It’s always wild how similar cultures kind of fall into similar things with very little way to know that each is doing it. In the 1970s, the “vanning” culture in America exploded. People went to “Van Ins” they modified these things with hot rodded engines, wild interiors, beds, television, and all the stuff. Ford Econoline, Dodge Tradesman, Chevy Sportvan, they were all the names that dominated here. Well, as it turns out, “vanning” in Australia was as big and as wild and as neat as it was here. The vehicles were different and much smaller, the space to operate in the rear was far more intimate, but the parallels between the cultures cannot be denied when watching this video. It was all sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll!

We love the fact that the people even look the same. Remove the accent and you could have any American young van enthusiast. Or were they girl enthusiasts? Or weed enthusiasts? Who knows, we’re not here to judge.

Like the American vans of the 1970s there is a cringe-inducing element to this trend as well. The use of various carpets and fabrics, and looks is kind of nasty, especially when you think about what happened in those spaces and the ability to clean them or not. Freaky, baby!

There was a backlash among the hot rodding population against vanning in the USA as the vans displaced hot rods in the pages of magazines and in media. Songs about vans, movies about vans, no one could get away with it. Like in Australia, the culture petered out in the 1980s and is now a niche of a niche. When this video was made? Vans ruled the world…literally.

Press play below to see this awesome look at the 1970s van club culture in Australia –