25 Years of Flat Out: A Story of Grit, Gold Motorhomes, and Great Customers
Posted by Merry Cadalso on
Hi Everyone!
Zoe writing here. This month is dedicated to a huge milestone:
Flat Out is turning 25!
It’s hard to believe it’s been a quarter of a century since Flat Out first started helping travellers and trades tame their tangled hoses and leads. To mark the occasion, we’re taking a little trip down memory lane and sharing the origin story of how we went from one frustrated moment, to a slightly crazy idea, to where we are today.
Peter and Lenie Van Mill, my late in-laws, loved motorhome travel. They also hated the sub-par hose storage options available at the time. Pete, a big Dutch guy with an even bigger personality, complained about it. A lot. And loudly.
Lenie, who was very used to Pete’s style, remained completely unperturbed and simply said,
“Do something about it then.”
Pete and Lenie had migrated to Australia in 1981, with two-year-old Dennis in tow. Pete was a very hard worker and a natural innovator. With 20 years in Aus behind him and two businesses already under his belt, it came as no surprise that he rose to Lenie’s challenge and invented something better.
Before long, Pete became a recognisable feature on the show circuit. Yes, you read that correctly, Pete was the standout attraction, not the Multi-Reel. He delivered the full old-school spruik in all its glory.
Microphone. Big booming voice. Bigger pitch.
“Step right up folks! World’s first! You won’t believe this until you see it!”
Then there was the spectacular gold motorhome the couple had finally purchased after many hard years in business. The whole presentation was wonderfully over the top. But it wasn’t really about sales. That was just who Pete was. He loved grandeur. And he wasn’t selling a product, he was sharing a solution he genuinely believed in. A solution we still believe in, 25 years later.
All the while, Lenie, the quiet achiever, organised everything behind the scenes and kept the wheels turning smoothly.
I didn’t know Pete and Lenie at this time, but over the years I’ve met travellers who remember his antics well and have shared some classic stories. Like the time Rod ate some of Pete’s leftovers for lunch and wasn’t allowed to forget it for three years. Or the time someone pointed at the gold motorhome and accused Pete of charging too much, to which he boomed back,
“You should see my yacht!”
There was no yacht. But there was one very bewildered smart-alec. I still laugh every time I think about that one.
RESILIENCE AND LEGACY
We lost Pete far too soon in 2007 to a rare cancer. He was just 55. It was devastating. But Lenie wasn’t about to let the dream fade.
For the next decade, she kept the business going. While carrying her own grief and later facing Parkinson’s disease, she showed the kind of resilience that defines the migrant Aussie battler spirit. Pete and Lenie were partners in life and business, armed with big hearts and a deep belief in doing things properly. That DNA still runs through this company today.
THE NEXT GENERATION
When Lenie retired eight years ago, the baton passed to me. She and the business moved from Mogo up to Port Macquarie, where we live, and we were lucky enough to spend her final years close together.
From a business perspective, the transition was relatively straightforward. I’d founded a web design company in my early twenties, so stepping into Flat Out with marketing and systems experience felt natural. I roped in my dad, a retired engineer, to help with product development and to come hang out with me at caravan shows.
While I’ve always loved camping, caravans were new territory and I had a lot to learn, quickly. But I’m a science head at heart, computer programmer and problem solver, so getting into materials, flow dynamics and product improvement felt like a challenge I could really sink my teeth into. I loved it.
In 2018, I suffered a back injury that left me unable to walk for months while raising a four-year-old and running the business. I was forced to lean heavily on everyone around me, not physically lean, I couldn’t even stand, let alone at an angle . Surgery eventually put me back on my feet, and my gratitude to family, friends and our wider community from that time will never leave me. Simply being able to get up and go for a walk in the morning still feels like a gift.
In my time as director, we’ve had our ups and downs. We’re proud to have brought new life to the brand, expanded our product range from seven SKUs to over 100, built a loyal customer base (that’s you, thank you!) introduced bright colours, systemised our operations and grown a wonderful team. We even won a prestigious award last year.
We’ve also faced challenges. Production issues. Our biggest customer going bankrupt. A challenge to our branding. But as I mentioned in our 2025 wrap-up, I’m proud of where we’ve come from and where we’re headed, and I’m genuinely excited to share many more adventures with you as we go.
THE LEGACY, STILL GROWING
And that brings me back to where this story began.
While we miss Pete and Lenie deeply, their legacy is very much alive. Not just in the products, or the business, but in the people.
If you look closely at Dexter (Dennis and my son, you might just spot his grandfather’s spark. You’ve probably already seen him popping up in our ads, proudly helping out and carrying on the family tradition. Same cheeky confidence. Same big presence. Just smaller shoes (for now).
Flat Out has always been a family story.
One that’s grown, changed and evolved over 25 years, but never lost its heart.
Whether you’ve been with us from the early show days or found us more recently, we’re genuinely grateful you’re part of the Flat Out story.
If you’d like to take a proper wander down memory lane, we’ve put together a photo gallery from the early years through to now.
And if you were there in the early days, at a show, around a campfire, or listening to Pete boom into a microphone, we’d love to hear from you.
If you have a story, a memory, or even an old photo tucked away somewhere, feel free to send it through. These moments matter, and we’d be honoured to include them as part of our shared history.
Thank you for being part of the journey.
