Issuu

6MR STEVEN MYAT TRIP –EVERYONE SAYS GOODBYE

12BULLFROGBASH –NO BULLFROGS WERE HARMED

16ROCK &B IKEFEST –IN THEABSENCE OF MONS TERTRUCK S

18DRINK, DROP &DOSS RALLY –ISN’T THAT WHAT YOUDOATR ALLIES THEN?

20BANDIT –BLACK IS THE NE WWHITE…

26YORK SHIREPUDDING –NO GR AV YTHOUGH

30XS1100 –A SIFBIK E BUILDING’S NOTHAR D ENOUGH…

34LUCK YCUP RALLY –NOTBEENABMF RALLY IN BSHFOR AWHILE

36A10BEEZER –BRIZ’S RE WORK ED LSRBIK E

42LONE STAR RALLY –YEEEHARR, TE XA S!

44WCCCFL –THE COVERBIKEIN ALLITS GLORY

50SPREAD –ANARTIS TICTYPE POSTER FORYOU TO PUTONYER WALL

52SUBSCRIBETOBSH –SEEHEREFOR THEBES T SUBSCRIP TION OFFERS

54BANDIT –R ACE- PREPPED HAR DTAIL

60TANK AR T –SOMEO’ THE BE ST TANK SINTHE LAND

64REAL WORLDROADTEST –THE NE WROYAL ENFIELD350 BULLET

68AYEARIN…RIDING CUSTOM BIKE SYEARROUND, PART FOUR

70MR BRIDGES’ MOTORCYCLE DIARIES –THEGURUOFMECHANICING

74FICTION –DON’T WANNABE, UNDER YOUR THUMB… FORE VER

78NEWS –ALL THEL ATES T FROM THECUS TOMBIK E WORLD

80PRODUC TS –LOA DS OF GOOD STUFFTOSPEND YOUR HARD -E ARNED ON

82LETTERS –IT’SOKAY, YOUC AN TALK TO US, WE’REALL FRIENDSHERE…

85EVENTS –HOR DE SO’ THE THINGS, FECK IN’ HORDES

91READERSLIVES –YOUR LIVE SINPIC TURE S

94MAGNEWS –THE LATE ST FROM MAG’S NATIONAL CHAIR

95DEVIL’SADVOC ATE –ANOPINIONATED, ARGUMENTATIVEBUGGER SPEAKS

96REMINISCING –MEMORIES OF THE DISREPUTABLE YE ARSOF BIKING

97RICK HULSE –ONE OF THEMOS TELOQUENT THINKERS IN BIKERDOM

98NEXT MONTH –JUST TO WHET YOUR APPE TITE…

Thesad news this monthisthatBSH’s founder,Steven‘Steve’ Myat t, haspassedaway. He’d been illwithaheart complaint forquite alongwhile,and thetall, very skinny blokewiththe blackroben’the sc ythe fnally ledhim across theblack sandsin Marchthisyear.

Idon’t thinkit’sanexaggerationtosay that he changedthe life of ever yone whoreads this magazine,and forthe better,too. He certainlydid formine; withou thim giving me theoppor tunity to come andworkfor BSH, ac tually work,ratherthanjus tsend in theodd ar ticleort wo,mylifewould,I’m guessing,havebeen very,ver ydif ferent –nowhere near as much fun, nowherenear as exciting,nowhere near as fulfllingand,yes,attimes,nowhere near as painful, too, bu tit’sone I’mver y, very grateful forbeing allowedtohave. He,and BSH, made me what Iamtoday –the wayIlivemylife, my at titude towardsit, theway Italkand think,

mywhole life’s been theway it is becauseofMrMyatt andthismagazine, andI dare saythat, to alesseror greaterextent, many of you cansay thesame. He wasn’t asaint by anys tretch of the imagination, andhedid of ten rubpeopleupthe wrongway (the absenceofany thingfrom twoofthe seminalfgures in themagazine’shis tory in theobituariesinthisissue demonstratesthat) bu t, nonetheless, theworld,our world, would’ve been very differentwithou thim Thankyou,Steven, forthat. RIP.

even ‘Steve’Myatt,the guywhose idea this magazine was ck in theearly 1980s, passed away at thebeginningofMarch, owinga diagnosisofterminalheart disease.

