life Diaries. Today's guest is somebody who embodies

00:00:43.577 --> 00:00:46.797
the do-it-yourself spirit of the VW community.

00:00:47.357 --> 00:00:50.937
Honestly, I've been looking at her videos. I'd pretty much say like nobody else.

00:00:51.817 --> 00:00:55.677
She's a content creator. She's a filmmaker. She's a storyteller.

00:00:55.897 --> 00:01:01.317
She's a hands-on mechanic who took a 69 Beetle named Helen Wheels and brought

00:01:01.317 --> 00:01:03.277
her back to life on camera.

00:01:03.497 --> 00:01:06.637
Every bolt, every weld, every triumph all on her own.

00:01:07.197 --> 00:01:11.177
She's built an international community around her work. I can say I looked at

00:01:11.177 --> 00:01:14.277
your Facebook. You're probably close to 60,000 followers.

00:01:14.457 --> 00:01:19.037
Your Instagram is what, over 100, over 200? Yeah, yeah. Pushing over 100. Yeah, for sure.

00:01:19.457 --> 00:01:22.837
Wow. It really is just absolutely amazing.

00:01:23.037 --> 00:01:27.377
Anyway, built an international community around her work, showing that you don't

00:01:27.377 --> 00:01:33.357
need a shop full of mechanics or a super big budget to make this vintage Volkswagen thing work.

00:01:33.597 --> 00:01:37.617
You just need passion. You need creativity and a whole lot of persistence from

00:01:37.617 --> 00:01:42.057
restoring Beatles to building Star Wars props, which I thought was the coolest

00:01:42.057 --> 00:01:46.077
thing about your past, all the way to SEMA and the great race rally.

00:01:46.317 --> 00:01:50.057
She's living proof that art and engineering can share the same garage.

00:01:50.297 --> 00:01:53.437
Please welcome to the podcast, Miss Annie Van Orman.

00:01:55.157 --> 00:02:00.057
Thank you. That was a very, very kind and generous introduction. I appreciate that.

00:02:00.637 --> 00:02:03.317
Absolutely. What's up? Thank you so much for taking the time.

00:02:03.317 --> 00:02:04.577
I really do appreciate it.

00:02:04.877 --> 00:02:07.857
Just this little old podcast, we're starting to get some steam.

00:02:08.057 --> 00:02:09.457
So thank you so much for your time.

00:02:10.037 --> 00:02:13.537
Before we get going, I want to give just a couple of shout outs to my sponsors

00:02:13.537 --> 00:02:16.217
and some people that support me, support the podcast.

00:02:16.657 --> 00:02:20.037
You guys know Volksmania, super awesome magazine.

00:02:20.237 --> 00:02:25.037
I feel it's the flyest VW magazine on the face of the planet, Volksmania.com.

00:02:25.157 --> 00:02:30.637
You can use Dublife10, that's D-U-B-L-I-F-E-1-0 at checkout.

00:02:30.877 --> 00:02:36.537
That's US subscribers only. Shout out to SaltyDub. SaltyDub from the beach to the bay.

00:02:36.757 --> 00:02:40.357
SaltyDub is tearing up the scene. They got some announcements coming out soon

00:02:40.357 --> 00:02:44.397
for the next V-Dubs over the Skyway PM version.

00:02:44.997 --> 00:02:50.497
Anyhow, SaltyDub.com, same discount code. It'll only work on swag, DubLife10.

00:02:51.055 --> 00:02:56.195
And then finally, my buddy Chris White, Riverbank Customs. Chris is out of Pell City, Alabama.

00:02:56.355 --> 00:02:59.375
Super stand-up guy, all about the VW community.

00:02:59.615 --> 00:03:04.075
Go check out his YouTube, Riverbank Customs. You can't miss him.

00:03:04.215 --> 00:03:08.335
You can't miss his lovely Southern accent. You can't miss his love for Volkswagen.

00:03:08.655 --> 00:03:12.175
So, okay, young lady, back to you. Back to you again.

00:03:13.175 --> 00:03:19.575
Thank you. Thank you for your time today. All right, so let's talk Volkswagens. Yeah, I'd love to.

00:03:20.015 --> 00:03:24.175
All right. We might be here a long time if you just open-end it like that.

00:03:27.175 --> 00:03:32.995
So let's go back to the beginning for you. What are your very first memories of Volkswagens?

00:03:33.275 --> 00:03:36.255
Well, I think it's like most kids.

00:03:36.335 --> 00:03:40.235
Unless you've got a family member or someone close to you that's working on

00:03:40.235 --> 00:03:42.515
Volkswagens, I think it's the same for everyone.

00:03:42.635 --> 00:03:45.275
It's sitting in the car, long road trip.

00:03:45.855 --> 00:03:49.555
I think some people call it slug bug. Other people call it punch buggy.

00:03:49.555 --> 00:03:52.755
But that's the earliest memory is sitting in the car, you know,

00:03:53.255 --> 00:03:56.735
making, because we didn't have phones back then and devices to keep us busy.

00:03:56.915 --> 00:04:01.835
So it was looking out the window, looking for the punch buggy so you can slug your sibling.

00:04:03.495 --> 00:04:08.275
Wow. So that's probably the earliest. Yeah. You grew up in Canada, right?

00:04:08.795 --> 00:04:13.055
Yeah, Canada. So I'm in Alberta, which you would consider like Western Canada.

00:04:13.395 --> 00:04:19.935
Yeah. How did cars and creativity kind of fit into your world as a kid looking back?

