Meet Ricky Doherty | Campervan Builder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ricky Doherty and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ricky, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Growing up, like the majority of us, I was imbedded into the system of Go to School, Get good grades, get a good job.

There was a huge part of me that liked the idea of that. Meaning what I would look like in the eyes of others. But, deep down, that just wasn’t me. I wasn’t built to hold a 9-5 job or work for someone else.

I knew I always wanted to work for myself and start my own business, I just wasn’t sure how. And, I was so worried about what my parents thought and that I may be letting them down if I didn’t just hold a “real” job.

The idea of running my own business was so important to me as I saw it as freedom. I feel so much of what’s taught in the school system and societal norms are designed to keep so many trapped and small in many ways. Deep down I feel everyone has a gift and/or talent that given the right opportunity, could turn it into something that benefits the world in their own unique way.

I am still uncovering and learning about what’s most important to me. I feel part of being human is our appetite to want to explore and live into the fullness we all have in the extremely short, relative amount of time we have here in this form.

What should our readers know about your business?
We own and operate Vandemic Campervans LLC, a campervan conversion company. We feel what we bring to the table is a whole lot of real world experience that covers all aspects of Vanlife and Van Building.

Dennis has close to three years experience living out of a vehicle which provides a unique, in-depth and practical feedback into our builds. This also helps answer so many questions that people have who are interested in Vanlife, but just don’t know what they don’t know yet.

My backround in Real Estate and running businesses was instrumental in injecting the confidence to just start the business by buying our first van rather than sitting around and talking about it and staying stuck in the analysis paralysis stage.

Every small business is going to have its challenges. Van building is no different. Almost every day there’s something new that needs to be addressed or impacts the business that we need to react and adjust to move forward. I feel our ability to take these challenges on head first has helped us continue to move forward and grow the Business/Brand and has allowed some additional doors to open for us along the way.

We really would love for the world to know that we are a family based business who truly cares about the lifestyle and clients we cater to.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
One of our favoritie things since moving to Denver four years ago is having friends/family visit us so we can show off what an awesome city Denver is!

Kori and I live in Uptown, so a very walkable area. One of our favorite things to do is get our guests out on scooters! We actually use them all the time to zip around town and we tend to always take our guests on a “Scooter Tour” of the city.

Cheeseman Park is one of our favorite parks to visit and being members at the Denver Botantical Gardens is always on the list of visits for our guests.

We love good food and sharing our favorite restaurants with our guests. Some of our go-to’s include; Fruitiion, Uchi, Root Down, Senor Bear, Just BE Kitchen, So Radish(Old Towne Arvada) and True Food Kitchen.

Red Rocks Amphitheatre is almost always on the itinerary. Whether it’s for a show or a little hiking, everyone is always blown away by the beauty.

Depending on the time of year, on of our favorite things to do is head to Ball Arena to catch a Denver Nuggets game. We have been season ticket holders the past few years and love sharing our love of basketball with our peeps… especially a playoff game!

Union Station is a must and the whole surrounding area. We love sharing our love of the “Buzz” downtown has and there’s some much to do and see down there. One of our favorite places close to there is the Milk Market and Machete Tequilla + Taco’s!

And to top it off, a visit wouldn’t be complete without a trip to either Little Man Ice Cream or, our favorite place in the world for the best desserts… D Bar!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My partner in life, Kori Tolbert deserves all the credit in the world. She has taught me the importance of not taking time for granted. Kori has Cystic Fibrosis and has lived her life being told that she wouldn’t live past 4, then 10, then she would be a miracle if she graduated high school and college.

We’ve known each other since the 3rd grade and made the choice to “do” life together at 30. I have no idea where I would be without her by my side. Kori has always encouraged me to go after what I wanted and believed in. There were many times where she believed more in me than I did myself.

One of the biggest gifts I’ve received from Kori, is that life doesn’t unfold the way the story goes in my head. Life happens organically and that includes all the good, but all of the not so good. But, each bump is a stepping stone and opportunity for growth if we allow it.

And, take it(life) a day at a time. The idea that we can’t control what happens tomorrow has been one of my biggest growing edes. Kori has taught me the gift of living fully into today.

With all Kori has endured throughout her life, it hasn’t stopped her from excelling herself in all that she dives into. She’s an incredible massage therapist, Continuum teacher and life coach.

I am grateful to have someone in my life who “get’s me!’

Website: www.vandemiccampervans.com

Instagram: @vandemiccampervans

Facebook: www.facebook.com/vandemiccampervan

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIuHTNELdTQmbVJ9-q0ZFVQ