A brief history of the new VW Trends magazine

“Sherman, set the wayback machine for 2020.”

They say that some of the greatest things are birthed from adversity. Former VW Trends Editor, Dan Leadbetter, was sitting on the couch watching some sort of really bad horror film, pondering what he wanted to do with his life. As he was turning 60 at the beginning of the year, and knew that he was edging closer to retirement. 

But what to do? He didn't want to be the kind that sat on a couch eating Doritos and watching reruns of gunsmoke all day, he wanted to do something fun, something that had meaning, and something that was bigger than himself. After much introspection, he asked himself the most important question; when did I have the most fun in my life? 

The answer was pretty easy. It was when he was working on VW Trends magazine in the '80s and '90s. Dan knew that the magazine had been killed off in 2005 as a result of corporate greed, and wondered what happened to the publication. 

After an intense 4-Hour Google deep dive, he discovered that the magazine had been bought and sold numerous times before 2005 and was finally killed off from the corporation that owned it last time. 

He decided to go and see if it was even a possibility to revise it. After a quick look into the copyright trademark archives, he discovered that the trademark was available.

It freaked him out enough that he was shell-shocked. And he left it alone for a month, thinking he was too good to be true. 

This was not something he wanted to do alone, so he reached out to four friends, two of whom had worked at VW Trends before as Associate Editor in the '80s, Rich Crafton. Former magazine associate and Amazing photographer, Paul Morton, artist extraordinary Ron Petro, and Becky Ohlendorf (who literally ensures every reader is taken care of) rounded out the foursome.

All of them said yes before Dan was even finished pitching the idea. Now that everyone was in, what were the next steps? To make a long story even longer, it took a solid year from the date of inception until the magazine launched. Rather than going to debt, or take on some corporate entity that would strangle the life out of all of them, they decided to take it to the people. A fundraising campaign was sent out and the community jumped on board immediately. Since this all happened in the thick of Covid, it may have been the perfect timing as all many folks had was a good hobby to leap into. Enough money was raised to do the first three issues, and the reception has been overwhelmingly positive ever since.

Flash Forward to 2026, over 5 years later and better than ever!

Now, VW Trends is worldwide again, and has solidified itself as a strong force in the VW marketplace. As the fastest growing American made and published magazine, VW Trends thanks the VW community for all its support.

To that point, the magazine has instituted a where in the world is Dan Leadetter yearly contest. As Dan drives across the country as a Volkswagen evangelist of sorts, spreading the gospel of VW Trends Magazine and hitting as many shows as possible. 

What does the future hold? Well, to quote a popular song, the future is wide open. As VW Trends continues to grow and gain market acceptance, who knows what's next? Other magazines? Too soon to tell, but rest assured VW Trends will not be resting on its laurels. Stay tuned to this website to keep up with what's happening in the world of VW Trends Magazine.