00:04:20.708 --> 00:04:24.088
Yeah, so cars came later, I'm going to say.

00:04:24.308 --> 00:04:28.768
I didn't grow up in a family where we worked on cars, where we were out,

00:04:28.848 --> 00:04:30.248
you know, doing things like that.

00:04:30.368 --> 00:04:33.188
But creativity, definitely, definitely, definitely.

00:04:33.428 --> 00:04:39.348
Like from an early age, I came from a family where the arts were heavily focused on.

00:04:40.148 --> 00:04:45.768
And so, you know, not only just with some of the things that my family valued

00:04:45.768 --> 00:04:51.508
with, you know, maybe art and music and things like that, I was always out building stuff.

00:04:51.668 --> 00:04:57.168
And so my dad is a really talented woodworker. So I remember early days just

00:04:57.168 --> 00:05:01.768
watching him build things. But then also I lived out on an acreage.

00:05:01.908 --> 00:05:06.488
So we were building, you know, tree houses and stuff. So the building bug and

00:05:06.488 --> 00:05:11.488
the creativity with that sort of aspect, that's been around since I can remember.

00:05:11.808 --> 00:05:16.448
Cars came later, but the whole idea of wanting to go out and build things and

00:05:16.448 --> 00:05:20.028
create things, that's been there just from the earliest memory.

00:05:20.508 --> 00:05:24.988
So the artistic side's always been there, really? Yeah, it's always really been there.

00:05:25.128 --> 00:05:30.168
It's been, I started out, well, I'll jump ahead to part of my degree with,

00:05:30.228 --> 00:05:34.628
I had a Bachelor of Fine Arts. I thought I was going to maybe go through and do an art degree.

00:05:34.888 --> 00:05:40.048
So from an early age, I was drawing and doing things like that that way.

00:05:40.508 --> 00:05:44.448
And so I thought I was going to take that route. But then I did something else.

00:05:44.608 --> 00:05:46.848
But yeah, creativity, drawing, building.

00:05:47.108 --> 00:05:53.128
It's been lifelong. You know, you're a different thinker, a different type of thinker.

00:05:53.228 --> 00:05:57.868
The artistic thinker is a different thinker. I have one of my five kids that's

00:05:57.868 --> 00:05:59.828
also very artistic. He's my youngest.

00:06:00.388 --> 00:06:04.948
And ever since he was just a tiny little baby, like the things that he was into

00:06:04.948 --> 00:06:09.548
versus my other, or watching the way, like the way a wheel rolls on the ground

00:06:09.548 --> 00:06:10.768
and getting all up underneath it.

00:06:10.848 --> 00:06:13.228
And I'm like, you know, and now he's in art classes and stuff too.

00:06:13.348 --> 00:06:17.728
It's just, it's so cool to see the differences and people, you know?

00:06:17.728 --> 00:06:19.928
So I can imagine probably same for you,

00:06:20.483 --> 00:06:25.883
I'd say that people who have that artistic eye or vision, they are observers.

00:06:26.283 --> 00:06:29.003
And so they do want to see those things, right?

00:06:29.263 --> 00:06:34.083
But the funny thing is, is people see what I did early on in my career and early

00:06:34.083 --> 00:06:36.963
on with my life with like creativity and drawing and art.

00:06:37.303 --> 00:06:41.263
And then later, you know, television, video type stuff.

00:06:41.583 --> 00:06:47.263
But I think all of that really translates over to building a car.

00:06:47.263 --> 00:06:51.103
I think you have to be a creative person to build a car and have that eye.

00:06:51.323 --> 00:06:56.823
So I look at people who are building cars and I think they are super creative.

00:06:57.123 --> 00:07:01.983
Like there's a real creative sort of gene that you have to have to really to

00:07:01.983 --> 00:07:05.263
excel at it, I think. For sure. For sure.

00:07:06.063 --> 00:07:10.403
I'm also going to beg that it probably even boils down to just the raw nature

00:07:10.403 --> 00:07:12.523
of your IQ and your intelligence level.

00:07:12.923 --> 00:07:17.383
Yeah, sure. Maybe. I mean, if you're saying I'm smart, I'll take that compliment.

00:07:17.703 --> 00:07:22.303
Yeah, I am. I am. And I think, you know, artistic, you know,

00:07:22.523 --> 00:07:26.083
sometimes maybe not always the best at all the books.

00:07:26.463 --> 00:07:31.523
Oh, yeah, yeah. But typically very, you know, very good at the artistic side.

00:07:31.703 --> 00:07:35.223
And like you said, man, it's just that it's almost like a natural thing there.

00:07:35.783 --> 00:07:39.963
Yeah, I think that's true. I think when you got, sometimes that's just the way

00:07:39.963 --> 00:07:43.083
it happens is you got talents one place and then it's not so good the other

00:07:43.083 --> 00:07:46.963
place. So don't ask me to do like mental math and stuff like that,

00:07:47.043 --> 00:07:48.123
but I can do other things.

00:07:49.143 --> 00:07:53.683
So at what point then did you realize, you know, all right, it's going to be

00:07:53.683 --> 00:07:56.043
about VWs. VWs is going to be my thing.

00:07:57.683 --> 00:08:01.823
I thought about that because, you know, it could have been.

00:08:01.963 --> 00:08:06.223
So my first vehicle when I was 16 was a 1971 Super Beetle.

00:08:06.343 --> 00:08:11.363
It could have been then, but it wasn't really. So, so the story there is that

00:08:11.363 --> 00:08:14.903
my first car was a Volkswagen and I loved to drive it. I only drove it for a couple of years.

