In 2018, when planning the launch of the brand, we had the wacky idea that we should buy an old school bus, ship it over from America and turn it into our mobile show room. Obviously, at the time, with minimal cash in the bank, no idea how to convert a vehicle and without yet selling a single item, it would be a terrible idea to spend almost the entire marketing budget on an old American school bus, but that’s exactly what we did.
This is Jim
Enter Jim Stewart and his team of vehicle-converting ninjas at Shred & Butta. It is very rare that exactly the right person appears at exactly the right time, but that is exactly what happened at this stage of the story.
We met Jim at his yard just outside London - Imagine Aladin’s cave, filled with converted vehicles in all shapes and sizes - and we told him our big idea. Jim twizzled his beard and said it just so happened that he had a contact who could source American vehicles (a Youtuber called Jax Austin) and another contact who could ship them.
We would become Jim’s first yellow school bus of many (he is now the biggest importer in the UK!) and Jim would become a good friend of the company and one of our Rad Dad ambassadors, testing all of our clothing on his little 2 year old explorer.
Meanwhile, fast forward a few weeks, and this bad boy turns up at the dock.
This is a young Dino Bus
A typical day on Jim’s yard in 2020. Now the biggest importer of American buses in the UK!
We had got ourselves a 2000 International Bluebird, complete with tinted windows and a matte black bonnet and it was love at first sight. However, as a business aimed at kids, we knew it needed to look a little more family friendly so we got to work designing some options. We agreed that it would have a chalet inspired interior and a white bonnet and roof, to resemble the snow of our skiwear, but we were undecided on the body.
We photoshopped lots of different colour options before choosing a nice pastel orange, although once painted and dried, we realised we’d painted it the exact same colour it already was.
“Yellow school bus it is then.”
To see the bus come together so quickly was pretty unbelievable. Within a day, the interior was totally stripped and within a week it had new flooring, lighting and the reclaimed wooden structure of the bunks and living area. We also had a ski/boot room at the back, a coffee bar and an astroturfed driving range on the roof, complete with rubber golf tees. Leisure batteries are charged off the engine and topped up via a solar panel. We can also plug the whole bus into a typical plug socket to run it off the mains. The only things we don’t have are toilets, showers or cooking facilities as we knew there would be those things wherever we went, and also, at least at this point, it needed to feel more like a showroom than a tour bus.
It is very true that the priority for getting the bus was to act as our mobile showroom and to impress kids clothing buyers at trade shows, however, those main trade shows are in Paris and Florence and to get a big American school bus to Paris and Florence, you need to take the old girl out on the open road.
And to really let the old girl spread her wings, you need to make sure that you take the longest, windiest and most scenic route possible.
So, we have driven the bus across Europe and over the Alps twice and have written about both of those epic trips in separate blog posts here and here.
Worth the read when you have time!
When the pandemic hit there were no trade shows or travel abroad, so we decided to make the bus available for family rentals.
First, we partnered with a chicken farm in Sussex and sold out every single date that summer.
It went so well that we got Jim back on the phone and told him we needed another bus, purpose built for camping. We painted it mint green.
In 2021 we set up a new series of staycations on Osea Island - an island in Essex that can only be reached by an ancient causeway, revealed at low tide!
This time we created an itinerary of activities which guests could enjoy during their stay, including treasure hunts, sea kayaking, target shooting and campfire cooking lessons.
We sold out every date again on both buses and 'Roarsome Adventures' started to become an important pillar of our business.
So, we called Jim and ordered another bus. This time we cut the roof off above the double bed and the 'Stargazing Red Bus' was born.
In autumn 2021, our entire fleet united for the first time and we hosted a new series of adventures at the incredible Calcot Manor in the Cotswolds.
For summer 2022, we headed for the seaside and partnered with Southwinds Campsite in Polzeath, with panoramic views of sparkling seas and sunsets, less than 1 mile up the road from one of the most incredible beaches in Cornwall!
With toilets, hot showers and laundry facilities on site, plus a cafe serving amazing breakfast, sunset BBQs, cocktails and live music, this was the dream location.
We loved it so much that we stayed for 2 years and launched our first annual event called The Roarsome Summit - a 3 day adventure weekend for the wild at heart.
For Summer 2024 we created a brand new adventure, partnering with the incredible Raynham Estate in Norfolk.