To saythathehad ahugeimpac tonnot only British torcycle publishing,but on theBritish motorcycle scenein general,issomething of an understatement. Alongwithhis siness partnerAlastairMac farlane, he star tednot only Back reet Heroes,but also Streetfghters, Scootering,and ahost spin-off titles,but also publishedand looked af terahostof hermoremainstreamand classictitles, trulyhavingafootin erygenre of motorcycling.For us scruffybiker types, what he didreallydid defneour lives–everyonebackinthe day read BSH, anditliterally became thebible by whichwelived ourlives.Evenall theseyears later, when we’reolder,calmer, greyer andachier, andmany’ve fallen by thewayside,itstill hasits placeinmanypeople’slives,and that is,primarily, down to Steven,‘Steve’ as he wascommonlyknown,Myatt Thankyou Steven,for allyou did, RIP.

Custom biking in theUKboomedinthe 1980s, andthe UK having itsown magazine wasahuge andverysignifcantfactorin that explosion. Te patchthatsaid‘Back Street Heroes –there’s alot of us about’ sounds abit sillynow,but at thetimeit really resonated. Wow, thereare others outthere Alot of others.And we allreadBSH.

Te real joyofthe magazine wasthatitspoke ourlanguage; it wasamusing,itwas poignant, it wasinspirational.Italsolooked‘right’;ithad itsown styleand looked equallyathomeonthe kitchentable or on theworkbench in theshed. It wasalsobeautifully written, mainly thanks to Steven himself, butalsohis abilitytospotand utilisethe skills of others.He knew intuitively what wouldworkand what wouldn’t.Despite walkingabout BSHTowersinhis socksor, worse, very shortshortsifitwas hot, andburping and fartingalot (normallywhile laughing tooloudlyat hisown jokes),hecould be genuinelyreally, really funny. Irememberhim ringingme up oneevening andaskingifIcould meet himdownatthe Bear’s Head,the bikerpub in Macclesfeld. Ireplied that wouldbenoproblem,Iwas free that evening. “Why?” he said,“is therenormallyacharge?”

Te fact that BSHexisted at allwas alldown to Steve; he sawthe need forthe title, he took the risks, andhemadeithappen. He also sawpassion andcreativitywhere others sawsillinessand futility.Tanks forthat, Steve.

MARK (LIL’)

It’s probably traditionaltobegin an in memoriam piecelikethiswith‘Ifrstmet Stevewhen…’but I can’tbecause Idon’t remember when we frst met, although Iwellrememberthe circumstances.

Steve’scompa ny,Myatt McFa rlane Publ ishi ng,had recent ly boug ht aclutch of titles from Ma rk Wi ll ia ms’Advanced Publ ishi ng –t he titleIproducedbei ng oneof them.Stevencal ledmeup. “Goodday!” he sa id Idon’t remember therestoft he conversation Aday latert here wasa mighty clamou ri nt he dr iveway,a nd aser ious-looki ng guyw it hmuch ha ir andbea rd aboa rd aHarleysat thereu nt il I wa lked over to hi m. He ha nded me an envelope “FromSteven,”heg rowled,a nd rode of.Tey were apai roft ickets fort he next weekend’s