00:08:15.223 --> 00:08:19.543
And when we got rid of it, when I went to college, I kind of knew that a Volkswagen

00:08:19.543 --> 00:08:20.823
would come back into my life.

00:08:20.963 --> 00:08:25.443
I really, really wanted to learn auto mechanics and just kind of like dive in

00:08:25.443 --> 00:08:28.683
and do that. But timing is never quite exactly right.

00:08:28.823 --> 00:08:34.823
So I don't think I knew for sure that VWs were really my thing until my late

00:08:34.823 --> 00:08:39.203
thirties when Helen came into my life and I started tearing her apart.

00:08:39.323 --> 00:08:42.243
I thought, yeah, this is what I want to do.

00:08:43.243 --> 00:08:46.943
We're going to talk about her in just a moment. Yeah.

00:08:47.383 --> 00:08:51.883
But let me tie back in what you had brought up with your degree,

00:08:52.243 --> 00:08:54.303
Bachelor's of Fun Arts in New Media.

00:08:55.203 --> 00:08:59.343
Worked in animation, worked in film, also in photography.

00:08:59.763 --> 00:09:05.503
How do you think those very creative style experiences really kind of shaped

00:09:05.503 --> 00:09:08.643
the way that you do Volkswagen restorations now.

00:09:09.645 --> 00:09:14.385
Oh, yeah. I don't know if I can tie it in completely to the whole restoration

00:09:14.385 --> 00:09:17.945
process, but I'll tie it into the way I share it.

00:09:18.145 --> 00:09:24.525
It's been a very interesting full circle moment where I really started out in

00:09:24.525 --> 00:09:29.825
media, like, like in, in literally like video editing and TV production.

00:09:29.825 --> 00:09:35.145
Because I worked on a children's television show and all sorts of aspects where

00:09:35.145 --> 00:09:39.165
it's kind of come full circle where I burned out of that.

00:09:39.305 --> 00:09:43.205
That's a burnout sort of industry. I burned out of that and now I'm kind of back doing it.

00:09:43.325 --> 00:09:47.485
So I don't know if it's tied in specifically with the actual restoration,

00:09:47.485 --> 00:09:51.525
but it's definitely been a really interesting moment where now I'm like,

00:09:52.045 --> 00:09:54.785
I'm kind of back in video production again.

00:09:55.965 --> 00:10:00.565
Can't get away from it. But yeah, but you know, it's helped a lot because I've,

00:10:00.685 --> 00:10:03.685
I already had that foundation. I didn't need to figure anything out.

00:10:03.805 --> 00:10:07.885
It was just like, Oh, you know, this is like advertising again.

00:10:08.565 --> 00:10:12.405
Yeah. That's, that's so nice because I've had to figure it all out.

00:10:12.925 --> 00:10:17.625
Yeah, exactly. And it can feel like an overwhelming steep learning curve when

00:10:17.625 --> 00:10:18.545
you're learning it all out.

00:10:18.685 --> 00:10:23.465
So, so that's been one of the things that has been actually a nice thing about

00:10:23.465 --> 00:10:28.465
my background is there hasn't been any learning curve. It's just been like jumping back in, so...

00:10:29.081 --> 00:10:31.921
Well, something else that you mentioned that I thought was so cool,

00:10:32.081 --> 00:10:34.801
which I'm sure will resonate with a lot of people because a lot of people like

00:10:34.801 --> 00:10:39.121
Star Wars, but you built Star Wars props, right?

00:10:39.661 --> 00:10:48.361
Yeah. How did you get into that? Well, it was kind of one of these things that just sort of happened.

00:10:48.761 --> 00:10:54.161
And what had happened was my daughter, so I've got two kids,

00:10:54.441 --> 00:10:58.361
a boy and a girl, my daughter, who's the youngest. she was just kind of starting

00:10:58.361 --> 00:11:02.221
preschool and I was kind of needing a little project.

00:11:02.441 --> 00:11:05.021
She wasn't, you know, I didn't have kids at home. I needed a project.

00:11:05.321 --> 00:11:08.401
And my brother was kind of into these Star Wars props. And I thought,

00:11:08.521 --> 00:11:10.681
well, if he can do it, I can do it.

00:11:10.761 --> 00:11:14.621
So I just kind of, I kind of like sunk a bunch of money into the hobby.

00:11:14.921 --> 00:11:17.841
You know, you have to get a little airbrush and a little compressor and then

00:11:17.841 --> 00:11:19.981
lots of tools for some of the things that you're doing.

00:11:20.361 --> 00:11:23.881
And I made one. And the one that I made, I assume you're familiar,

00:11:23.901 --> 00:11:29.461
but when Princess Leia goes and And she rescues Han Solo, and she's dressed

00:11:29.461 --> 00:11:30.961
as the bounty hunter, Boosh.

00:11:31.221 --> 00:11:34.801
I don't know if you're familiar, but that's the costume. That's the helmet that I made.

00:11:35.381 --> 00:11:37.521
And basically what happened was...

00:11:38.241 --> 00:11:45.421
Dang, that's crazy. But basically what happened was I had sunk so much money into the hobby, as we do.

00:11:45.601 --> 00:11:49.121
I mean, you kind of have to sink some money into it to kind of get going.

00:11:49.321 --> 00:11:53.001
I had sunk so much money into it that I thought, well, I got to sell this thing

00:11:53.001 --> 00:11:55.661
and kind of make my money back, and then I'll make another one.

