My business plan was reviewed by Dave Harriton; Founder and Owner of American Expedition Vehicles (AEV). Dave is 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 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. 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. What a cool ass dude!
Joe Hauler (JoeHauler.com) became a good friend 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.
Bill Stewart
Aluminess
Billy Lane (Choppers Inc.) will always be an inspiration for anything I build with my hands. I absolutely love this guy’s work. Here are some photos I took outside his shop back around 2006 I believe(?) I was stoked when he dropped by my Instagram account for a nod. What a legend.
2005 – Cary Boats; Miami Boat Show. I designed, purchased, built, and installed a $4500.00 custom stereo system by myself, on a 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.”
(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, riding wheelies 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.
EV11 Automotive 