Cropredy Fest ival.I’d nevermet theman,but al readySteve Myat twas memorable. Andsoheremained. When he agreed that I couldsplit theUsed&Classic Bike Guideinto twoseparatemagazines,heinsistedthatI take on asecondpersontoshare theload, so Idid.We arranged to meet,Jim Reynolds,Steve andmyself, in apub (ofcourse).Steve arriveddressed like a countrysquire, carrying awickerbasketladen with farm produce: jams,cakes,sauces, andthe like.Tis is an unusualapproachinthe sometimes stuf yworld of publishing…trust me on this. He andIworkedtogetherfor severalyears, mostly amicably,and always entertainingly.He trulywas aman of ideas, lots of them almost sane, afew of them sensible,but allofthem, everyone, interesting. We regularlysharedalonglunch,and he always hadareason, an agenda,bouncingideas, plotsand schemesaroundjusttosee howthey looked in company, andbecause Iwas always a freelance, neveranemployee, we couldbeentirely straightforwardinour views. Sometimeswe

agreed,other timeswedid not. Ialwayshonoured theconfdential side of theconversations,too.Tat is theway

When timesbecametough,astheydo, Iwent with Steveand hispartner,Alastair, to talk with thebank, necessarybecause paperpublishing candevourcash, andIwould sometimesstay over at hisbeautiful houseinthe Lake District, sittingupuntil allhours,talking aboutevery thing from musictomagazines to politics to…well, everything.Tey were fascinatingdays. Steve’sbiggest success wasthe magazine you’re readingnow:BackStreetHeroes. Te genius is in thetitle.Anideafor acustombikemagazinehad landed with himwhenhewas workingfor Custom Car, buthedodgedthe obviousand namedhis ownmagazineBackStreetHeroes- notentirely abikemagazine, more away of life, anditreally diddeserve thesuccess it’s been forall theselong years. Long mayitcontinue, throughgoodtimes andbad.

FR ANKWESTWORTH

Ifrstmet Steveinearly 1984 just afer Issue1of Back Street Heroes waspublished in December 1983.Temagazinewas aseismic moment in Britishcustomhistory andfnally, amagazine forus. He hadcometomyfat in Leicestervia an introduction by Alison Leight,another Leicester resident andBSH superstar. Iwas in my last year of collegeand he wanted to seemyportfolio and likedit. Steveimmediately startedcommissioning freelanceworkand Iwas gobsmacked.Hesoon foated theideaofamonthly full page comicstrip forBSH,based on hisdog Friday,and Icameback with Gruf

To tell thetruth Iwas pretty much overawed by this guy: tall,worldly andolder than me,witha trackrecordofjournalismand greatphotography that I’dalready been familiar with from Superbike andCustomCar magazine

Soon afer leavingcollege Iwas invitedtojoin theteamfull-time at ‘TeTowers’ andmoved up to Manchester.AtfrstIhad nowheretostaysoSteve wouldofenput me up,asI hadhim in Leicester, andwebecamemates

Stevewas agreat mentor;I learnt much more than themagazinelayoutand illustration I’dbeen employed forinitially andwithhis contributor/

mateslikeMaz Harris,Stu Garlandand JimFoggI wassurroundedbyenormoustalentand genuinely likeable,hugelycreativeand committedpeople. Stevewas defnitelythe ‘Boss’,but allowedmeto developatBSH.BeforelongI,too,was outwitha camera andwriting features,pushing boundaries, having bigideas andeventuallyediting other magazinesinthe expandingMyatt Macfarlane empire.Ihavenever forgottenthattrust and generosity

By thelateEig ht ies, though,Ia nd ot hers at thepublishingcompa ny hadfeltBSH was in seriousdangeroflosingits way; Stevea nd Al ista ir Macfarla ne’s publ ishi ng busi ness was very successfu lbut thecoreof it,BSH,had star ted, we thought, to dr if away from its or ig inal va lues.L ongstory,but that ledtot he bigspl it that ledtomea nd ot hers losi ng thei r jobs,t he subsequent launch of AWoL maga zi ne, andar ival ry both personal andprofessiona lfor thebestpar toften years.