00:11:55.661 --> 00:11:57.081
And then then I'll be even.

00:11:58.141 --> 00:12:04.481
And so I sold it. I put it up on a Star Wars prop forum and I sold it immediately

00:12:04.481 --> 00:12:07.981
and immediately had about three people say, can you make me one?

00:12:08.101 --> 00:12:10.881
I thought, sure, why not? You know, that's no big deal.

00:12:11.221 --> 00:12:16.401
And it just snowballed from there. And I think I did it for about five years.

00:12:17.361 --> 00:12:23.661
And at my busiest, I had like a 12 month wait list for people to get on my bench

00:12:23.661 --> 00:12:25.281
so that I can make them the prop.

00:12:25.661 --> 00:12:31.521
And so and so and and and and that just has to do with the costume that I was

00:12:31.521 --> 00:12:33.621
doing this Boosh, who was Leia again.

00:12:33.921 --> 00:12:37.001
There was a big hole in the market. Nobody was making it.

00:12:37.101 --> 00:12:40.801
So I was like the only one kind of on the market making it. Everyone wants like

00:12:40.801 --> 00:12:45.941
Boba Fett and like the other bounty hunters, but not very many people were making

00:12:45.941 --> 00:12:47.821
this. So I found a hole in the market.

00:12:48.041 --> 00:12:51.881
Yeah, niche, niche. Good job. And I, and I became really, really busy.

00:12:52.681 --> 00:12:57.121
Wow. What a cool story. Yeah. And it was, and it was really fun to do.

00:12:57.241 --> 00:13:01.281
I enjoyed it. And then it just kind of, the guy that I had making the,

00:13:01.321 --> 00:13:05.421
the, the base helmet, the raw helmet for me, he stopped making them and then

00:13:05.421 --> 00:13:08.701
it just kind of fizzled. But by then I was doing Volkswagen stuff and then it

00:13:08.701 --> 00:13:10.161
didn't matter so much, I guess.

00:13:10.901 --> 00:13:14.581
Right. Right on. All right. So back to Volkswagens then. Yeah.

00:13:15.201 --> 00:13:19.881
You touched on Helen Wheels for a second. Let's talk about Helen Wheels and

00:13:19.881 --> 00:13:24.181
maybe how she came into your life, maybe even what condition she was in when you got her.

00:13:24.760 --> 00:13:28.380
Yeah, so I wasn't looking. I'm going to tell you right off the bat,

00:13:28.380 --> 00:13:30.520
I was not looking for a project.

00:13:30.840 --> 00:13:34.980
But my husband, yeah, my husband, I'm going to blame all, everything that has

00:13:34.980 --> 00:13:37.300
happened since I got her is my husband's fault.

00:13:37.800 --> 00:13:44.060
Or I'll thank him for it. But, but he, he came home from work once and he said,

00:13:44.360 --> 00:13:48.660
Hey, I, I think I found a Volkswagen for you because he's known since I,

00:13:48.940 --> 00:13:52.880
like since the beginning of a relationship that I've wanted a Volkswagen to restore.

00:13:53.500 --> 00:13:56.560
And he would occasionally come back and say, yeah, I think I found one.

00:13:56.640 --> 00:13:58.640
And I always felt like the timing wasn't quite right.

00:13:59.140 --> 00:14:02.580
So he sent me a pic or no, he came back and he's like, I'm going to go look

00:14:02.580 --> 00:14:04.800
at it. And I said, knock yourself out. I'm not getting one.

00:14:05.800 --> 00:14:07.080
I don't have time for this.

00:14:08.160 --> 00:14:10.820
So he went and looked at it and he

00:14:10.820 --> 00:14:17.660
sent me some pictures and she was in rough shape like she clearly needed a full

00:14:17.660 --> 00:14:24.320
body off restoration the engine was seized she should have been you know junked

00:14:24.320 --> 00:14:30.420
like like she was not worth fixing up and i saw that and i thought this is the one.

00:14:32.080 --> 00:14:36.020
Where most people would turn around you said this is the one yeah and there's

00:14:36.020 --> 00:14:40.760
a reason for that is because he would often come back, my husband would come

00:14:40.760 --> 00:14:43.100
back and say, I found one and he'd show it to me and I thought,

00:14:43.300 --> 00:14:46.020
well, great, I can buy that one and just drive it. What's the point?

00:14:46.500 --> 00:14:48.640
I can buy that and just drive it. Who cares?

00:14:49.220 --> 00:14:52.780
So when he sent me the picture of this one and it was rough and,

00:14:52.800 --> 00:14:58.600
you know, heater channels needed replacing, the pans needed replacing, the engine was no good.

00:14:59.284 --> 00:15:04.284
I thought, well, at least I can get this and I can dive in and I can learn something.

00:15:04.504 --> 00:15:08.064
I get needs so much work. There's no way I can come out of this and not,

00:15:08.224 --> 00:15:09.784
you know, have learned something.

00:15:10.784 --> 00:15:15.824
And even if I got it and all I did was take it apart and think, well, I can't do this.

00:15:15.924 --> 00:15:20.424
At least, you know, I had fun taking it apart, I guess. So it needed tons of work.

00:15:20.824 --> 00:15:26.044
It was just the right, the right sort of amount of sort of struggle, I guess.

00:15:26.444 --> 00:15:30.844
Yeah, right. That it was interesting for me. So that's kind of where she came

00:15:30.844 --> 00:15:34.024
from. And you did everything, right? Everything on this car.

