My customizing viewpoint is simple. Customizing is a work of art, but ultimately it must be built in harmony with the customers’ revelation. I like Picasso. Picasso is viewed as a great artist. But not everyone wants a Picasso hanging on their wall. When you tell people you build bikes, they instantly envision some big sweaty mean guy covered in tattoos and coveralls. I despise that vision. I am first and foremost an artist; my canvas just happens to be a large fast machine.

Why do people ride motorcycles? In my view, it’s because when you ride a motorcycle, you instantly transcend the average and become something more. More cool. More dangerous. More rebellious. Motorcycles epitomize youth and freedom. As motorcyclists we are a tightly connected community, bound by our willingness to happily step outside societies norms embracing a passion viewed by others as both frightening and dangerous. But how do we distinguish ourselves as unique and different from our fellow rebels?

Enter the art of customization. Sure – a guy on a Harley will still nod to a guy on a Metric custom. But the guy on the Metric sits on a slightly higher rung. He’s somehow become a little more special. His custom doesn’t just say “I am different.” It announces his sense of personal taste and style. He becomes one of a kind within his own tribe. So, I build to fulfill two muses; mine and my customers. Cyril Huze said it best when he said “a good Designer is not the one who takes you from what you have to what you want, but the one who takes you from what you want to what you didn’t even know you wanted.”

When my customer sees his or her bike for the first time, it should rock every emotion, eliciting a total epiphany. This is why I refer to my customer’s revelation, instead of his or her vision. My customers come to me because more is no longer enough. They demand absolute sovereignty; absolute independence from every single being around them. Their custom motorcycle must encapsulate that need in every respect while ultimately transporting the experience of motorcycling to an entirely new level. If I build with an eye on that need, while listening carefully to the various elements that drive the creative process, my custom will not just speak to the eye. It will speak of the soul.