However, by thelateNinetiesSteve andAlistair hadsoldBSH to acompany that soon swallowed AWoL,too.Imet Steveagain socially at the weddingofmutualfriends Andy andMarie.Afer initialwarinessweended up on thesametable andboth, Ithink,realisedwestill really liked each other. We were soon workingtogetheron severalofhis newprojectsand then collaborated on andoffor many years. Stevewas mostly right, sometimeswrong,a visionary, apompous gitor your best mate (orboth) andamassively talented guy. He washugelyimportant in theriseofBritish customisationfor sure butmostofall,I’m goingto miss you, Steve.

RICH KING

Custom biking hasbeenaroundalot longer than Ihave, of course,but to me thereare twoabsolute stand-outseminal momentsduringthe last sixty yearsthatI’vebeenplaying with bikes.

Te frst wasthe arrivalofthe motion picture ‘EasyRider’inthe cinemas, circa1971. Tere was acustombikescene of sortsbeforethen; we’d read theHunterSTompson booksabout theHells Angels in theStates, andin1968nolessthanthe Sunday Timesdid afullcoloursupplementonthe club -Sonny Barger andTerry theTramp riding helmetless in thesunshineonchopped Harleys. Like many people Icut thepages outand pinned them on my bedroomwall, butEasyRider literally changedthe face of custom biking overnight(I have genuinelyseenTritoncaféracers, stillwith thefve-gallontankand racing seat andrear-sets, with theclip-onssimplyturnedforward anda setoftallapehangersboltedtothe topyoke).And on thebackofEasyRider,wehad theNational ChopperClub, andcustombikeshops like DesperateDan’s andKooterBrown’s andCycle Havenand,ofcourse, thelegendary UncleBunt’s Chop Shop,and custom bike shows, in particular theBelle VueRod &Customwhere thebikes were givenequal billingwiththe hotrods, insteadof tucked away in acorner. MagazineslikeCustom CarorMotorcycleMechanics woulddothe occasional featureona chopper, butitwas allsort of fedglingand haphazard– therewas no focal point, no real senseofconnectivity. Formanyofus we were theonlybiker in thevillage Te second seminalmomentwas when Back Street Heroes burstontothe scene. Suddenly we were afamily– suddenly we belonged to something. Andthat, allofthat, wasdue to one SteveMyatt.Against thegrain (and advice)of establishedpublishers, he hadthe bike knowledge,

thecommitment, thesheer balls, butmostlythe incredible insighttocreateBackStreetHeroes-a brave, blanksheet of amagazine, designed from scratchwithnoprevioustemplate; just an idea and avision, andawingand aprayer, tyingincustom biking with lifestyleand politics andthe agewe were living in.It’sbeenaroundsolongwethink of it as existing forever, butthere wasnothing like it in this countryatthe time -the carand bike magazinesofthe time dealtsolelywithcarsand bikes, butBackStreetHeroeswas diferent.Te ramblingsofIsaiahFartwell(Steveindisguise, of course), thesocialcommentaryofMaz Harris in RadicalTimes,the features andeventswritten up by real bikers –peoplewho builtand rode the bikes, andactuallylived thelifestyle.Tat waswhy thebig publishing houses couldnever produce acrediblecompetitor-BackStreetHeroeswas authentic. Tatwas thebreakthroughSteve Myatt bequeathed to thenation.

