Todd Fowler didn’t stumble into local legend status—he built it, one creative vision at a time. Everything in his life, from treehouses to full-sized homes and vintage Volkswagens, is a result of living life by design. “When you tune into what makes you happy,” he says, “the rest finds you.”

Still working at 64, Todd is living what he calls “the happiest, freest version of me,” and he has the hair, the beard, and one truly unforgettable VW-turned-pontoon to prove it.

They call it the “Bustoon”—a floating Volkswagen bus built from the rusted shell of a 1960s laundry van that once served the now-abandoned Ingleside Resort in Staunton. But in Todd’s world, it’s much more than a party boat. It’s a symbol of everything he’s built with his own two hands—and a tribute to the freedom and joy that’s defined his life since he first started hammering nails and chasing dreams in the Shenandoah Valley.

Todd has called Staunton home since 1974. His weekend house is on Lake Louisa, a small private lake less than five miles west of Lake Anna in Louisa County—a retreat he built himself using leftover materials from his construction jobs. In fact, he built the boathouse too. “I don’t hammer nails anymore at work—I supervise now—but it’s still my favorite part. At 60 years old, hammering nails is heaven to me,” he says.

The founder of SevenOdd Inc., Todd has never once advertised his services. (Cont P. 3) “No signs, no flyers, 36 years of word-of-mouth,” he explains with a humble shrug. “When you tune into what makes you happy, the rest finds you.”

That philosophy has guided him from his early days in a traditional 9-to-5 job (which he says made him “absolutely miserable”) to building homes entirely on nights and weekends, and eventually becoming a respected contractor in his region.

Todd’s love for Volkswagens runs deep. “I’ve had VWs since high school. I still have the same bus I drove in 1979,” he says. He owns 12 or so in total, and each is part of his creative expression—his artistic outlet. But it was one unloved bus in particular, coated in silver roof paint and rusting in the woods behind a farm, that became the unlikely foundation for the Bustoon.

“I had no real motivation to fix it up as a bus,” he says. “But then something clicked. I could combine my favorite vehicle with my favorite place—the water.”

The rest was a labor of love. He gutted the bus, salvaged every nut and bolt, and repurposed it into a floating marvel—complete with plastic wicker seats, bench-style lounging for 8 to 10 people, and a vibe that feels like 1976 just pulled up to the dock.

“I’m not a body man,” Todd says. “But I taught myself to weld. When I get a project, it consumes me.”
Eight months of intense work later—often with support and encouragement from his girlfriend, Kim Bradley—he set his sights on a 4th of July deadline.

“I was nose to the grindstone. I only did one test run and didn’t even know if it would work. I didn’t know if it would float right or run right. But that day… that day was heaven.”

Todd’s maiden voyage on July 4th wasn’t just a test run—it was a coronation.

Pulling up to a lake party in full swing, with swimmers in the water and The Dirty Hippies blasting live music, Todd eased the Bustoon into the spotlight. “I’m an introvert. I love being alone and quiet. So to do that—pull up in the middle of all that—it was out of my realm. But I’ll never forget the cheering, the thumbs up, people bowing,” he says, pausing with emotion. “It moved me. It still does.”

The Bustoon lives full-time at the lake. “I don’t want to overuse it or overexpose it,” Todd says. “Honestly, I just like looking at it. Every now and then I get in and go. That’s enough.”

He plans to bring it to Lake Anna sometime soon—just to share the joy and maybe catch a few more thumbs-up.

Todd’s vintage VWs are about building a life that reflects your passions. After losing both parents just days apart last year, he says the beard and hair he started growing while caring for them became symbols of the transformation he never planned but fully embraced.

“I feel sorry for people who are stuck doing something they’re not meant to do. We’re all designed for something,” he says. “I was blessed enough to find mine.”

While Todd isn’t retiring just yet, he’s found a way to live the life of his dreams—right now, on his own terms, with his hands still building and his heart wide open.

And for Todd Fowler, the representation of that purpose floats—right out there on the lake, in a bus called Bustoon.

Jen Bailey

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