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OUTDOOR LIFESTYLE COMPETITIONS
When their dream honeymoon was cancelled during the pandemic, Danni and Richard Strang decided to rent a motorhome and head for the hills. It was the start of another love affair for the Fife couple, who have turned their passion for travel design into a fascinating business.
Outdoor Lifestyle Competitions gives people the chance to win a fully-furnished, beautifully-renovated campervan for just £4.97. Danni and Richard discovered almost by accident that they had a “real knack” for refurbishing campervans. “We loved our trip around the north of Scotland in the motorhome so much, two days after we’d returned it to the rental company we went out and bought our own,” says Danni, smiling.
“We did it up and it was amazing how many people said to us – you two should do more of these and sell them. It started us thinking about how expensive it is to have a campervan, so we decided to go into the competitions business, and it’s really taken off.” She adds: “Basically, like we say on our website – we build it, so you can win it.”
Richard runs a landscaping business and Danni’s skills cross over from her job in plant and floral design, so the couple’s collective practical and creative skills have proved a winning combination. The duo gut and rebuild the vehicles painstakingly from scratch, with the help of a local garage for mechanical work, and specialist campervan websites for specific parts. “I think people love the interiors because they are a little bit different, and hand-crafted,” says Danni.
“For us, the real joy is in creating these beautiful, boujee hotel-rooms-on-wheels.” Richard agrees. “It’s the freedom, too, that campervans give you – that feeling of being able to just go somewhere on a whim, and all you have to do is buy some food, fill up with diesel and you are on the road,” he says. Richard and Danni have gone to great lengths to ensure fairness and accuracy in the competition process.
“Some online competition sites get a bad reputation, and people can be suspicious, but right from the start we looked into the legalities to make sure we are completely transparent and above board,” says Richard. “We take a lot of pride in that. We also cap the number of tickets sold at 6500, so the odds for our customers are better.”
Once registering on the site, customers buy tickets up to a maximum of 500. Danni adds: “Each ticket goes into a draw, which is made live on Facebook, by a random number generator. That way, everyone can see that it is fair.”
So far, campervans Juno – stunning in green and natural shades, with an outdoorsy theme – and Luna, stylish in crisp whites and reds – have been won by lucky participants, and the draw for the third vehicle, Ivy, a beautiful van decked out in autumn shades, will take place this Sunday, November 10, at 8.30pm. Already, Outdoor Lifestyle Competitions has a thriving community of followers on social media, although often, the campervans are not the only stars.
“It’s just the two of us in the business but we do have our spaniel Bailey, who is a real hit with our followers,” says Danni, with a laugh. “Everyone adores him, and they love to see him getting involved.” When they have time, Danni and Richard also love to travel in their campervan, Lily, exploring new locations around Scotland and abroad. “We are practising what we preach and heading to Norway soon,” says Richard. “We’re all on our phones so much these days, living in a world that is so fast-paced and busy, so just to be able to get away somewhere with a view, a fire, and chill is perfect.
“We’re so lucky to be able to do that, and that’s what we are offering people the chance to win.” Danni adds: “Speaking to our winners and hearing we have changed their lives – there is no better feeling than that.”
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