Van Alston is a charming, talented and humble human being.  After a career as an astronaut with the Mercury project was tragically cut short while saving the lives of the several Peace Corps workers in the Philippines, Alston moved to Raleigh where he began a career of opening bars that catered to misfits and societal outcasts.  

When not saving puppies and small children, he spends his time writing short bios for himself, and gettting "tricky" with a yo-yo.