The road has always been where Andrew’s been most comfortable. As a teenager, he hitchhiked from state-to-state chatting with who he calls “real roadies”, crashing in random people’s houses and scavenging meals where he could. As he describes, things really changed with the arrival of his very own, now treasured Coachman RV. On the promise he’d deliver a unique comedic road doco, a media company purchased the van for him, sending him on his merry way. “That’s how this all started, I convinced a company to buy me an RV”. Fast forward a couple of years and All Gas No Brakes now has millions of online followers. A meteoric rise in anyone’s terms.
This platform isn’t all about laughs though. During the Minneapolis Black Lives Matter Protests last May, the AGNB crew dived into real-world reporting. Shooting from 11 till 4 in the morning, they went where others didn’t, interviewing arsonists in front of blazing buildings and looters as they ransacked stores. “Mainstream media aren’t talking to those causing destruction in Minneapolis and asking why they’re doing it”.
Andrew isn’t looking to get political or garner a new legion of fans, he’s just motivated to give everyday people a platform. Kudos to him. It’s alarming to see Andrew speak to a host of white protestors who appear to be out on the streets for all the wrong reasons. One trippy couple explains they’re here “just to get naked”, while another gas-masked individual says he’s simply got “nothing better to do”. It’s interviews like this, amongst the smoke and chaos, that make All Gas No Brakes superbly unique.
Here’s hoping Andrew and his pals continue living on the road, shooting the farfetched human of America. Although they might come across a little cuckoo, we’ve got a lot to learn from these segments, about where we’re at as a people. In Callaghan’s own words, “I just want to show people, how crazy things really are out here”.