Giventhe successofthe magazine now, it’s easy to thinkitmust’ve been easy but, trustme, it wasn’t.Not in theslightest.I wassetting up AnthillCustomCyclesataroundthe same time as Stevewas creating BSH, andwe’dsit on thebench outsidemyMum’s andtalkabout allsorts.Iwas aboutagrand into Anthill, buying partsfor stock, etc.,and Iwas terrifed (itwas aton of money back then –I’d builtTruth for300 quid), and Stevewas tens of thousandsintoBSH,and had seeminglyendless majorproblemsjusttryingto getthe magazine up andrunning.I quiteclearly recall asking him: “Doesitnot scareyou in case it doesn’twork?”And I’ ll always remember what he said in reply: “Sometimesyou getsofar into something, youcan’t conceive of failure– you just thinknomatterwhatcomes along, whatever setbacks, youjustneedtofnd away to overcome them.” Wise wordsindeed. He hadanuncanny knackwithpeople- he’d seesomething in them,and fnda waytohelp them grow into it,tobemorethemselves, to develop sidesoftheir personalitiesortalents they neverevenknewtheyhad.Hewas remarkably skilledatthat, farmorethananyoneelseI’ve ever met. He wroteabout me in theveryfrstissuefunnilyenough, only afew days before hisdeath Iwas rereadingthe reprintofit. At thetimeI’d nottaken much notice of it,too busy beinga clown-now 40 years on,Ilookbackand seehow profoundly he’d looked into my soul,bless him. Very earlyoninBSH he askedme

to writeashort piecefor theFutureBikeissue.I wasn’t awriterofany sorts, buthewantedit, and gotmetodoitand publishedit, andIgot quitethe thrill from seeing it in print. Andthen, as Iguess he intended,I wanted to do features.I realised I couldmoreorlessknock wordstogether, butmy photos were hopeless. Ikeptsending them in, andhe’dkeepsending them back saying,‘Tey’re just snapshots.’Iwas undone at thetimebythe summarydismissal -notips, no coaching,no feedback,but thecurtinsultneedled me,asI’m sure he knew it would, so Ilookedand studiedand triedtoworkout what made agoodphoto and, in time,developed my ownstyle,not anything anyone hadtaughtme. Wise manyet again. Ten, laterstill,hetried to persuade me to go work in theBSH ofce,answering thesteady stream of lettersinthe mail.I’d kindahad enough of Anthillbythen- your frst hardtail is rather more of abuzzthanyou’reffieth, butI didn’t seemebeing satatatypewritereither. He waspersistentfor afew weeksand,inthe end, I said,: “Look, Idon’t want to limitmyoptions by workinginanofce.”Hesaidtome: “How do youknowyou won’t be widening your options?” Ididn’thaveananswertothatso, like he didwith so many people,heplucked me from relative obscurityand turned me into somethingentirely diferent –inmycaseI wasjustakid fannying aboutina shed building bikes, andthenI wasa f**kingmagazineeditor!

It’s no bigsecretthatwedidn’talwaysquite see eyetoeye.Tat’s life of course –big personalities sometimesclash abouthow theworld should be, butIalwaysadmired andrespected hisvision andtenacityand chutzpah,and especially the farsightedness he showed in creating BSH. Ifeel very privileged that we shared thosetimes of both life andsusinessduringthe processofhim giving birthtohis baby,and I’ll always be eternally honoured that he trustedmewithitaferwards Andhedid care foritlikeachild –hewas the leastviolent person Iknew, butone daysomeone said somethingderogatoryand Stevejustfat outpunched him, thereand then.I’m notsure whowas more shocked, butashetried to explaintomeaferwards:“It wasjust instinct,Iguess it’s like somebody calling your baby ugly .” It is,ofcourse, absolutely true to saythat

wouldnever have gotasbig,the BulldogBashand Rock nBlues wouldnever have existed, andthe custom bike sceneinthiscountry wouldnever have expanded into thehugetensofthousands it wasatthe time.Terewould also,ofcourse, have been no AWoL,no100%Biker,and no me sathere typing this sadnews. Te ripplesthatSteve created will continue to echo around custom biking foras long as thereiscustombiking. Tat’satremendous legacy to leavebehindand be proudof. It wasIsaac Newton whopopularised thephrase‘Standing on theshoulders of giants’, andthe custom bike scene over thelastforty yearsowesaremarkabledebtto thegiantswho helped create it and, to be fair,none more so than Steven Myatt.

Rest In Peace, oldfriend.

