VANCOUVER, B.C. — As Dennis Brandt turns the key on the lock attached to his steering wheel he starts laughing.
“Seriously,” he says looking up at the collection of curiosities attached to the roof of his vehicle including a painted duck, skateboard, and pair of toy aircraft carriers. “Would anyone steal this car?!”
Dennis’ daily driver is covered with a series hand-painted blue and white designs, and covered with an assortment of golden-coloured 3D flourishes. There are also a few faux fish stuck on the back trunk, and a faucet and taps fastened to the front bumper.
“I bought that to use as plumbing but it didn’t work” Dennis says, “So now it’s on the car.”
Decades before he started decorating this latest car in Canada, Dennis began driving his first car after growing up in Oklahoma.
“It was a 1980 Chevy Chevette,” he says. “Very mundane.”
But when you look at the old picture of his younger self posing in front of the car, you’ll see he’s smiling the sort of smile that was few and far between when he was growing up.
“I had a stomachache for four years,” Dennis says, adding he always felt different and the other kids were often unkind. “It was really difficult.”
A couple cars after that first one, Dennis bought an old police cruiser at an auction.
“It was a reliable car and everything,” Dennis says. “But it was the most homely car.”
So Dennis decided to do something about it, and started to decorate it with googly eyes on the side and toy guns attached to the top.
The process proved to be so empowering, he moved on to painting a nature scene on the side of an old school bus, and bedazzling an old bread truck.
“I like bling!” Dennis smiles.
But even better, he loves how driving a creative car allows him to connect with others.
“If I’m pumping gas, the person that I’m next to is probably going to talk to me,” Dennis says. “And if they don’t, it’s probably not someone I want to get to know anyway.”
Now Dennis is fuelled by delight.
“Everything on this car is just stuff that appeals to me,” Dennis says.
And everything in the car, from the dashboard covered with toy ducks, to the ceiling stuck with cups and saucers seemingly set for teatime, is featured for fun.
“Getting to where I am now has not been a cake walk,” Dennis says. “Now it’s a celebration because this is where I feel like I belong.”
And now that the once shy boy is sitting confidently in the driver seat, Dennis hopes his artistic automobile will inspire others to take the wheel in their own lives.
“Don’t let anyone stop you from being the person you were meant to be,” Dennis smiles.