00:15:34.384 --> 00:15:39.044
Yeah. So what I like to tell people is no hands have touched her except for

00:15:39.044 --> 00:15:43.484
mine, except for like, there's like three jobs, two or three jobs that I couldn't

00:15:43.484 --> 00:15:45.264
do. I couldn't lineboard the case.

00:15:45.444 --> 00:15:49.764
I had to take it to a machine shop. So they lineboard the case for me when I rebuilt the engine.

00:15:49.904 --> 00:15:55.864
And then I couldn't press out and press in the ball joints. But that's it.

00:15:56.564 --> 00:15:59.184
That's everything. And what years is Helen Wheels?

00:15:59.924 --> 00:16:06.224
She's a 1969. She's a 69. Okay. Yeah. But she's got older. She's got those blade

00:16:06.224 --> 00:16:07.784
bumpers on her that make her look older.

00:16:08.804 --> 00:16:13.384
Any parts of the restoration that might have stuck out?

00:16:13.564 --> 00:16:17.284
Was there any parts that, you know, really pushed back and pushed against you?

00:16:17.444 --> 00:16:21.464
Like anybody that rebuilds cars usually has those tough spots?

00:16:21.804 --> 00:16:26.884
Yeah, there's two that I can think of. The first was she needed her whole front

00:16:26.884 --> 00:16:29.784
clip replaced. So I cut off the whole front end.

00:16:30.084 --> 00:16:34.504
And that wasn't really the issue. The clip replacement went pretty good.

00:16:34.864 --> 00:16:40.744
The problem came was her old fenders. I couldn't get one of her fenders to sit on right.

00:16:41.464 --> 00:16:46.364
And, you know, it wouldn't have been such a big deal, but on a Volkswagen,

00:16:46.624 --> 00:16:48.284
those fenders are so iconic.

00:16:48.995 --> 00:16:54.535
You can't get that fender right? What's the point? So there was a point where

00:16:54.535 --> 00:16:58.335
I just could not figure out what was wrong with this fender.

00:16:58.455 --> 00:17:03.535
And I had done some, you know, the front clip, but also some work down by the A-pillar.

00:17:03.795 --> 00:17:08.235
And I thought, I've messed it up. I've screwed something up so bad that there's

00:17:08.235 --> 00:17:10.455
just this big gap between the body and the fender.

00:17:10.835 --> 00:17:15.635
Come to find out later, after just struggling with it for days and thinking

00:17:15.635 --> 00:17:17.455
I've got to light the thing on fire.

00:17:19.575 --> 00:17:23.095
Finding out that her original fenders the one

00:17:23.095 --> 00:17:28.575
was just right twisted and torqued and so i could never get it back on and so

00:17:28.575 --> 00:17:33.155
and so that's actually if we want to talk about the other car i've got the other

00:17:33.155 --> 00:17:37.715
car whose name is fender fender yeah this that's the 68 that you have right

00:17:37.715 --> 00:17:42.815
the 68 we named him fender because all of helen's fenders are actually fenders fenders,

00:17:44.535 --> 00:17:47.775
fenders fenders yeah so so as

00:17:47.775 --> 00:17:51.315
soon as we got new fenders on her which again

00:17:51.315 --> 00:17:54.435
came from fender everything was fine but there was

00:17:54.435 --> 00:17:57.335
a point where i just thought i must have messed something up

00:17:57.335 --> 00:18:02.135
and i was gonna have to go way backwards and figure something out but i was

00:18:02.135 --> 00:18:05.575
really glad and again this comes back to social media you just have tons of

00:18:05.575 --> 00:18:09.555
input from people saying well maybe it's this and maybe it's that and someone

00:18:09.555 --> 00:18:13.095
did check your fender it might be twisted and i didn't believe it.

00:18:13.235 --> 00:18:14.995
And it took me two days to go and check the fender.

00:18:15.535 --> 00:18:19.315
Wow. That's cool though, that that response came and that's what I was going to ask you.

00:18:19.475 --> 00:18:23.035
That was what I was going to kind of, before we started talking about fender,

00:18:23.255 --> 00:18:27.575
I was just going to ask kind of what the response of the VW community was,

00:18:27.695 --> 00:18:32.355
because I know you shared that entire, you know, every, all the steps of rebuilding

00:18:32.355 --> 00:18:34.255
that car online, right? Yeah.

00:18:34.575 --> 00:18:38.255
One of the things I kind of committed to at the beginning was I was just going

00:18:38.255 --> 00:18:40.455
to show everything, good, bad, ugly, whatever.

00:18:40.755 --> 00:18:46.195
Oh, cool, man. I think there's value in that. And I get a lot of heat for things

00:18:46.195 --> 00:18:47.515
that don't work out and people –.

00:18:48.977 --> 00:18:53.097
Like criticizing and stuff like that. But there's so much value in showing the

00:18:53.097 --> 00:18:56.357
good and the bad and the ugly along with the things that work out.

00:18:56.517 --> 00:19:00.917
But the response from the VW community was wonderful.

00:19:01.057 --> 00:19:05.257
And I think you'll agree the VW community is the best community. Oh, yeah.

00:19:05.637 --> 00:19:09.457
Oh, yeah. They're full of just like awesome, good people.

00:19:09.717 --> 00:19:12.697
I mean, one in a hundred might be kind of like not so great.

00:19:12.817 --> 00:19:16.077
But for the most part, the response was awesome.

