Attend any swap meet or bike show and you’ll notice a rebirth of 70’s style vans used as the backdrop for many booths. Trailer your bike around, get shunned, but pull up in a sweet van and life is all good! Owning a van makes life easy as you can transport your bike, sell your wears and end up sleeping under the stars in style.  

Rolling Heavy and Custom Vanner Magazine are two separate brands that help each other out. If you were at Born Free 5 you noticed the bitchin row of vans and one booth for both magazines. Mind blowing as most would think that would be competition for each magazine. Matt told me when he started Rolling Heavy Matchstick from Custom Vanner was the first to call and offer help. They have since become great friends yet cover the vanning world to the beat of their own drum.

Rolling Heavy Magazine

Well, the story all starts round about a year and a half ago.  A foreign menace attempted to slay a metal warrior.  The battle was bloody and brutal.  In the end, after the smoke had cleared and the dust had settled, it left our warrior nearly broken beyond repair and grasping onto life.  While the warrior lay on the ground, gripping to what sense and logic he had left, not knowing if he would live to see another day, he had a vision.  Like a giant vulture of the un dead traveling at light speeds, growing larger and larger in the sky.  As this flying creature of the unknown approached our warrior it began to slow to almost a floating speed and hovered above our warriors near lifeless body.  It's wings began to flap above our warrior.  Starting slow, gaining momentum with each flip of the flap, our warrior began to rise.  He felt the life coming back into him.  And then………he had a vision.  A vision of Glorious Muralled Vans & Bodacious Warrior Princesses.  It was at this point, he knew that he must start a magazine, devoted to Custom Vans & Sexy Ladies.  This magazine would be "ROLLING HEAVY MAGAZINE". 

You know what?  I can't wait to have that scene painted on the side of a van.  It's gonna be so bitchin!  We started Rolling Heavy Magazine just a year ago with the soul purpose of bringing you 2 Great American treats in one.  Cool Vans &  Foxy Ladies.  From Feature Vans to Event Coverage, How To's, Music Reviews, Guest Editorials and an ever entertaining Letters Section from you readers, Hell.  It's a magazine even we can't wait to read. 

With the overwhelming response and support we've gotten from you guys, there's some really cool things on the horizon.  And yes, we're getting closer and closer to changing the answer to that question we are constantly getting in our email.  Do you guys have subscriptions?  Soon, very very soon.

For more information on Rolling Heavy Magazine or Purchasing Rolling Heavy Magazine Items, check out the following links Website  - Store - Facebook - InstaGram

Custom Vanner Magazine

Custom Vanner is a short run publication based out of Louisville, KY. David "Matchstick" Brooks is the main man behind Custom Vanner and his van obsession runs deep with magazine collections, slot track vans, models, real vans, old event shirts, patches and just living the 2% lifestyle. He created the magazine in 2011 to fill the magazine void in the van world. It's printed 3 to 4 times a year and was originally limited in edition at 500 copies per issue however new and back issues are now available through magcloud.com. The focus of the magazine is the DIY aspect involved in building a van because so much of a van's design is very personal to the owner.

The mag's name is a nod to Custom Rodder and all of the other little books that were so popular in the hot rodding scene in the 50s and 60s. Ed "Big Daddy" Roth's Choppers Magazine serves as a major influence as well. When no one wanted to run the Big Daddy's trikes in their magazines he made his own magazine so Matchstick figured if no one wanted to publish van's anymore he would just do it on his own. This same attitude fuels many of the DIY articles that are featured in the mag such as one off fiberglass molds of hard to find parts, custom floor pans, disc brake conversions and much more. Matchstick is a big fan of the DIY mentality and loves to share what he has learned with others. He spent years working in commercial print shops, however when he got in to vanning he decided to start doing his own repairs whether it be sheet metal fabrication, fiberglass part manufacturing, or wrench turning. He currently splits his time publishing Custom Vanner and working as a fabricator at Allison's Rod & Custom in Shelbyville, KY.

Custom Vanner makes a serious effort to give well rounded coverage to as much of the vanning world as possible from the east coast to the west coast, and international vans as well. 60s and 70s styled vans make up 99% of the content because naturally these are the vans that made the vanning era so popular however slightly newer vans do find their way amongst the pages now and again for various reasons.

Issue 7 is the next release in the custom vanner library and is expected to debut in late September or early November. Watch the web for updates. Custom Vanner can be found online at www.matchstickcustoms.com, Instagram and Facebook.

Truck on keepin!

I would like to welcome Matt and Matchstick to the Chop Cult family and wish both brands much success!

- Lisa