fork cute...

I've really been digging Max's Born Free video.  The apocalyptical look of him riding around the Bay is some of the best riding footage I think I've ever seen and his words brief, yet effective.  From the first time we met I've always thought of him as a very articulate person, everything he say's seems to just plain make sense. Topics like skateboarding or choppers, both yield a feeling difficult to describe because you have to actually "live it" in order to truly know what makes them special but he somehow always seems to have a way of putting it into words so relatable that you can do nothing but sit back and think "whoa...nailed it on the head."

You know those old guys you meet on the street or in a dark corner of a bar that just look and sound like they've done it all and seen it all, and after talking to, you walk away feeling a little more enlightened and even more convinced that you will never be as cool as them? Well, Max.....I think you're well on your way to becoming that cool.

its happening

Craigs Shovelhead might be together for Born Free next weekend
unless I have to work that day, which is looking pretty likely now.

things to do in Richmond...

Meditation 4 Madmen | Jasin Phares and Harolds Iron Works from Meditation 4 Madmen on Vimeo.

I met Jasin a while ago at Max's while he was building the first version of his 69' Shovelhead. He's always had this presence about him, when he walks into the room you quickly realize you're not the most handsome dude in there anymore... The guys from Meditation 4 Madmen did this little introductory video of a series they're going to start doing, check it out. Harolds Iron Works

friends...

STANCE | DAKOTA ROCHE WELCOME VIDEO from Stance on Vimeo.

It's pretty cool having such talented friends.

I've known Dakota for a long time and he's always shredded.  It's wild seeing him go from the little kid at the park to one of the gnarliest BMX dudes on the planet.  As for Mark, aside from being a rad photographer/skater/handsome dude, he also make really cool little videos (including my Born Free  video last year). So I was especially stoked to see these two link up for this cool little edit for our friends at Stance.

Keep killing it guys.


 oh yeah, check out Dak's part in Cult's Talk is Cheap video and prepare to have your mind blown.

 

blogger talkers..

 Mike Tubbs started this podcast series called Chopper Prophets which he created earlier this month and it's starting to pick up speed. He's already got a few interviews up with dudes like Larry Pierce and Caleb Owens. To be honest, I was a little apprehensive when he told me the name of it simply because to me the word "prophet" implies someones better or above everyone else (when the truth is we're all just insecure nerds trying to convince ourselves we're not), but once I talked to Mike he made it clear its the farthest thing from that...basically he's really interested in what happens outside of the garage and how we even got there in the first place. My little interview went up last night and it's full of me saying "like" while trying to be interesting.

Check out my trainwreck and all the other podcasts Mikes done at -

Chopper Prophets

steer clear...

Chase asked me to make some steer-stops for his extended 47 Indian girder he's going to be mounting to his revised Shovel. His frames a little raked out so they had to be a little tall and since this part doesn't exist on Ebay, I was able to freestyle it. A couple tabs and a little cast finishing and it almost looks like it could have been...well, maybe?

Motorcycles, Magic and More!!!

I forgot to post this amazing flyer. It's just a few weeks away there will be an ATR booth with a bunch of goodies. Cruise by and say howdy.

boats n hoes....

Hit the boat races at Irvine Lake last week. First time in 20 years since the last races because of an out of control boat killing somebody. So much killer stuff to see just walking around the pits...guys yanking the gnarliest motors out of these boat and pulling them completely apart, inspecting and slapping them back together fairly quickly. The classic drag and race boat area was pretty rad too, lots of local history around here as far as vintage boat racing. If you ever get a chance to see check it out.

Top For Tuesday

ATR in Europe

The moons aligned and some how between personal life and my chopper life I am able to make it over the pond to Europe. We will have a booth with some pegs and merch at The Castle Run in Denmark, Kustom Kulture Forever in Germany, and the Jokers Show in Sweden. The biggest bummer is that Jason isn't able to go because his wife has a bun in the oven and Lil' Tyrone is due right around the same time. If you are going to be at these shows please cruise by and say howdy. Thanks to Keith, Rob, James, Patrick, Mattias, Mike, Dan, Arie, Dean and everyone else that's gonna help my dumb American ass out.

Jeff Hanneman

Dead at 49, cause liver failure... Not the biggest metalhead but the dude wrote Angel Of Death & Raining Blood. He was the backbone of Slayer and was still a punk rocker.

Pegs...

Gonna be sprinkling some more pegs in the store as we finish them, got a batch up in there now.  Slightly new packaging looks fast but I can guarantee you they're slow as shit.

ATR store

double vision..

Made this headlight bracket today, not really a mind melter
but still took a little work to keep everything nice and tight.

Skid Row Chopper Show..

hard to see but a pretty good turnout.

photo displays from you're favorite choptographers.

There was a bunch of killer bikes today but this one kept getting my attention.

a couple dudes rolled up on some early XR's and I smiled.

another cool sportster

couples who wheelie together, stay together.

Austin, aiming for the crowd.

The first annual Skid Row Chopper show went down at Austins today.

Good turnout, lots of rad local bikes and a couple of visitors from out

of town made it an awesome day.  Thanks again Austin for puttin on a

rad little show...see your next year.

getting dome..

Just got my new helmet from Paulo today and I couldn't be more stoked.  Ever since I
met him at Born Free 3 he has been nothing but cool to me...between the helmets,
taking me to Brazil or just generally being psyched on what we do on this blog, I'm
greatly in debt to him.  Thanks again for the helmet and friendship...see you in June.

