Shaped by Hope: The Story of “Azul”
– The 2025 LA fires,
tremendous devastation. It was like a bomb hit. And then this bright blue VW
bus emerged out of the ashes. – I can’t believe that this is real still. The one thing that survives
is this Volkswagen bus. – This beacon of hope, this
bright light in the darkness. – I’m Megan Weinraub and I’m an artist. I was looking up old
school Volkswagen buses, like for art, just carrying boards, and I’m like, if anyone knew anything about Volkswagen buses,
it’d be my friend Preston. – This is the first day
I ever drove this thing. – I texted Preston, I’m
like, “Do you know anyone that’s selling a Volkswagen bus?” – I’m like, “Yeah, you wanna buy my van?” By the end of the day, it was hers. – I named the car Azul. Before the fires, I was
not prepared at all. Threw random clothes in
my car and just left. – The Sunday before the fires
hit, Megan and I went surfing, and we parked the van on
that top hill where it sat. We’re watching the fire line
pass where this bus was parked. – I 100% thought it was done. I saw that neighborhood
in flames, it’s a goner. – It was very sad, I loved this car. But there was so much loss everywhere, it felt like such a small thing. Two days later, the Associated
Press posts this photo. – It went viral. – This story would be across the world in a matter of like two days. – This is the neighborhood that I lived, so it’s so devastating
to see like destruction. – There was nothing good to talk about. It was loss, destruction, damage. This van became this
hope, this positivity. I think everyone who sees
that photo feels something. – Out of all the chaos and devastation, there’s this bright light. When I first saw the car after the fires, definitely did get damaged, smoke in it, the glass everywhere. Volkswagen just reached out. They were like, “We would love
to restore the bus for you.” I felt relieved, I was
like, “Oh, thank you.” Someone’s helping, it’s gonna be okay. It survived the hard part and
now it’s ready to get saved. (horn honking)
– Still alive. – When we got the bus here the first time, it smelled like a burned log
of wood, it had ashes inside. The rear window was busted from the heat. – We were like going, “Okay, what are we
getting ourselves into?” My name is Farlan.
– My name is Gunnar. – It was such an incredible heartbreak to see the areas I’ve grown
up with just scorched, and so we feel emotional about the loss. We’re trying to recognize and honor what Azul represents to so many people. How can we make it better? – When the car came to the shop, and you look at the
driver’s side, you say, “Well, yeah, it’s actually
like in the picture.” Passenger side, different story. The paint was flaking. Rubber parts were melted,
plastic was melted. This is what’s left from
the turn signal light. It’s an almost 50-year-old car. It’s like the famous box of chocolate, you never know what you get. – There was exhaust leaks. There was rust. – There was a rubber
boot that was cracked. – Azul is in overall good shape, but in need of a lot of work. – Even inside the brakes,
some ashes from the fire. Oh, we’re rich.
– There you go. You never know what you’re gonna find until you start digging. – We knew it’s going to be challenging, getting parts for a car
that is almost 50 years old. – Parts that are nearly
impossible to find. – The paint was burned so
badly, down to the bare metal. You have to paint it. – The color was custom mixed. We can say it’s Azul. – The brakes, the shifter,
we replaced those. – And the little details,
how a lock will turn, how a door will close. – All those little bits
and pieces come together as one complete picture. I’m happy that we can
give this back to Megan, to the community, and there is hope. There is place for hope. – I just can’t wait to just
be driving it down the street and bring light and bring hope. There’s gonna be even more magic in it now that people know what it survived. She’s beautiful. Oh my god! – Hi, Megan.
– Hello. – Nice to finally meet you.
– You too. Wow. She looks beautiful, like way
better than I could expect. She’s glowing. This is the side. – This is the side, yeah. – Wow. She looks brand new. – Let’s have a look inside. – It opens so much better. Everything looks clean, sleek,
beautiful. She’s perfect. This is a dream. I’m so excited. What’s up dude?
– Wow. – It’s new, it’s a brand
new, it’s a brand new car. – I’m actually more obsessed with it now. – Oh, look at this. They kept the sticker. They kept the sticker. – All of this, melted, melted, melted. This looks brand new. It’s so cute. Gunnar and Farlan genuinely care and passionate about this bus. – The attention these
guys did, like this is- – Detail, every little thing. I’m just overflowing with gratitude. Thank you so much. I’m so grateful. Thank you so much. Thank you, guys. – So many people lost homes, and lost places, and lost memories. – It’s not about Megan, it’s not about me. It’s about this story of
people coming together to bring positivity, to bring hope to all these people that lost so much. – We’re coming together around Azul and what Azul represents. – I’m grateful to have
faced all these challenges and obstacles because I’ve
learned through all of this. Receiving help and support
through Volkswagen, through community, through people, recognizing that even
though bad things happen, there’s always good on the other side. – You have to look for the
positive, even in the negative. You have to find the blue VW bus in all the smoke and all the ash. – If I ever see Azul going down on PCH, or the picture on social media, I know it was a great thing we did. – Feels like a new beginning is starting, and I’m excited to start a new story. – There’s hope in this. There’s a future for Malibu. There’s the future for this bus. The life of the story
continues with the car forever.
Sometimes the silver lining looks like a VW Type 2.
When wildfires ravaged Southern California in early 2025, the world was shocked to discover an unlikely survivor: a 1977 VW Bus. From a viral photograph to a journey to restore hope, this is the story of “Azul.”
#VW #VWBus #CaliforniaStrong #VWLove
