FEATURE
The Telford Vaper
TURNING TRAGEDY INTO HOPE
All you need to know about Telford Vape’s upcoming charity event
On August 19, the Cordingley Hall in
Telford will host the Telford Vape Show,
a gathering of vapers and vendors united
in their shared dedication to a good
cause. The Love Vaping-sponsored
show will see a cloud competition, an
awards ceremony presented by The
Demon Vaper, hot food facilities and
a bar, a wide range of entertainments,
and some of the biggest names in UK
vaping with all proceeds going to charity.
The man behind the day’s festivities
is Kevin Hill, also known as the
Telford Vaper: a Youtube personality
and juice reviewer who has proven
to be a uniting influence and skilled
organiser for our thriving community.
Kevin’s motivation goes back to a
heart-breaking day. October 3 2011,
Kevin lost his beloved son Josh to
Angelman Syndrome, a rare genetic
disorder. “I feel blessed for having had
Josh in my life,” he says. “The fourteen
years we had were indescribable.”
Kevin has since remarried, residing in
Telford with second wife Lucy and their
daughter Amelia-Rose. He has been
vaping for about eighteen months,
and says it has helped him out of a
destructive habit. “When Josh passed
away my smoking spiralled out of
control. I was getting through 80-100 a
day. The family doctor was clear about
what such heavy smoking was doing
to me, and eight months later I quit.”
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But tragedy resurged in Kevin’s life shortly
after. The death of his grandmother
drove him back to excessive cigarette
smoking, and continued to harm his
own health. Eventually he found a
promising way out most ex-smokers
can vouch for, even after a rocky start.
“Four years ago I bought my first
e-cigarette. It was a small, basic pen; not a
great product and I wasn’t familiar with the
details of nicotine levels, quality and other
things I’d need to stay off cigarettes. By
January 2015 I vowed to stop completely.
A year ago I started the Youtube channel;
I’m a travelling salesman by trade and
have no qualms about presenting myself
well in front of a camera.”
With a significant birthday approaching,
Kevin
made
a
snap
decision.
“I started doing these ‘4-40’ challenges
– as I’m closing in on my own 40th
birthday. One night I just had an epiphany.
I realised I wanted to do a charity vape
show, I could bring my favourite activity to
something important, something I really
cared about. I shared the idea with my
friends who vape, and put it out on Twitter.
I started reaching out to other Youtubers,
realising how much of a strong online
community there was for vaping. Before I
knew it, a number of hashtags had caught
on, the most popular being #TCUS
(Telford charity vape show). I’m amazed
at how quickly it’s all come together.
It took a while to find a venue for the
show; we were refused twice. But ever
since we got Cordingley Hall to agree to
host, everything has fallen into place.”
Kevin’s event has seen an incredible
influx of support from across the industry.
“There have been so many donations
of money and resources. Saddlehorse
Blues have donated coils; Riot Squad and
Dinner Ladies have donated raffle prizes.
PRESENTS
AUGUST 19 TH