ODGIE

In thewinterof1983/84,atthe shop at Leeds railwaystation,Iboughtacopyofanew motorcycle magazine entitled Back Street Heroes Flicking throughthe pagessoonrevealedthatit wasa Britishversion of theAmericanbiker titles that hadbeenavailable foryears.TeBritish twist wasaswelcome as it wasevident:pints in the Dogand Duck,rallies near Oswaldtwistle, and rigidTriumph T140 choppers.Italsooferedan alternativeview; youwouldn’tfnd road testsof GPz550sinthismagazinebut wordsofwisdom from columnists seriousand jocular, including MazHarrisand Isaiah Fartwell respectively.Te manbehindthe newmagazineand itseditorwas SteveMyatt whoIdidn’tknowbut knew of.His bylineshad regularlybeeninthe likesofCustom Carand Superbikemagazines,LinkHouse’s juggernautsatthe irreverentend of thecustom scene in thelate’70s.

With anametomakeaschoolboy laugh, Isaiah Fartwell wasobviously an imagined pseudonym, butMaz Harris wasrealand amemberof theHells Angels Motorcycle Club.Other real contributors andstafofthe time included Jim Fogg,AlisonLeight, Mike Holland, IanMutch, StuGarland,LouiseLimb, Rich King,Odgie andClink. With hindsight, it seemsthatthe magazine wasexactly theright thingat theright time andI,likethousands of others,readevery word in it.Suddenlyeventsthatappealedto

theTriumph riderthatI waswereonthe radar, theKentShow, theSouth andWestCustomand Classicand,later,the BulldogBashand theBSH team couldbefound at them all. Tat, andsending outnewspaper cuttings to ‘Isaiah’ andgetting a fewletters publishedinthe magazine,led to my gettingtoknowSteve Myatt. Ten, in turn,that ledtomeleaving my frst full-timemagazinejob andgoing to edit BSHfor thebestpartofthree years, starting around issue100 so eightyears into themagazine’sstory.Bythisstage much of Myatt’s time andenergywas focussed on thecompany’s associated magazinesbut fora whileweworked closelytogetherasmagazineand motorcycle club politics occasionally raised theirheads.Irecall oneofMyatt’s inspired responsestorumours that ‘BSH wasgoing outofbusiness’ wastoprepare a freebiecalendarshowing thenextsix forthcoming frontcoversfor thedistributorstohandout to representativesofthe news trade. Of course,Art Editor Gareth Williams andIthenhad to fndsix coverimagesatveryshort notice!

Iamnot goingtopretend that Ifound Myatt easy to work fororthatwealwayssaw eyetoeye so afer awhile,likeothersbeforeme, Imoved on to otherpublicationswithinthe custom bike scenethatdid little to heal anyrifs. Tatsaid, it wouldbechurlishofmenot to acknowledgewith gratitude, thescale of theopportunity Myattgave me when he trustedmewiththe editorship of BSH andthe introductionsthatfacilitated.Tere’re too many to mentionreallybut notleast amongthem were,bythen, Dr MazHarris, illustratorLouise Limb andphotographerGarry Stuart Back Street Heroes subsequently changedhands more than once butthe fact that it stillappears everymonth afer more than four decadesis testamenttothe strength of theoriginalidea. Monthlymagazines chop andchangeand come andgoasfrequentlyas theseasons so to have foundedone that has been both infuential andendured in theway BSHhas,isapowerful legacy foranyoneto leavebehind. Tat’s what I’ll remember SteveMyatt for.

CARROLL

Ididn’talwayssee eyetoeye with Steve, whichis probably somethingmanypeoplewould say! In fact,right at thestart,Itoldhim to ‘goaway’ (not quitesopolitely),and hufedout of my interview with him. He rang to give me thejob thenextday He wascertainly very forgivingoverthe years –Irememberhim saying to me onetimewhen I’dbeenparticularlybadly behaved: “Don’t worry aboutit, I’ve done much worsethingsafera fewsherries.”Looking back on it now, Iexpect sometimeswhenIthought he wasbeing difcult, it wasbecause he waspushing forthe best forBSH Putitthisway,aphenomenonlikeBSH could neverbecreated by abland person!WhatSteve was, though,was agoodemployer, andalthough Ididn’trealise it at thetime, an inspiration, too. We’d allliketoleave alegacywhenwedie,and Stevehas certainlydonethat.