Joe King Helmets

saturday morning...

this Saturday morning cruise over to Classic Cycles. They're hosting a little memorial/hangout session for Keith Moore who passed away last year. I'd like to say most of us guys in Orange County who have been into old bikes for more than a minute owe alot to Keith in one way or another. Come celebrate a good guy who never made you feel stupid for asking a stupid question.

friends/friends/friends

My friends Mark Choiniere and the Stopniks just posted their builder video for Born Free...stoked to see how that Knuckle turns out.

20 years ago today....

(a continuation of my 6over story)

The year was 1992, summer was over, and I was about to begin the year that would shape the human that I am today....7th grade. 

 The last 6 years of school had been a breeze; dodgeball and nationball were the daily routine, and my friends and I were the kings of the playground. To us, the transition from elementary to junior high looked as seamless as all the others, but we were oblivious. You see, financial status and zip codes were something that never crossed our minds. It wasn't until the first day of school that I realized--since most of my friends lived in better neighborhoods-- that they were zoned to go to different schools than I was. I was left flying solo in a predominantly Hispanic, gang-ridden school, and I very quickly found out what the totem pole was at my school and where I ranked on it. 

 Because of the overcrowding, classes were mixed with 7th and 8th graders, and that's where my troubles began. I was a small and lonely white kid in a physical education class that consisted of only 8th graders...Big 8th graders. There were guys in my class with tattoos that were old enough to drive to school and did, if that explains the level of intelligence I was up against. Almost every day, we'd sit on our designated dots on the asphalt for role call, and since my last name was Webber, I was at the back of the pack. As soon as the coach would call my name, he'd turn around and head back to his little office to jack-off while the wolves (usually led by the guy who sat directly in front of me, Raymond Martinez) would turn around, face me, and commence with the kicking of my ass. The more I fought, the more dudes would jump in. I just couldn't win. I was too ashamed to tell my parents so I told the coach--he laughed and called me a pussy. I then told my counselors--they said they would look into it...I was broken. 

 After a couple months of this routine I finally snapped, and since nobody else would help me and I was going to have to handle it on my own, and I devised a simple plan...Kill Raymond. I was so blinded that I was convinced this was the only solution. And it was going to be so easy, too. I watched grown up movies with my dad all the time, so I knew the most effective way to do it. Right after coach would call my name and scurry away, I was simply going to pull my pocket knife out of my sock, lean over, slice Raymonds throat wide open, and then return to my dot on the hot asphalt and revel in my glory. Game over.

 So, the day I decided to put said plan into motion began like any other. I ate breakfast, told my parents I loved them, and walked out the door with an unusual smile because today, it ended. P.E. class started, I changed into my gym clothes, discreetly tucked my knife into my right sock, and prematurely marched to victory. Without a care I waited patiently, almost anxiously, for my name to be called.

"Webber."

 Eagerly, I responded, "Here!!" 

 Then he paused for a second... 

 "Come up here real quick." 

 Oh shit...harder than any of those guys had ever hit me, reality had just punched me in the face. "Oh no, did somebody see me sneak the knife into my sock?" I hadn't even thought about the consequence of attempting this or even pulling it off. I went from seeing red to white in a heartbeat as the reality of the situation became very real. My life was flashing before my eyes as I hesitantly walked up to him. 

 "Go get your shit. You're being moved to another class." 

 My jaw hit the floor and I nearly passed out...I couldn't comprehend what he was saying. I kept rubbing my eyes, shaking my head like I had just woken from the most intense dream. "Well...what are you waiting for? Get out of here." So I turned and just walked, or better yet, floated back to the locker room, sat there, and began to cry as what had almost just happened finally sank in...

Once I calmed down I got my stuff together and headed to my new classroom.  As shy as you could possibly be I walked into the class and sat behind one of only a few guys I had recognized from seeing them skate around school and he says "Do you skate?"  Apparently I was wearing a hand-me-down skate shirt from one of my dads friends at work and didn't even realize it but without hesitating I said "Yeah, a little.."

(Now up until this point I didn't identify with any particular group, I just existed. This is going to sound hilarious but my birthday was a week away and up till then the only thing I wanted was a Starter Raiders jacket.  All I wanted to do was blend in and go about my life unnoticed. My Aunt had come up on some money from a settlement or something and since my family was broke, decided she was gonna give me $150 to spend on a birthday gift.)

I didn't own a skateboard let alone know any tricks. I really don't know what it was about the siutation that made me say "yeah.." maybe just the flash that I might have someone to interact with, an actual friend. After a couple days of talking to him I realized the Raiders jacket was going to have to wait.....I was going to get a board and I can still remember that day walking into Circle M  skateshop and picking it all out..New School-Jason Corbett "Clay Smith Cams"  board, Indy trucks and Josh Swindell microdots wheels...

------

To this day I still look back and wonder what would have been my life if that fateful day had never happened.  The past couple weeks I've been feeling real nostalgic and watching old skate videos and just going back in time a little. In one way or another this little piece of wood with some wheels screwed to it has gotten me through some of the hardest times of my life, helped me see the world in an entirely different way than most people on this planet view it.  I'm proud and honored to have met some of the most interesting, talented people earth may ever see, traveled and witnessed things 99% of humanity will never know even existed...and its been right underneath their feet the whole time...

I never was or ever will be the best at it but that's what makes it so special, at the core of it there is no checklists, no time frames, no rules, no boundries.

I owe my life to skateboarding, this is the least I could do...

thanks.

One day you will look back and laugh...

Made a few of these cause we thought it was funny. ATR Store

pretty rad..