Bold Bus Design Hits Streets of Byron

Around 20 residents, aged between 80 and 97 years young, took part in workshops with Byron street artist, Teazer, to Pimp Their Ride – a Toyota Commuter bus – with a funky and fresh new design that now has them cruising the streets in style.

It’s all part of Feros Care’s ethos to grow bold, smashing the stereotypes around ageing and ability by proving that life can be fun at any age.

“At Feros Care we’re empowering our seniors to live their best lives,” said CEO Jenenne Buckley. “You are never too old to learn new skills, to express yourself and enjoy social connection. This project has injected life into our residential bus and our seniors have gotten so much joy and pride out of this initiative which is designed to bring more colour to all our lives.”

Members of the group – dubbed the Feros Grow Bold CREWSTARS – took part in three weekly workshops, conceptualising and creating the final design which was then painted onto their Feros Bus, used for social outings and village transport.    

“Through this project the residents have had an introduction to Street Art, from the history of graffiti to art that evokes emotion, looking at examples from modern street artists like Banksy,” said Ms Buckley.
 
“One group of residents even rolled up to the workshops blasting The Beastie Boys! This just shows the energy they have for exploring new horizons, challenging themselves and showing that seniors still rock.”    

Davey Mac aka Teazer, said, “It’s so awesome to be given the opportunity to do something like this. The residents really embrace their creative side and have so much to express with their years of wisdom and life experience.”
 
“I enjoyed it very much,” said CREWSTAR Lois, 91 years young. “It is entirely different to any art I have done before, and I have been an artist my whole life. It was a complete surprise, I loved it.”
 
Fran, 86, added, “The coming together of all ages has been nice. The crew are so kind and clever; seeing others having so much fun is heart-warming. I loved turning a drawing into a real work of art with spray paint. I never would have done that, and now I have.”
 
“I love how Feros encourages us to embrace different things. Things that I never would have thought possible, all of a sudden are possible,” said Nina, 97 years young.

The Pimp My Ride bus design has now been unveiled and is available to view at the Feros Village Byron Bay. Feros Villages are also located in Bangalow and Wommin Bay.