With 2025 now upon us, I’ve been reflecting on my past 12 months of Speedhunting.
While I experienced automotive culture in all its forms last 12 months, the 2024 automotive shows really stood out. To be honest, after years of covering events, I assumed the novelty had began to fade. But I’m comfortable to report that 2024 proved me mistaken, delivering (almost) nothing but phenomenal shows, with two standout events from my UK favourites: Players Classic and Rollhard.
Players is now a globally recognised brand, but today, I need to shine the highlight on the underdogs at RollHard.
Daniel Bryan Allard and his team have transformed what began as a small gathering of friends into one in all the UK’s premier modified automotive shows. I assumed I’d provide you with an insight into what it takes to drag that off.
MC: Tell me a bit bit about yourself, Dan.
DBA: I’m Dan, I’m 37, and I like cars. I grew up in a typical ’90s British household. Dad worked, Mum kept the home tidy, and I used to be very fortunate to have a stable upbringing. My day job is as a green-keeper/mechanic on a golf course; early start but an early finish, which allows me to have more time on my brand. I actually have an incredibly supportive fiancée and two amazing daughters, who’re the explanation I still push on with Rollhard.
MC: What began your interest in cars, and tell me about what you will have in your stable.
DBA: My Dad has at all times been into cars. To not our extent, but he had an extended list of cars and a way of pride in keeping them clean and well-maintained. My brother, Dad, and I might often go to the British Motor Show (once they were good) and from a young age, the bug bit me, collecting models and latest automotive brochures. Looking back to where modifying and customising began, I never stuck to the instructions with LEGO and K’NEX, so it was a natural progression to customising cars once I began driving.
Currently within the stable is a family road-tripping Volkswagen Tiguan and a red (now pink) Vauxhall Astra that was handed down from my fiancée’s Grandad and is simply too good of a crap automotive to not each day. My B16A2 MK1 Golf is back on the road and nearly complete, and lastly, my dream project: a patinated 1971 Datsun 240z, which will likely be began this winter..
MC: Tell me about some notable things you’ll have done during your time within the automotive scene.
DBA: Some will laugh, but my first construct was quite well-known back in 2009. It was the fallout of the Max Power era, and I had a brand new Vauxhall Corsa D. The automotive was built to what was called ‘Euro look’ on the time: low with smoothed bodywork and an interior retrim. That automotive took me to Europe and helped construct many friendships which have lasted until today. My most notable automotive was ‘Bricky’, a Volvo 240 Estate on air suspension and BBS RFs. It was built after which driven straight to Wörthersee. The reception the automotive got was insane. Now it’s with my good friend Eden being reincarnated for its next chapter.
MC: What are a few of your favourite events you’ve been to?
DBA: Wörthersee will perpetually be at the highest of my mind in the case of events. The primary time I drove to the lake and saw the local towns embrace automotive culture was incredible. Players Classic is one other highlight within the calendar. We’ve not missed a single Classic for the reason that first; for me, it’s the proper mix of top-tier organisation, vibes and automotive quality.
MC: Okay, let’s get to the subject at hand – what’s Rollhard, and the way did it start?
DBA: Rollhard was founded in 2010. We liked low, clean cars, but that style was only really seen on VW’s within the UK. Almost none of us owned a VW, so we began to hang around together and gave our group the name Rollhard; there have been just a few awful names before that…
It was never intended to amount to anything, however the more events we went to, interest in us grew. People began to ask for stickers and t-shirts after which to host meetings and events. We travelled to shows as a bunch, documenting where we had been on social media and on that latest one on the time – Instagram. We respected the events and built a very good popularity.
MC: How did it grow through the years?
DBA: Rollhard has grown organically. Now we have never forced the brand to grow, slowly picking up like-minded people along the best way. We’ve at all times kept one foot out of the modified automotive scene, which I imagine has shown that we’re real automotive enthusiasts; at all times staying true to our humble beginnings, we don’t sell a fake lifestyle. We go to numerous events, similar to the Goodwood Members Meeting, which supplies us different ideas to encourage the brand.
MC: When did you place in your first show?
DBA: Our first meet was pre-Players North Weald 2012. We hosted it at a friend’s garage, and I fabricated an old 100L oil drum for a BBQ. We had a fantastic mixture of cars and other people there, which set the tone for future events and the expansion continued.
MC: How have you ever seen the show change through the years?
DBA: After our initial success, we outgrew our past venue in Essex, so we began with a clean sheet at Bicester Heritage. We looked around at other shows on the time and saw a recurring theme: sponsors. As an alternative, we got down to construct a neutral show that might remain unsponsored, that way, people from the industry could come and luxuriate in automotive culture as much because the automotive owners and general public, unless they wanted to return and trade.
