About the Magazine

About the Team

Alan Hayward - Editor

Alan has been with us since the beginning. Before taking up his role as assistant editor he was a staff writer, contributing several features and a travel piece to the very first issue, he has been ever present, ever since.

His background is varied, with a successful career in retail and training behind him, a career direction change took him to work in the driver training industry. He has worked from home on a consultancy basis since the birth of his first child, combining course presentation, with writing training programmes, books and manuals, alongside raising his now, not quite so young family.

Alan, along with his wife Suzanne and family have always been enthusiastic campers mainly in Europe. He was converted to VWs quite by chance. Having always hankered after a campervan, ever since a childhood family holiday in a rented dormobile, he chose an edition of Camper and Commercial as part of his holiday reading selection. Having read the magazine from cover to cover twice during the two weeks away, and after sweating manfully over the packing of a family sized tent in +30 degree heat, he announced (after a shower) that a VW campervan was in the family’s future.

After the air-cooled route had been dismissed for practical reasons, and the new “Brazilian Bay” option had been rejected on similar grounds, research took him to the T4 and that in turn led him into the VW scene as a whole. A Friesan green T4 was purchased the following spring and he hasn’t looked back since. Visiting countless shows, both large and small, he’s been making up for lost time. The T4 has since been sold and replaced by a T5 Karmann Colorado coachbuilt camper. The bus isn’t just used for shows though, camping trips with family and friends are a regular feature, and for most of the intervening years it has been on two European trips per year. Ranging through Italy, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Holland, and Spain.

He’s friendly enough, so if you see him out and about at a show, feel free to pop over for a chat!

Steve Edwards - Columnist - Autoholic's Kitchen

Steve started his VW Bus career in issue two, he was still working in the transport industry at that time, but has since started his own business, Steve Edwards Photography. Prior to buying his 1994 2.4 Reimo converted T4, Steve had a succession of American vehicles that included a couple of big Chevrolet Blazers, a few V8 Camaros and his last, which he sold to buy the T4, was a modified, Top Banana Yellow, 1972 5.4 Dodge Dart. The van has been modified in a Hot Rod style with satin and metalflake paint, whitewall tyres and some very cool pinstriping, it had a feature back in Issue thirty-one, but sneaks its way back into the magazine from time to time.

Steve doesn’t only shoot campers, he’s also had work published in various other titles too and works with businesses local to him in Nottingham producing commercial and corporate images. And of course he has his Autoholic’s Kitchen column in the magazine every month.

You’ll see Steve and his wife Cherie, along with their dog Mr Tiggs, at various events around the country which he reports on, so smile if he points the camera at you.

Oliver Grogan - Columnist - Luxury Is Less

Oliver jumped on board to join the team here at VWBUS for issue 98. The plan was for him to give us some insight into “the industry” from his perspective. He chimes in every month with his unique view of the VW world and with the goings-on in his office, all the while, along with his wife, Tor, they safely steer their cutting edge business, Stitches + Steel.

His youth was spent cutting his teeth working predominantly in and around the Skate / Surf / Snow sector. Gaining experience, he eventually squeezed in teaching and guiding Snowboarding during the winter, while also doing his damndest to call somewhere with waves home for summer. France, Austria, Portugal, Australia, Andorra have been called home at various points during the last decade. Traveling for work, alongside working within these sectors led to the eventual founding, and now, consequent day-to-day running of Stitches + Steel. For someone who's hell-bent on calling himself a “reluctant business person”, being immersed in this industry is something he and Tor thoroughly enjoy. He tells us that writing for the magazine “provides moments of clarity and chaos in equal measures”. We’re not sure about that, but he says that’s a good thing and one that he’s thoroughly enjoying. Whatever, he brings his offbeat view of the scene to the magazine and from his “day job”, he has a good view of the current and forthcoming trends.

David Eccles - Columnist - Rear View