KARENTAIT

Iwas deeply saddened to learnofSteve Myatt’s death. I’dknown forsomemonthsthathewas terminally ill, butthatinnoway lessened theblow of hearinghe’dfnallygone.

Ifrstheard of himwhenIreadanarticle of his in Superbikeabout thechopper he’d builtwith help from Gary Sylvester, amongstothers. Istill have theissue on my bookshelves. Teninthe summer of ’83Inoticed theadverts forBSH, andimmediately placed an orderwithour newsagent. I’ve read BSHeversince issueone.I thinkitwas somewherearoundIssue 6thatIfrst hadaletterpublished,the frst letter Ieverhad publishedany where.

Steve, with Alastair Macfarlane,created somethingthatflled aholeinmylifeand that of many more bikers.BeforeBSH we’d hadtomake do with Easyriders andIronHorse.Tebikes they featured were great, butthe culturewas diferent Oneofthe greatthingsabout BSHwas that it didn’t trytomimic Easyriders andAmericanbiker culture; rather,ithonouredour ownnativebiker culture– theearly featureonRockers in,Ithink, late ’84orearly ’85being acaseinpoint Everyone who’sintocustombikes in this country, or anyother,isbetteroffor thecreation of BSH, butsoare allother bikers,including sports bike andclassic riders,scooterists andthe rest,eventhoughtheymay notknowit. Why? Becausefromday one, BSHrecognisedthatthe riders’rightsmovementwas essentialtothe future survival of motorcycling,and consequently it supportedMAG.Without BSH, ourjob would have been that much harder Rest in peace, SteveMyatt,aBackStreetHero nowfor eternity.

NEIL LIVERSIDGE

Iwas very sadtohearthatSteve Myattwho,with Alistair McFarlane, foundedBackStreetHeroes in 1983,had died.Steve wasa seminalfgure in theworld of motorcycle journalism as thefounder of agenre of magazine that wasnew to theUK. Some mightsay Bike Magazine,under itsfounder Mark Williams,was thefrstbut,thoughitwas a bitradical,BSH wasthe frst trulycustombiketitle that spoketoagenerationinspiredbyEasyRider that’d rolled across cinema screens14years earlier. Steve’dbeeninvolvedincustomcar publishing as ajournalist, butdecided theBritish market wasready fora full-oncustombiketitle to ofer ahometothe growingbandofcustombike builders whoseefortsshocked theconventional motorcycle culture–the Back Street Heroes who,

Isuspect,inspiredthe newmagazine’stitle.Hewas somethingofa Marmitecharacter whosebullish manner andsometimes careless disregardfor protocol upsetsome, even some whomanymight thinkitunwisetoupset.Tobefrank,hecould be aright arsehole,and collectedthe titleof Te Myattola Tisaside,BSH prosperedaferayearorso on afnancialknife edge when themagazine waspreparedonSteve’s dining tableinthe pre-desktoppublishingworld of the’80s. He puta lotpersonallyonthe linetomakesurethe upstartmag survived.Later,expansion into other titles builtthe MyattMcFarlane empire that, eventually,crashed in thelate’90s, probably as a consequenceofthe same optimism that’d ensured theearly success of BSH. Te disaster hada sobering efectonSteve who, Ifelt, became amore mellow,philosophic,and likeable characterin consequence.