00:19:16.237 --> 00:19:19.877
I had so many people who were builders of

00:19:19.877 --> 00:19:23.297
all levels really invested in the build who

00:19:23.297 --> 00:19:26.437
would give lots of awesome feedback and lots of awesome advice

00:19:26.437 --> 00:19:30.557
I made some great friends who I can like reach out to even now and be like hey

00:19:30.557 --> 00:19:34.817
this is happening can you tell me what you think is going on here so the VW

00:19:34.817 --> 00:19:40.917
community the response was amazing and and I was really happy for that because

00:19:40.917 --> 00:19:44.357
you know it's hard to kind of like put yourself out there and show the,

00:19:44.357 --> 00:19:48.837
the mistakes and the good things. And, but it was awesome.

00:19:49.057 --> 00:19:51.437
They're, they're, they're fantastic people. I just love them.

00:19:51.677 --> 00:19:56.637
Yeah. Me too. That's why I wanted to do this because they're all so unique and

00:19:56.637 --> 00:20:01.177
awesome that I feel like that needs to be celebrated, you know?

00:20:01.317 --> 00:20:05.997
And I look for the most creative, the most artistic, the most, right.

00:20:06.197 --> 00:20:11.137
And then I also look for just the average, you know, Volkswagen enthusiast because

00:20:11.137 --> 00:20:15.697
equally, you know, their love and their passion for these cars is the same.

00:20:16.057 --> 00:20:19.277
Uh, so they all have stories and yeah, it's so cool.

00:20:19.397 --> 00:20:23.037
So cool. All right. So looking back, would you change anything about how you

00:20:23.037 --> 00:20:27.397
tackled Helen, learn anything for getting into the new project?

00:20:28.177 --> 00:20:34.017
Yeah, I think so. The, the main thing I've learned is I probably don't have

00:20:34.017 --> 00:20:35.817
to take things quite as far.

00:20:37.237 --> 00:20:42.477
Okay. So, because here's the thing, when, when you're working on,

00:20:42.697 --> 00:20:44.357
you know, something you've never done before.

00:20:44.657 --> 00:20:48.717
And again, I'm kind of alone in my garage. I don't have my mentor or my coach

00:20:48.717 --> 00:20:52.497
kind of, you know, in their bay working on their stuff where I can be like,

00:20:52.677 --> 00:20:54.417
Hey, can you come look at this? Have I done enough?

00:20:54.717 --> 00:20:59.337
So sometimes I felt like I was spending more time than I needed just because

00:20:59.337 --> 00:21:00.617
I didn't know when to stop.

00:21:01.117 --> 00:21:04.457
So, you know, with, with certain things, especially, you know,

00:21:04.797 --> 00:21:09.177
strip and paint or what parts need to really be refurbed and what you can get away with.

00:21:09.754 --> 00:21:15.274
I've learned a lot more, you know, there's, there's, there's a line and now I know where it is.

00:21:15.414 --> 00:21:18.554
So, so that was one thing that's moving forward with Fender.

00:21:18.774 --> 00:21:23.634
I think it'll go faster because I'll know, I'll just have a better idea of when

00:21:23.634 --> 00:21:28.474
to stop and, and what to do and what can be kind of like, I don't want to say

00:21:28.474 --> 00:21:31.074
ignored, but just like is not a priority.

00:21:31.334 --> 00:21:35.854
Let's talk about the creative angle of, you know, I guess the build,

00:21:35.974 --> 00:21:38.474
because a lot of it's done and, and, and documented. it.

00:21:38.754 --> 00:21:42.674
How do you decide what angle you're going to take when you're,

00:21:42.774 --> 00:21:45.474
in a sense, trying to capture the journey?

00:21:45.714 --> 00:21:50.074
I try not to make that the priority. I'll say that first, because,

00:21:50.154 --> 00:21:52.894
you know, at the end of the day, I just want to work on my car.

00:21:53.094 --> 00:21:56.954
So I don't want to think a lot about camera angles and stuff,

00:21:56.994 --> 00:22:02.734
but I try and get, you know, a wide shot to make sure that people kind of,

00:22:03.034 --> 00:22:06.514
because that was a few times at the beginning, I would be coming in at a really

00:22:06.514 --> 00:22:08.614
close shot and they say, We don't know what you're working on.

00:22:08.854 --> 00:22:12.434
So I try and get a wide shot. I try and get some different angles,

00:22:12.434 --> 00:22:20.054
but I don't make it a priority to try and be moving the camera every five minutes or something.

00:22:20.654 --> 00:22:25.094
And I've found that when I do move the camera a lot or if I don't move the camera

00:22:25.094 --> 00:22:26.974
a lot, it doesn't really matter.

00:22:27.174 --> 00:22:29.434
People will still watch and engage.

00:22:30.114 --> 00:22:32.434
Occasionally they'll say, well, what was it that you're working on?

00:22:32.494 --> 00:22:33.574
Can we get a close up on that?

00:22:33.734 --> 00:22:39.174
And then I'll try and do that. But in general, video capture is kind of the

00:22:39.174 --> 00:22:43.094
secondary, and I try not to overthink it, I guess, you know?

00:22:43.274 --> 00:22:46.454
Yeah. So you probably don't storyboard or anything like that. You just...

00:22:46.970 --> 00:22:51.510
You just get out there and do it. No, kind of the philosophy or the process

00:22:51.510 --> 00:22:56.090
is every time I'm out in the garage, I'll throw the camera up and whatever one

00:22:56.090 --> 00:22:59.050
little job I'm doing, that'll be what I show.

