Aged 57, Gosport-born-and-bred entrepreneur Nick Millerchip has lived two careers already, and is now deep into his third. From the precision of helicopter engineering to the fast-paced world of IT, and now the thriving camper‑conversion business he runs from Daedalus Industrial Park, Nick’s story is one of reinvention, resilience, and a deep love for his hometown. “I’ve never been afraid of changing direction,” he says. “If something feels right, I throw myself into it.”
Today, he’s the co-founder of Van Junkies, a fast-growing Gosport business with more than 40,000 orders and over 5,000 customers since 2020. But the journey to get there began long before the pandemic, and long before he ever imagined running a workshop full of vans. “If you’d told me ten years ago that I’d be running a camper van company, I’d have laughed,” Nick admits. “But looking back, everything I’d done was quietly preparing me for it.”
A dual career that accidentally became the perfect training ground
Nick’s working life began with an apprenticeship as a helicopter technician. For two decades, he worked as a contractor for the military, rising through the ranks and mastering the complex electrical and mechanical systems that keep aircraft in the sky. “Helicopters teach you to be meticulous,” he says. “There’s no room for guesswork when you’re dealing with something that flies.”
“It sounds like a strange jump,” he says, “but the move into IT was actually really natural.” During his helicopter days, laptops were already part of the job, and as the year 2000 approached, the tech world was booming. Nick retrained, becoming an IT technician and later working across several major companies, including mobile networks. Eventually he became Chief Technology Officer at Aerial Direct, leading large technical teams and overseeing major digital operations. “I went from fixing aircraft to fixing networks,” he laughs. “Different tools, same problem-solving brain.”
Two careers, both highly technical. Neither of which hinted at camper vans, yet both would become the foundation of everything that came next. “It turns out the perfect recipe for a van conversion business is helicopters plus IT,” Nick says. “Who knew?”
A lockdown project that changed everything
When Covid hit, Nick was partly furloughed. Instead of sitting still, he bought an empty van. “I’m not someone who can just do nothing,” he says. “I needed a project, something to get stuck into.”
What followed was a nine‑month labour of love. Nick and his wife Leanda spent evenings and weekends transforming the shell of a van into a fully functioning camper. His helicopter engineering background gave him the confidence to design complex electrical systems; his IT experience enabled him to build the website and online shop that would eventually follow. “It felt like all the bits of my past suddenly made sense,” he says. “Helicopters taught me electrics; IT taught me systems, and the van brought it all together.”
Nick says converting the van was the first DIY project his wife had ever done. “We loved it, just working on a project together and getting stuck in. We loved using our skills. And we loved the freedom it gave us.”
They took the finished van to Cornwall, Dorset, the New Forest, and somewhere on a cliff top in Devon, and with a coffee in hand, came a lightbulb moment. “We were sitting there looking out over the sea and I thought, why aren’t we doing this for other people? There just weren’t many people doing this work, and hardly anyone had the spares or the knowledge. We realised we could turn this into something.”
Nick built a simple website and orders trickled in. Within two years, the side project had become a full-time business. “It snowballed so fast,” he says. “One minute it was a hobby, the next minute we were hiring staff.”
From side hustle to six-person team
For the first two years, Nick worked full-time in IT while running Van Junkies in the evenings. “It was stressful,” he admits. “Long days. But I enjoyed it, the work was fun. I’d finish a day of IT, grab some food, and head straight into the workshop,” he says. “It was exhausting, but it felt like we were building something real.”
Leanda left her job first, moving from a call centre selling vitamins to full-time van life work. Nick followed two years later, taking the leap from CTO to business owner. “Going from managing a big technical team to running my own business was a shock,” he says. “Suddenly every decision was ours, good or bad.”
Today, Van Junkies hires six staff, is about to move into its fourth premises, and has become a go-to name for power systems, off-grid electrics, and specialist conversions.
Their customers range from:
- Ice cream vans
- Catering trucks
- Expedition vehicles travelling across continents
- Everyday families wanting independence on the road
“It’s a happy business,” Nick says. “We get updates from customers all the time. We follow their adventures on social media. It’s lovely. Seeing someone parked on a cliff in Scotland using a system we built, that’s the best feeling,” he adds.
A day in the life
No two days look the same.
Some days, Nick is under a van, designing a power system from scratch. Others, he’s behind a computer, creating quotes, answering emails, or managing orders. As the business grows, he’s increasingly focused on overseeing the team and planning the next expansion. “One minute I’m soldering cables, the next I’m doing payroll,” he laughs. “It keeps me on my toes.”
His favourite part? “Taking an empty shell and turning it into something someone can live in. Making a van independent, that’s the best bit. Seeing the customer’s face at the end is also incredibly satisfying. It never gets old,” he says. “That moment when they step inside and realise it’s theirs and the independence they now have, that’s magic.”
Life outside the workshop
Nick and Leanda live the van life themselves, escaping whenever they can. “We built the business around something we genuinely love,” he says. “So whenever we get a spare weekend, we’re off.”
His favourite road trip so far is the North Coast of Devon, wild, remote, and perfect for off-grid living. I ask Nick where he would love to travel to. “A long European trip, visiting friends and family in Spain would be incredible. Plus we often talk about completing the famous North Coast 500 route around Scotland.”
Between them, Nick and Leanda have four grown-up children. “We are a busy family,” Nick laughs, “but still very tight. They all think the van life is brilliant,” he adds. “They’re proud of what we’ve built.”
Rooted in Gosport
Nick’s pride in Gosport is unmistakable.
“We love it here. Born and bred. Neither of us has ever moved away. Our families are here, the people are lovely, the social scene is great, and being on the waterfront is amazing. Everything you need is here. Gosport has shaped us,” he says. “So, giving something back feels important.”
Van Junkies is deeply woven into the community too, donating to local charities, supporting small businesses, sponsoring local small businesses, and employing local people. “If we can help another local business grow, we will,” Nick says. “That’s what community is.”
“We don’t just want to be an employer. We want to be part of Gosport.”
Looking Ahead
Nick is realistic and ambitious.
At 57, he jokes that he can’t keep lying under vans forever. The long-term goal is to build Van Junkies into a business that can run independently of him and Leanda. “I’d love to step back a bit one day,” he says. “Not retire, just breathe. We’re proud of the name. Proud of what we’ve built. It would be lovely to step back one day and say: that was us. Didn’t we do well? That’s the dream,” he says. “To leave something behind that lasts.”
A legacy built not just from technical skill, but from passion, community spirit, and a willingness to reinvent himself, again and again.
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