Introducing Wanderful Wheels
Meet Colleen and Patrick, the couple behind the lifestyle company, Wanderful Wheels. Hit the road with these two to learn about how their journey (literal road trip) lead to a business idea and ultimately a path to helping others live their dream life too.
Q: What’s your name, title, business?
A: Colleen O’Brien and Patrick Spainhower, Owners/Founders of Wanderful Wheels
Q: What does your business do?
A: Wanderful Wheels changes the way you camp, travel and adventure by building custom campervans that allow you to bring all the comforts of home on the road. Ultimately resulting in more adventures, memories and good nights of sleep.
Q: Tell us about your entrepreneurial journey.
A: Our journey started with a dream to move into a van and travel up the west coast to Alaska with our dog. We bought a van, we built it out, and we only made it as far as Durango CO. We decided we wanted to end up in this amazing town and Colleen got a job offer she could not turn down. We sold the van in order to put down roots and realized there was a business opportunity. For the next few years we built vans in our spare time and the demand just continued to grow. In 2019 we decided to take the plunge into entrepreneurship and we established Wanderful Wheels. For us vanlife has been about chasing our dreams, going on adventures and creating our best life. We love what we do because we help others create their dream lives as well. We see ourselves as a lifestyle company because owning a campervan changes the way you travel, adventure and live.
Q: What was the most powerful lesson you learned on this journey?
A: To take a step back, recognize the progress you have made, and always keep in mind the why. If you know why you are pouring your life into your business, it keeps you inspired and helps you make important decisions.
Q: Why did you apply for the SCAPE Program?
A: We saw SCAPE as a great opportunity to help us create the foundation we need to be a strong, lasting business that contributes to the community we love.
Q: What companies inspire you the most (local, national, worldwide)?
A: We get inspiration from companies that have a strong purpose and take care of their employees, community and environment. Some classic examples are Patagonia and New Belgium Brewery. We also get a lot of inspiration from makers and creators who find innovative, sustainable ways to build beautiful products. There are so many local examples of this but we recently met a couple from Mancos who started a company called Thread, Metal Stone, and they make totes, bike packs and ski vests from retired fire hoses.
Q: What do you love most about the Four Corners?
A: We moved here for the unparalleled access to nature and the outdoors but it became our home because of the quality people who live here. Between the two we are consistently feeling inspired and energized.
