Today we’d like to introduce you to Rob & Kerri Tischler.
Rob & Kerri, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Kerri and I met at the Broward County Animal Rescue in Fort Lauderdale. Kerri was 18 and I was 23. Kerri had just moved down from Boston and was supposed to be out looking for a shower curtain for her new apartment. I had been in a recording session and on the way back I decided to go by the shelter for some reason. Kerri is dog crazy and was fawning over some beagle. I somehow convinced her I was this master dog trainer or something and got her to give me her number, something she says she did not usually give out. She left the shelter with a cute puppy she named Romeo. An hour later I called her and offered to help train him. We’ve been together ever since. Thank goodness, I am very good with dogs. Shortly thereafter Kerri and I moved to Maui. By nature, I am a musician and a trained chef. While in Maui, Kerri continued her education at the University of Hawaii, focusing on Hawaiian studies and working a normal job. I focused on writing music and touring with several bands. Fortunately, I was able to make a decent living doing that. I didn’t too much care for the constant travelling and the bullshit that goes along with touring: Travel overnight and most of the day then soundcheck, press, do the show and then rinse and repeat for months at a time.
The on-stage part was always great, and I used to say that part I did for free, and I get paid so well to deal with the other 22 hours of bullshit every day. It does get old, and one day I came upon a revelation that I did not want to do that forever. So, back in Maui Kerri and I started this great tour company where we would arrange very high-end travel for an elite clientele catering to celebs and A-listers. Definitely didn’t hurt at all having made great connections from my life on tour. Eventually we sold that business and after several years made it back to Florida.
Living in Maui all those years there were no major highways. Just easy goings. So, in our move back from Maui to South Florida, we decided to slowly reintegrate ourselves to mainland life by way of the Florida Keys.
In doing that we basically went from slow to stop. That lasted about three months and we came back to South Florida. For me that meant back to touring and being gone all the time. Being on the road constantly, one does get accustomed to traveling in nice and comfortable buses. I had a friend who would rent out his coaches and RVs for the tours.
One day I got a call that he had passed away in his sleep. He was only 40 and he really was just the best guy. I had come to know the guy he had managing his dealership and he was just unearthed when John died. He did not know what he was going to do and one day I said hey why don’t we just carry on the tradition and start our own high-end RV company. That was over 10 years ago. About 7 years ago I bought him out and Kerri took over the hospitality end of things. And now, more than 27 years and two great kids after that day in the shelter, here we are living and loving what we do in South Florida.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
There are always struggles, with every business. Most of the time that can be attributed to people getting in their own way. We operate on a strong principle that we don’t want anybody to be here that doesn’t want to be here. That goes for our customers, employees and owners alike. If you don’t love doing what you do then it is impossible to be 100% dedicated to it. Especially true in a service business. We are not just handing people keys to expensive vehicles here and waving goodbye, We are here for them whether it is helping choose the right coach, or assisting with planning a dream trip or for 24/7 round the clock support in case there is any issue or they hit a wrong switch or something.
Customers should always be able to reach somebody. We value our customers and their experiences just as if they were our own. So, if you have people that aren’t all in, then you really aren’t being authentic or giving a true 100%, are you?
Allstar Coaches – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Allstar Coaches specializes in high end motorhome and RV rentals here in Florida and all across the USA. Our fleet consists of new model, state of the art vehicles. These are not anything like the RVs you have seen in a Robin Williams flick. More like 5 star hotel suites on wheels, which you can take to most remote of locations. Some coaches feature serious chef’s kitchens complete with convection ovens and residential sized stainless appliances.
Our coaches have state of the art HD satellite entertainment systems and professional interior designs rivaling your run of the mill mega yacht. Our clientele is for the most part, successful, educated and discerning adventurers. They want to go out an explore our beautiful country just like everyone else does. The difference being they want to experience all of that without sacrificing any of the luxury and comfort they are accustomed to. With Allstar Coaches they don’t have to. When clients want even more service, our Black Label Concierge services is essentially your butler on wheels. We can arrange drivers, security staff, provisioning and catering, excursions, restaurant and spa reservations even yacht and jet charters. Pretty much anything is possible. NASCAR and Grand Am Race teams depend on us to provide coaches for drivers at Daytona, Sebring and right here at Miami-Homestead speedway. We work with networks and all the major studios doing a lot of production work commercial shoots, television and films. A-list talent when shooting, always demands the highest quality vehicles available for their mobile dressing rooms and unlike the common trailer set up, our luxury motorhomes can be moved between multiple locations. I can tell you from experience that The Rock does not want to slum it between scenes in a hot smelly trailer. And he shouldn’t have to. Those guys work very hard. Allstar Coaches does not rent travel trailers, 5th wheels or Sprinter vans. We only carry the highest high-end luxury motorhome rentals and we provide the service to match. I remember someone once told me in order to really stand out and set yourself apart, pick one thing, one thing only and learn to do it better than anybody else. That is exactly what we did. Welcome to Allstar Coaches – America’s finest fleet of luxury RV rentals. There is no substitute.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
There are those who measure their own success with criteria or markers as you put it. I supposed if you want your life to adhere to a certain path and that is the way you choose to go down the road it’s great for you. For me, it is not that simple but it also is not all that complex either. For me personal success is just being happy in every aspect of my life. I married the girl of my dreams, I have two amazing children – actually three counting Cody, my Golden Retriever. I can cook, I can fly an airplane, I’ve been on stage in front of 50,000 people and played with some of the most legendary musicians in the world and call some of them my friends. I am damn lucky. We’ve got a great business and Kerri and I get to work together. I love what we do and it is better because we do it together… Of course, being well off financially obviously provides a great lifestyle and affords nice homes and some expensive toys, but that isn’t what it is all about for me. That kind of stuff is nice but when it comes down to it – financial success is only a bi-product of what comes with working hard and loving what you do. A healthy lifestyle.
Eat good. Live good. Love good and be happy. I’ve got friends who make a ton of money and go through life pretending they are happy. It is almost robotic. I also have friends who live paycheck to paycheck, living in a tiny shack on the beach and just fish and dive all day. They are as happy as anyone could ever be. That is success to me. If you can look around and into the mirror and truly envy your own life, you are doing damn good. I think that qualifies as success.
Contact Info:
- Address: Allstar Coaches
2421 S. State Road 7
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33317 - Website: www.allstarcoaches.com
- Phone: 866.838.4465 or local 954.530.0884
- Email: [email protected]
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/AllstarCoaches
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/AllstarCoaches
Image Credit:
Newell Coach
Tiffin Motorhomes
Monaco Coach
Getting in touch: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
