Meet the Crew

Here are some mug shots of the people who either run, or help out with aspects of running the Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain.
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Hopefully this page will help you put some Faces to Names (or is that Names to Faces?). If you are new to the club and coming on your first trip, feel free to come along and say hello to us! We're a friendly bunch of 'Coaster Crazy' enthusiasts, and are always happy to tell you anything you want to know about the club, trips, or anything else you may want to ask!

Andy Hine MBE - RCCGB Chairman & Founder

andy@rccgb.co.uk

Andy is the Chairman of our fantastic club! He puts hundreds of hours into running the club, organising trips for us all to get together, socialise, have fun and of course ride coasters!!

Short Profile: I started the Club in 1988 to unite coaster enthusiasts and have been running it ever since. As well as overviewing the Club and all area's of it my day to day role is administering new members, organising trips, handling media enquiries, responding to e-mails (although this is difficult as I get around 200 a day!), I also edit AIRtime ONline ensuring you get all the latest coaster news from around the world.

  • Nickname: Nev​
  • First Coaster Ride: Grand National (BPB) - Age 6
  • Favourite Woodie: Phoenix (of course!) at Knoebels, Pennsylvania
  • Favourite Steelie: ??? (Real Coasters are made of wood!)
  • Favourite UK Park: Blackpool Pleasure Beach
  • Favourite Non-UK Park: Knoebels (followed by Indiana Beach)
  • Funniest Coaster Experience: Riding Megafobia (Oakwood) holding two 1 litre cups full of water with Ryan Hackett sitting behind me. Can't think how he got so wet!!
  • Best Coaster Experience: Seat 3 on the Phoenix everytime. I've been riding for over 30 years and it's always good
  • Worst Coaster Experience: Gouderix (Parc Asterix) - I'd have less pain if I was being hit with a baseball bat!
  • Other Interests / Hobbies: Skiing, Go-Karting, Kraftwerk, Benny Hill!

Matt Walker - Website, Social Media & Discounts

Short Profile: Matt (me!) - I'm the Club Website Editor and look after the social media channels  such as Facebook, YouTube etc. so if things here don't work, blame me! From January 2016, I also took on arranging discounts with the parks for our members! Here's my quick facts....

  • Nickname: Beer Matt​
  • First Coaster Ride: Corkscrew at Alton Towers
  • Favourite Woodie: The Voyage at Holiday World, Indiana, USA
  • Favourite Steelie: Millennium Force at Cedar Point, Ohio, USA
  • Favourite UK Park: Blackpool Pleasure Beach
  • Favourite Non-UK Park: Holiday World. Great coasters and an amazing water park.
  • Funniest Coaster Experience: Not really sure, but it's bound to be when Heather Hall was about and providing entertainment, either that or on a silly kiddie coaster somewhere which are always a right laugh!
  • Best Coaster Experience: Sat in the back seat of El Toro for the first ride of the ERS on the USA 2008 Tour. Having absolutely no idea what to expect, the pure insanity of the speed and airtime of this coaster was the best - because I simply wasn't ready for it. I was then lucky enough not to get bumped out the back seat for the next 2 rides! Bonus!!!
  • Worst Coaster Experience: Is it possible to have a bad one? Oh hang on... just thought... Arrows?
  • Other Interests / Hobbies: Most of my spare time when i'm not out on Coaster Trips is taken up by visiting breweries and craft beer bars, or on the railway somewhere, or both!

Gareth Preece - Merchandising (Collectables)

Short Profile: Gareth is responsible for all Club Merchandise collectables.

  • Nickname: Sheep​
  • First Coaster Ride: The wooden "Figure Of 8" at Porthcawl, on or around 1970
  • Favourite Woodie: Tough one this, but the more I ride it, the better it gets, so it has to be Megaphobia
  • Favourite Steelie: Easiest question of all, the one and only Nemesis
  • Favourite UK Park: Oakwood, without a doubt
  • Favourite Non-UK Park: The wonderful Knoebels
  • Funniest Coaster Experience: The historic, through the Station on The Outlaw, Adventureland, USA Trip 1999. Those who were there will know what I mean
  • Best Coaster Experience: As per funniest experience above!
  • Worst Coaster Experience: ERS on Silver Star, Europa Park, in the evening, soaked to the skin (thanks Mr. Healey, revenge will be mine). I don't think I have warmed up yet !!!
  • Other Interests / Hobbies: Photography, Computers, Cars & Motor Racing, Travel. That about pretty much sums it up!

Graham Shaw - Merchandising (Clothing)

Graham is responsible for all Club Merchandise clothing with Colleen Dudley. We are currently waiting for more information and a short profile from Graham, so check back soon for an update!

Colleen Dudley - Merchandising (Clothing)

Colleen is responsible for all Club Merchandise clothing with Graham Shaw. We are currently waiting for more information and a short profile from Colleen, so check back soon for an update!

Heather Hall - Welcoming Crew Member

Short Profile: I'm an official club welcomer so feel free to come and find me on trips if you are there for the first time. I have been a member since 1996 but really only on an active basis since 2004. Since then I have been on most UK trips (when I'm not double-booked!) and many USA tours with every one of them being fantastic.

Everyone calls me 'The Spinning Mess' because I am always getting in a mess or causing a kerfuffle. I also fall asleep quite a bit, so if you have noticed me missing on club trips, check the toilets as I often fall asleep there! My record is over an hour asleep on a toilet in the Theme Park at The Mall of America a few years ago - I guess that'll teach me for drinking too much the night before!

  • Nickname: Spinning Mess​
  • First Coaster Ride: Big Dipper at Blackpool when I was 14 with a favourite cousin. It seemed very big then. This was my first official Coaster ride. (Even though the Coaster Police did catch me ticking on my Coaster Count the Switchback Railway at Barry Island which closed in 1912!! - since been corrected following arrest!)
  • Favourite Woodie: The Voyage at Holiday World, Indiana. Attending the opening ceremony in May 2006 was great and I rode it 30 times that day
  • Favourite Steelie: Millennium Force at Cedar Point, Ohio. I love the first drop and the speed. Even after many years
  • Favourite UK Park: Blackpool Pleasure Beach
  • Favourite Non-UK Park: Can't quite decide - but I love Holiday World, Cedar Point and Knoebels
  • Funniest Coaster Experience: So many!!! A combination of the ice-cream challenge at Knoebels in 2008, being arrested by the Coaster Police in 2007 and falling out of my top on Troy in Toverland in 2009. Also endless fun with Matt and Mark of the Coaster Police on various trips
  • Best Coaster Experience: First time riding The Voyage and getting my first rollback on TTD - both on the same trip in 2006
  • Worst Coaster Experience: Any coaster that really bangs my head - being vertically challenged this happens often on some steelies such as a Mind Eraser or Corkscrew
  • Other Interests / Hobbies: Travelling the world, skiing, video-editing and cooking. Also fairly well known for making my own wacky park/coaster themed clothing for club trips and events