We love shining the spotlight on Australia’s top caravan and gear makers — but what about the people behind the brands? Shane Miles, founder of MSA 4X4 Accessories, shares stories, memories and a peek behind the curtain of his adventure-ready gear in this ‘around the campfire’ style feature.
Growing up in Cromer on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Shane and his extended family were big into enjoying the outdoors — constantly travelling, four-wheel driving, camping and heading off to the Hawkesbury River for waterskiing.
“The adventure lifestyle was constant throughout my life,” Shane commented. “My father was a bit of an old school fun-loving ratbag in his day (because he could be), and initially my family and their very large group of friends loved heading off on trips. Quite a few of Mum and Dad’s friends played rugby league for Manly in the 70s, and they were very ‘adventurous’ people outside of footy, and we were always out camping and four-wheel driving with them in their off season. Then in the mid-80s we began water ski racing as a family and with some ski friends, and that came with a new large group of adventurous characters as well.”
Unforgettable adventures
When we asked about classic early memories of camping, four-wheel driving or exploring that have stuck with him, Shane shared three.
Firstly, riding his Honda minibike along the beach at Catherine Hill Bay north of Sydney in the early 70s (when it used to be permitted to drive and camp along the beach) with all his safety gear on … a helmet and a pair of brown boardies.
The second memory was being thrown, fully clothed, into a freezing Lake McKenzie (Boorangoora) on K’gari (Fraser Island) — by his dad’s mate. “It was in 1980 and I was only 10,” Shane commented. “I sooked for the whole day while freezing.”
And last but not least, Shane reminisced on learning to drive the Land Rover his dad built — sitting in his lap, with no one else around and on private property, of course.
But sometimes the best stories are the ones you didn’t plan for, and when it comes to more recent memorable stories, Shane had a great one to share:
“Driving away from camp in my LandCruiser Troopy with a trailer hooked up (that I had heavily tied our tent to the previous night due to the wind), in front of a heap of people … super embarrassing,” he laughed.
Something you probably don’t know about Shane
Now, some readers may know a bit about Shane already, even if it is simply the legacy he has created through MSA 4X4.
But what might surprise our readers?
Shane was a classic ‘just not sure what I want to do when I grow up’ kind of man, so he essentially decided to do it all.
“People that know me already know a few things,” Shane said. “They know I am very moralistic and caring, as well as quite OCD, a reasonably good welder and love tools and sheds and caves and that I am completely useless on a computer and with technology.
“I’ve been an outboard motor mechanic while I was at school, before I became a licensed plumber, then I was a backpacker for several years, worked as a commercial ice fisherman in Winnipeg, Canada. I then worked as a private investigator for several years in Perth, all before I started designing products and making them for myself. I also restore classic American cars and vintage MX bikes for fun, and love riding my Harley.”
Shane also loves a good (but safe) practical joke, with cable tying his friend’s tent zippers being his favourite prank.
What does adventure look like for Shane these days?
“I still love to ride motorbikes, I have a collection of vintage MX bikes, a few Monkey bikes and a Harley and try to ride as much as possible, I still love to snow ski as well, also anything where my large family of seven can get together to get away,” Shane said.
Shane’s ‘kids’ (they’re not all kids anymore) are also one of the ways Shane keeps his sense of adventure thriving.
“I have a ‘blended’ family of seven with young people aged between 15–25. My wife Tameka, four amazing boys and one lovely daughter. And with them comes a lot of requests to do things that are fun, and yes, I have influenced their fun by teaching them at a very young age to water and snow ski, ride dirt bikes, lots of cool fun things, as well as our time together travelling, four-wheel driving.”
When it comes to travelling planning and must-have gear, Shane commented that his wife Tameka is at the top of the list. “She has some form of pack horse in her, and she is the best with helping out, packing and some of her cooking is pretty darn good (most of the time).
“I also take my Milwaukee neck torch and my MSA tool roll everywhere. Oh, and my ‘Mr 80s DJ’ collection of course.
“My body is slowing down and I usually just hang behind now, picking up the pieces — but I still love to ride, ski and go away four-wheel driving and camping (in a more luxurious way now). I always seem to migrate to K’gari (Fraser Island) for local trips as and the Canadian Rockies in winter — I’ve been there a lot and just keep going back for more.”
Walk the talk
With his life-long love of the adventuring lifestyle, it’s not hard to see how Shane got into the adventure gear industry.
“I have a passion for four-wheel driving, camping and travelling in general, and I have always just wanted to make or fix things, I have always restored anything mechanical for fun, and just making products in general appealed to me, and add in that it was in an industry I was so excited about.
“I tend to see what is missing in the market and start out simply making products better and safer and more enjoyable to use (products that I need, and hopefully other people will like) I also treat and care for every person’s purchase like they were my own family, so I am over the top in helping people, and I reinforce that into the way all of our happy staff at MSA treat people. I like to be treated nicely and with care, and other people deserve that too. Owning a business should not be all about making money, it should be about your people and the people you cater for; great long-term relationships mean a lot to us.”
To find out more about MSA 4X4 Accessories great range of gear, check out our feature here or head to MSA’s website.
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