A FAMILY AFFAIR
When three lads who share rather a lot of the same DNA all decide to build Vans, the outcome is rarely as triumphant as the Monk / Hirst Transporter shaped collaborations. The three Leeds lads in question consist of Ben Monk, 27 - the youngster of the group, Dad, Simon Monk, 53, and his cousin, Michael Hirst, 58. Together they’ve built this intrepid trio of adventure wagens destined to explore far and wide, but it hasn’t always been this way. At the very start, Michael was the first to join the VW ranks and thanks to his occupation as an upholsterer, things were soon starting to look rather special.
MICHAEL HIRST’S T5.1
“I just wanted a nice van to go away in, it has definitely spiralled out of control.” said Michael. As the instigator of the three he has a lot to answer for and his encyclopaedic knowledge of both VWt Mag and Transporters is no fluke - he’s one of the most enthusiastic van owners we’ve ever met. Upon arrival for the snaps he even presented us with a custom upholstered VWt bar stool – how cool is that? His 2013 2.0 (102) T28 T5.1 came about as a result of going to Cornwall in his, err… slightly younger days in Air-cooled buses, with his kids and his better half. Fast forward a few years and the desire for a