I imagine that numerous the industry first saw it as a negative. Now we have gone against the narrative, and now I imagine our event is taken into account among the best within the UK. We’ve also began to see a change in attitude towards the show where people at the moment are understanding what we’re trying to attain.
MC: Tell me, truthfully, what it’s wish to placed on a show so big?
DBA: Truthfully, it’s as stressful as you make it. In case you exit claiming to be the most important and best, you’ll scale up too quickly. Or, should you don’t have the numbers, you’ll stress attempting to fill a venue without enough people to make it look busy. Our top priority with Bicester was to over-organise from day one and organically grow the show 12 months on 12 months. The show is usually organised by me and Matt with help from Jonny. We keep the yearly growth sensible and plan two to 3 years ahead to maintain the event fresh. I see Rollhard as a big meet slightly than a show, as most individuals do.
MC: What are the most important challenges to putting on a automotive show?
DBA: Marketing. Some will happily flood the web to grow fast, but this comes at a value. Equally, some don’t grow in any respect on account of their brand look and message. We learned the hard way how one can control marketing back once we were based in Essex. Unbeknown to us, our poster was pushed out across Essex County, which resulted within the show becoming flooded with unexpected attendees.
After we began afresh with Bicester, we drew up a plan for not only the event but for the brand to assist paint a wider picture and construct the case for why our show wouldn’t only grow but stand the test of time.
MC: Tell me some things that you might want to consider as an organiser that the attendees probably don’t take into consideration.
DBA: Time, location, team and protecting the venue. An event will eat your time, so be prepared to fade for the month leading as much as it.
Location will make or break an event. Yes, the general look of it can be crucial, but what are the access roads like? Do you will have room to scale? Are there enough toilets? It’s the boring stuff that determines the spectators’ experience of the show.
We’re very fortunate to have the most effective group of friends to assist. Everyone seems to be on the identical page and enjoys the experience. It’s a tough weekend for the team, and the popularity lies with them on the day, as they’re the ‘front of house’, they usually do us incredibly proud promoting the brand message.
Protecting the venue and brand is vital. We’ve built up a fantastic relationship with Bicester through the years, however it wasn’t easy to secure the venue. At face value, custom automotive culture can have a negative image to the broader automotive industry. We wanted to vary that, construct a network of trusted owners and have a transparent message: drive like an idiot coming to, in or leaving the venue, you won’t be coming back. I’m proud to say we’re on the fitting path, and we’re getting recognised for it.
MC: What’s your favourite a part of putting on the shows?
DBA: What no person sees: the back-end planning. We’ve seen events of an identical size or smaller with a much bigger team of individuals doing half pretty much as good a job of organising. We’re incredibly happy with how the brand and event present themselves, in-built the evenings and weekends around our day jobs. While Matt and I handle the admin and planning, the event would never materialise without our incredible group of friends who assistance on the day. Rollhard is a bunch of real automotive enthusiasts doing it for the love of automotive culture.
MC: How has the automotive scene modified through the years?
DBA: We’ve seen numerous trends come and go, and I feel for the primary time since starting Rollhard, we don’t have a dominant style or theme [in 2024]. The stance movement has slowed down, and numerous micro-movements are thriving side-by-side.
After we started off, you’d see real hate for opposing marques of cars and styles, but we now see multiple all-marque events all year long and appreciation for all makes and models. Personally, it’s a fantastic time for automotive culture. There’ll at all times be ‘clout-chasers’ who dip out and in of the scene to get their attention fix, but should you dig a bit deeper and loaf around, you’ll cross paths with some incredible people.
With the range of cars getting built in the intervening time and the flexibility to attach with like-minded people across the planet, I feel we’re in a golden era for custom automotive culture. I’m just unsure of how long it’ll last.
MC: What does the longer term have in store for Rollhard?
DBA: With the event now established, our attention has turned back to our apparel, as we would like to turn out to be known for that again. It’s a part of how we began, and we’re excited to get back into that side of the brand. We’ll even be focusing our YouTube channel on what goes on behind the scenes and our own builds. The tip goal for the brand is to have a everlasting home, but we’ll see what the longer term has in store.
I’m excited to see how Rollhard evolves in the approaching years. While I actually have no affiliation with the brand, I really admire the dedication Dan and the team pour into their passion project. I’ll summarise the show with my most honest praise: Rollhard is one in all the few automotive shows I’d attend on a break day simply to benefit from the vibe.
Mario Christou
Instagram: mcwpn, mariochristou.world
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This Article First Appeared At www.speedhunters.com
