Should you be inclined to read any further, you'll notice that the pictures above somewhat matches what I've written about myself, my life (up to this point) and my chosen profession. (FOR A COMPLETE SET OF PICS OF ME, MY FAMILY AND MY LIFE.... CLICK HERE: THE GALLERIES)

For those of you who have cable television, you've had the chance to see me on the tube through shows like Build or Bust on the Speed Channel, Biker's Build-Off on the Discovery Channel. Formerly the head mechanic for Exile Cycles in Los Angeles, I am now the proud owner of Insane Custom Cycles in Glendale Arizona.

If you've ever talked to me in person, you'll notice a slight accent, I am a Southern boy, born and bred in Little Rock, Arkansas. We were a pretty traditional family, between my grandparents (John Henry and Alta Jane Goodson on my father's side, Aubrey and Eloise Garrett on my mother's side) and their respective 6 and 11 children, you could say that family gatherings were a really big deal.

I was always kinda shy, so to overcompensate for that I would act like an ass and get in all kinds of trouble. What the hell, I had a big audience.

In my family, you either loved motors or music...or both! In my case, I'd gotten the bug pretty bad for both and from an early age, for as long as I remember, I've been around either cars, motorcycles or guitars!

My dad was an auto mechanic, so as every good southern rebel would do, I went the other way and concentrated the first 26 years of my life in pursuing my interest in music. With an array of odd jobs to support myself and my dreams (I even had a stint in the Navy) I juggled a bunch of things until I decided to make motorcycles my career... a pretty seminal moment, when I put down my instruments and never looked back.

Since I was interested in how motorcycles worked as much as how they look, I enrolled at MMI (Motorcycle Mechanic Institute) with my younger brother Bennie, who had just gotten out of the Navy himself.

I was fortunate to be able to join Titan Motorcycles right after I graduated from MMI. At the time, Titan was the first and biggest aftermarket motorcycle manufacturer and I worked back in the service department seemingly fixing all the mistakes that other builders were making.

This gave me a great foundation on how to set up and build a motorcycle correctly, but man... these bikes were not my cup of tea! Not much longer, Titan went belly up (for the first time...) and a couple of friends of mine, Drew and Jason de Weerd told me about this weird englishman named Russell Mitchell. Exile Cycles was then only a shop operated from Russell's garage. From the day we met, heads clashed, tempers flared, but overall, we seemed to have the same opinions on how a bike should look. I went on to become Exile's Head Mechanic/Shop Manager until about a couple years ago when I decided to move back to the state that I love (Arizona) and follow my dreams by founding Insane Custom Cycles.

In addition to my daily duties in running Insane with the love of my life, JoAnn (come on, look... she is as cute as she is feisty!) I also spend time teaching students who have the same love an passion for motorcycles at MMI.

It seems that I've come full circle. Days are long, but I do what I love, the way I want!

How many of us can say that?

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