My business plan was reviewed by Dave Harriton; Millionaire Founder and Owner of American Expedition Vehicles (AEV). Dave was an old acquaintance from 2004 in Missoula, MT… when I brought him a Jeep to do some suspension work on. Dave took a few hours out of his weekend to sit with me at a coffee shop and critique my plan when I started up in 2016. I didn’t like anything he said at the time. But he also didn’t have full disclosure. He didn’t write my plan, he just critiqued it. It was what he didn’t say, that I had to figure out on my own. He did say, “build (6) and see what happens”… and that right there is the fucking NUTS 🥜
Emancipator…
I randomly sold the first Sprinter I built to a super cool Portland area record label/music producer; emancipatormusic.com
Simon Rex DM’d me and then called my phone one day when I was working in my shop. I remember running an excited lap around the yard and maybe crying a little bit. I think it freaked him out when he realized I was an actual fan. One of those conversations where you’re so star-struck, you can’t really speak. I couldn’t talk right haha. Somebody I watched interview Tupac on MTV; Someone I filmed on stage in San Diego with Riff Raff and Andy Milonakis; and then he turns into an amazing Actor in his newest film ”Red Rocket” w/Suzanna Son which may have been a pseudo documentary of my life from 2017. What a cool ass dude!
Joe Desrosier (JoeHauler.com)…
became a good buddy and business connection at some point in this journey. He is someone I’ve always looked up to and respected for his skill and work ethic. He’s a beast in the shop, and on the racecourse. Proud to know him.
Educational evening kicking it at the shop after hours with Joe (Hauler). Interesting dude. Lots of Baja racing history. He’s won some races.
“Last year, Desrosiers experienced the extremes of desert racing. He led a team that won both the 250cc class title in the Baja 1000 and the SCORE season championships. But as Desrosiers prepared for the Baja 1000, a member of his team, Andy Specht, was killed in a riding accident. Two weeks later, the team decided to ride on. “The show must go on,” reasoned Desrosiers. But it was in the middle of his 280-mile stage that he finally realized why.“
🏄♂️ Bill Stewart…
is a surf shaping legend and a van guy too. When I called him in 2017 to see if he’d be interested helping me with a photoshoot, he didn’t hesitate… “Come on down to the shop and grab 2 brand new boards.” Legend 😁👍 I had 2 swimsuit models lined up, but these girls were so broke they didn’t want to drive 60 minutes to the photoshoot… so they flaked. In the end, it was better without them.
Billy Lane (Choppers Inc)…
is the single biggest inspiration for everything I’ve built with my hands over the last 20 years. He’s a mechanical savant. I met him a a few times and exchanged a very depressing email with him before he was sentenced to Prison. He did 6 years I think. Here are some photos I took outside his shop back around 2005. I was stoked when he dropped by my Instagram account for a nod in 2017. What a legend.
Cary Boats – 2005 Miami Boat Show…
I designed, purchased, built, and installed a $4500.00 custom stereo system by myself, on a last minute 48-hour deadline for the Miami Boat Show. This system was installed working 24 hours around the clock on a 50’ Cary Fast Boat. This company had a boat featured in the movie “Miami Vice.”
Motorcycle Touring…
(2005) In 2005 at the age of 24 I took off on a motorcycle ride around the Country. I was riding a sport-bike that was not really designed for touring, a 2005 Suzuki SV650S. This 3-month solo trip took me around every border state in the lower 48.
I slept in between 2 strippers in New York, who had just finished working at the strip club. They thought it was cool that I was riding around the Country alone, so they offered me a place to crash… in between them.
I met a beautiful girl in Florida, after we chased each other down 95S at 100+mph in the rain. I slept on the beaches down in the Keys for 2 weeks. I outran a State Trooper that tried to pull me over on the way out of Florida, wide open in 6th gear on the 75N. I rolled through New Orleans just weeks ahead of Katrina and escaped the storm. I was practicing wheelies a lot at the time… so the goal was to stand-up wheelie across every bridge I crossed.
Got a friendly escort from Vegas to LA with 2 local club riders in the middle of the night. Rode up the PCH1 from LA to Santa Cruz with a local club run of some pretty fast street/track racers. I ended up burning through 2 rear tires on this trip. One of those epic, life-defining motorcycle trips, where everything just flows. No accidents, no mechanical problems. Just good times.
⛽️ EV11 🇺🇸 