00:22:59.330 --> 00:23:03.290
So I don't, sometimes when there's a complicated job where I know that,

00:23:03.290 --> 00:23:06.590
you know, there'll be more value in showing more of the process,

00:23:06.590 --> 00:23:10.590
I might think a little bit more about how I want to show what's happening.

00:23:10.590 --> 00:23:13.430
But sometimes a wide shot just showing what you're

00:23:13.430 --> 00:23:17.110
doing is enough but yeah occasionally i i i'm

00:23:17.110 --> 00:23:22.270
not not thinking about it but occasionally i'll try and make a plan if it needs

00:23:22.270 --> 00:23:26.090
something that's just going to be a little bit more involved but i gotta keep

00:23:26.090 --> 00:23:31.150
it fun and easy and and not over complicate it because then you can just then

00:23:31.150 --> 00:23:36.650
it's not fun anymore with your social medias obviously growing,

00:23:37.130 --> 00:23:40.830
you know, and, and your follower kind of your fan base growing.

00:23:41.350 --> 00:23:46.950
Do you ever feel like there's pressure to perform on any of your content?

00:23:47.450 --> 00:23:50.650
Cause yeah, I was going to say, cause I, I do.

00:23:50.810 --> 00:23:54.490
And I feel as my podcast is growing and I'm starting to get,

00:23:54.610 --> 00:23:59.850
you know, downloads in 36 countries and, you know, past a hundred thousand. It's like, dude.

00:24:00.390 --> 00:24:04.410
So sometimes I I'm, I'm like, you know, I feel it. I feel a little bit of the

00:24:04.410 --> 00:24:06.170
pressure. Are the questions still going to be cool?

00:24:06.330 --> 00:24:09.290
Am I still going to be, you know, so do you feel the same thing?

00:24:09.930 --> 00:24:13.770
Yeah. In a way I've had lots of people before asked, they say,

00:24:13.930 --> 00:24:18.890
you know, is the pressure to be uploading and creating content? Yeah.

00:24:19.090 --> 00:24:23.070
Is that why you're doing it so much? I can say, no, I'd probably be out in the

00:24:23.070 --> 00:24:27.850
garage just as much because just because I'm in the time, I've got a job right

00:24:27.850 --> 00:24:31.890
now that is very flexible. And so So I've got the time right now, so I'll be doing that.

00:24:32.010 --> 00:24:37.930
But I do feel like as the Helen Wheels build sort of concluded,

00:24:37.930 --> 00:24:40.350
I started to feel more pressure.

00:24:40.510 --> 00:24:43.210
And that was just because I thought, okay, we're almost done.

00:24:44.035 --> 00:24:48.215
Is it going to live up to the hype? Is it going to live up to everyone who's been following along?

00:24:48.395 --> 00:24:50.935
You kind of want to do it for the people who are following along.

00:24:51.115 --> 00:24:55.335
So there was pressure to try and do it really, really well for all the people

00:24:55.335 --> 00:24:59.215
who have been watching and investing in their time watching you do it.

00:24:59.475 --> 00:25:03.455
So there was that pressure. I mean, I'm always going to do it the way I want

00:25:03.455 --> 00:25:07.255
to do it, but I would just really, really hope it was the pressure of hoping

00:25:07.255 --> 00:25:11.375
that people liked it or were happy with it.

00:25:11.495 --> 00:25:15.015
You wanted them to be as happy with it as I was going to be happy with it.

00:25:15.115 --> 00:25:18.215
So it was that kind of pressure, I guess. Well, that's good pressure.

00:25:18.655 --> 00:25:22.755
Yeah, I think so, yeah. That'll motivate you. Well, not all personality types,

00:25:22.855 --> 00:25:23.875
but that would motivate me.

00:25:24.215 --> 00:25:27.055
Yeah, no, me too. Me as well, I think, yeah.

00:25:27.415 --> 00:25:31.395
Looking at the community, feedback that you've gotten from the community,

00:25:31.575 --> 00:25:37.615
is there any piece of feedback or anything that really stood out over the test

00:25:37.615 --> 00:25:38.875
of time that's really kind of.

00:25:39.395 --> 00:25:43.375
I don't know, either somebody that's been inspired themselves and shared something

00:25:43.375 --> 00:25:46.675
with you or something that they shared with you that inspired you?

00:25:46.975 --> 00:25:52.595
Anything stand out from the community? I don't think I could pinpoint one individual

00:25:52.595 --> 00:25:59.555
or one person, but the feedback that I get that is probably my favorite feedback or, you know,

00:25:59.735 --> 00:26:01.995
response or comment that I get is,

00:26:02.275 --> 00:26:06.035
hey, it's a comment that goes like this. It's like, hey, I've been watching you.

00:26:06.515 --> 00:26:10.095
I've had this project for about four or five years that hasn't been doing anything.

00:26:10.575 --> 00:26:14.155
And watching you and seeing that you're just doing it with, you know,

00:26:14.235 --> 00:26:17.535
the tools that you have and the know-how that you have, it's inspired me to

00:26:17.535 --> 00:26:19.695
get it out and get working on it again. Cool.

00:26:20.035 --> 00:26:23.355
I cannot have a better comment than that. Right.

00:26:23.735 --> 00:26:26.655
To have someone be like, man. That's like what you're doing it for,

00:26:26.855 --> 00:26:28.575
probably, to inspire. Yes. Yeah.

00:26:28.815 --> 00:26:32.955
And that's kind of, you know, along with when we talked about the pressure,

00:26:32.975 --> 00:26:37.575
I want to keep doing it because I think, man, if more people can get out and

00:26:37.575 --> 00:26:42.595
because because anyone who's worked on their cars and and then can drive them after, you know,

00:26:42.775 --> 00:26:47.115
what a wonderful like feeling it is to like to get that done.

