Because Preston Martin parked the vintage blue Volkswagen van he slept in for a year while in college in a Malibu neighborhood right before the Palisades fire destroyed houses and cars to rubble and scorched metal, he assumed the vehicle was a wreck.
The surfboard manufacturer was therefore shocked to learn that the vehicle had survived. In addition, an Associated Press photographer’s image of the colorful bus was making the rounds on TV and the internet, which made spectators happy.
That van has magic in it. Martin, 24, stated in an AP interview on Tuesday. The reason this occurred is inexplicable. We ought to have toasted it, but instead we’re here.
Martin and Megan Krystle Weinraub, his friend and business partner to whom he sold the van last summer, have not been able to view the car, and the neighborhood is still closed to the public. According to Martin, there appears to be soot on the van’s glass in other pictures.
Somewhat impulsively, Martin bought the 1977 Volkswagen Type 2 during his junior year at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he was studying mechanical engineering.
Tracey Martin, his mother, from Irvine, scolded him for wasting his money, but Martin informed her that he would save money on rent by renovating the house and moving in for his senior year, which he did. She embroidered window curtains after falling in love with the bus.
Weinraub, 29, who creates surf and skate boards under the Vibrant Boards brand, purchased the van from him last summer. Martin uses Starlite to manufacture carbon fiber surfboards.
The van, which Weinraub refers to as Azul, which means blue in Spanish, was used by the pals to drive to surf on January 5. Since she is still learning how to operate the manual gearbox, Martin placed it on a level area up the hill from her apartment at the Getty Villa.
Weinraub fled with her dog, Bodi, and some dog food in her primary vehicle when the Palisades fire broke out two days later. In comparison to many who lost their homes or loved ones, her sadness over Azul was insignificant.
She received a picture from a neighbor on Thursday. The bus in the backdrop remained undamaged and still blue and white.
She claimed, “I freaked out.” I yelled while I was in the restroom.
Martin freaked out when she called him. His mother was thrilled when he called her. “This is the first time I’ve ever cried for a car,” Tracey Martin emailed her son.
When the AP photo appeared online and on television, they were even more taken aback.
In an Instagram post, Martin claimed, “We made the news,” and Weinraub got in touch with the photographer.
Weinraub, whose house survived, is unsure of when she will be permitted to return to Azul or her apartment. The fact that so many people have been impacted by the van’s survival makes the two very happy.
Martin remarked, “It’s really awesome that it’s turned into this beacon of hope.” Everything in its immediate vicinity was ruined and toasted. Then, there’s this shiny, bright blue van parked there.
By Associated Press’s Jeanie Har