00:26:47.335 --> 00:26:51.435
I think it's so good to go and do these things, having hobbies and goals and stuff.

00:26:53.155 --> 00:26:57.935
So like, yeah, I can't pinpoint any one person, but anyone who comes on is like,

00:26:58.075 --> 00:27:00.175
man, and it's not even Volkswagen people.

00:27:00.355 --> 00:27:03.935
They're like, oh, I have this whatever car it is. And I haven't been working

00:27:03.935 --> 00:27:07.615
on it, but I'm going to go do it now. I think, yes, that's exactly.

00:27:07.815 --> 00:27:10.015
Go do it. Go do it and be happy.

00:27:10.615 --> 00:27:13.635
I love it. Yeah. Let's touch on women.

00:27:14.875 --> 00:27:19.875
What's the message that you hope that young builders, young women are going

00:27:19.875 --> 00:27:23.295
to take away from what you're contributing, what you're doing,

00:27:23.415 --> 00:27:24.415
what you're doing for work?

00:27:24.875 --> 00:27:30.175
Yeah. So, you know, you can go on and check your stats and the demographic and stuff.

00:27:30.315 --> 00:27:35.415
So I'll say right off 97% of my followers are men, but I've got those 3% that are women.

00:27:35.895 --> 00:27:40.035
And I think it grows. And I think year by year, it does like,

00:27:40.375 --> 00:27:42.075
just move, the needle moves a little bit.

00:27:42.856 --> 00:27:46.936
But what I would love for women to see, because I think there are women out

00:27:46.936 --> 00:27:51.296
there who want to be doing this sort of thing, but they don't really know how.

00:27:51.456 --> 00:27:55.076
And by that, I mean they don't know that they can just go and do it.

00:27:55.176 --> 00:27:59.496
I remember when I started, I thought, I'm going to go buy a welder and nobody's going to stop me.

00:28:02.056 --> 00:28:06.116
Because you think, I'm not a welder. Should I be allowed to buy this?

00:28:06.196 --> 00:28:09.636
But you're like, yeah, nobody's going to stop you. Just go buy the welder and start welding.

00:28:10.176 --> 00:28:13.716
So what I want women to see is I want them to see it and think,

00:28:14.236 --> 00:28:18.116
well, my husband's got tools or my boyfriend's got tools or my neighbor's got tools.

00:28:18.336 --> 00:28:22.176
If I just borrow a couple things and just start, you know, taking this apart

00:28:22.176 --> 00:28:29.016
or learning how to do this, I just hope that they get inspired to go and work on their own projects.

00:28:29.196 --> 00:28:32.816
You have no idea how many women I've talked to who have said,

00:28:32.956 --> 00:28:35.936
I just want to do this so bad, but I just don't know how.

00:28:36.376 --> 00:28:40.316
And so I'm hoping that they'll see me and I've connected with tons of women

00:28:40.316 --> 00:28:43.296
who are doing this and then tons that are wanting to do this,

00:28:43.376 --> 00:28:49.176
but I think it's valuable to be, to be sort of like visible in this space for other women to see.

00:28:50.036 --> 00:28:52.936
That's great. Yeah. Yeah. I like that.

00:28:53.156 --> 00:28:56.336
And I'm, you know, more, more, more power to that thought. Yeah,

00:28:56.436 --> 00:28:58.736
for sure. I'm not one of those weirdos.

00:29:01.256 --> 00:29:04.736
I mean, I'm, I'm kind of classic. I'm kind of old school. Sometimes I ask where

00:29:04.736 --> 00:29:08.176
my socks and my belt are, but you know. Hey, it's traditional.

00:29:08.356 --> 00:29:12.136
It's just fine. Yeah, it's just fine. It's all love though. It's teamwork.

00:29:12.376 --> 00:29:16.716
My wife is the broker owner of our real estate company.

00:29:17.116 --> 00:29:18.836
So she's the head honcho.

00:29:20.596 --> 00:29:26.516
I love it. Yeah, me too. Okay. VW shows. Do you go to any? Do you frequent any?

00:29:27.076 --> 00:29:32.256
So where I am in Canada. So that's kind of the funny thing. I know a lot of,

00:29:32.376 --> 00:29:35.336
I've got a lot of followers from like places like California and Florida.

00:29:35.556 --> 00:29:39.576
And I know that the VW scene down there is awesome. You've always got shows

00:29:39.576 --> 00:29:44.556
to go to and lots of places where you can go and be around like VW folks.

00:29:45.056 --> 00:29:48.776
Where I am, it's very sporadic and few and far between.

00:29:48.936 --> 00:29:53.916
I'd have to drive quite far. So I haven't really been to just a VW show.

00:29:54.056 --> 00:29:55.816
I've been to car shows. Okay.

00:29:56.416 --> 00:30:01.776
And Helen's only ever been to one car show. But to go to just a Volkswagen show,

00:30:01.896 --> 00:30:05.896
I'd love to do that sometime. But I feel like I'd have to, you know,

00:30:06.076 --> 00:30:07.976
I'd be traveling to try and get to it.

00:30:08.076 --> 00:30:11.916
I know there's a really big one out in the Vancouver area, I think.

00:30:12.056 --> 00:30:13.696
But that's like a 12-hour drive for me.

00:30:14.716 --> 00:30:21.276
There's a guy that I did a podcast with a while back, Jaga Rai, R-A.