Te earlydeath of hisgoodfriendand BSH contributorJim ‘Foggie’ Fogg hurt himdeeply, and ledtousburying thehatchet afer yearsofsilence Ithink thelasttimeIsaw himwas when he called to meet up in aLondoncaféwhere he appeared in alongblack overcoat with bits of velvet trim anda poncyhat –a tall,distinguished fgurewith long silveryhair, everyinchthe oldgun fghter.I shallalwaysbegratefultohim forgivingme an opportunitytoenter theworld of journalism,but I’mprettysurehestill owes me ffyquid.

IANMUTCH

Like many Back Street Heroes readers, Iowe a greatdealofmyteenage learningstothe publisher anddriving forcebehindwhatbecameBritain’s longestliving(andnow only)custombike magazine,for it wasthisverytitle that wasthe overrulinginfuencebehindmyapproachtolife some 40-plusyears ago.

Steven Myatt(he always used hisf ullname, neverSteve)had prev iously writtenabout custom bikes, andt he custom bike lifestyle,in ot hertit les, butitwas thepublishingofBSH that broughtittot he attentionofa teenageme, whosepreviousexperienceofmotorcycles had been,primarily,t he mass inrush of bikesand bikers on to thesma ll island whereIgrewup in theJuneand August of each year.Asa kid, I’ dwanderedt he campsitesoft he Isle of Man gazing in aweatt he number andvariety of bikes from around Europe,and heardloudmusic that gotlittleairingonradio or theTop Of Te Pops beingblasted across thecampsite, butt he draw ingtoget herofrockmusic andmotorcycles wasonlyrea llydrawn to my attentionv ia early BSHcontent,muchofitpennedbyMrMyatt. Indeed,hewentontoaut horvarious bookson both subjects,w it hsomecrossover in thelikes of theModsand Rockerstit les. Te writingthatdrewmein(andthe photography, too, as,muchlikenow,BSH has always hadwriters whocould useacamera, unlike otherbikemagswhose journosdid words, notpictures, andSteve wasnoamateur with an Instamatic)– wasmixed andvaried. He hada fexibility that compounded accuracy,insider knowledge, andapassion forthe subject, both forbikes andmusic,comingacrossnot only in thearticlesassignedtohis ownname, butalsoin thevarious nomdeplumesheused. It always felt down-to-earthand honest –reading BSHput so many of us in acomfortable placetobe, aplace apartfromthe suitsand ties of management and

corporatebusinessof social normality, and amongstfolkofour own ilk. It wasanuncanny ability–long-term readers will remember Isiah Fartwell ’s ‘Rumblings From Bottom of th’Oven’, writtenbySteve,withthe many references to the upland areasofCheshire he loved. Indeed,hecould be said to be amemberof the‘Cheshire set’,which mightinitially seem to be abit outofcharacter or contradictorytohis biker androckmusic fanpersona, butwas really more arefection of hislovefor the county andits history.

Tatlittlelot alonewould have been plenty for me to mournthe passingofBSH’s creatorand instigator,but Iowe himmore. Whilst in between ‘normal’ jobs in thelateNineties, Ispotted an ad in Streetfghtersmag fora staf writer and, rather jokingly,applied forit, having no formal journalistic training or experience.Astoundingly, Igot an interviewwithSteve,and my prior nervousness, both at beinginaninterview situationand from meetingthe manbehind themag that had(andwas stillhaving) such an efectonmylife, disappearedjustassoonashe welcomedmeintoBSH Towers in Altrincham Long storyshort,Igot ajob on BSH, whichmeant that Imet my dear belatedwife(whoalsohad much to thankSteve for),and here Iam, stillinthe industry andstill thinking of thoseearly days of having my eyes opened to thebiker lifestyle.

TankyouSteve,and Godspeed.

DAVE MANNING

Ifrstmet Steven in 1992 at theformerBSH Towers in Hale –I wasthere fora meetingwiththe then editor,John‘Caz’ Caroll,todiscuss some freelance artworkfor themagazine. Hisfrstwords to me were:“Hello, so youcan draw,can you? Right, I need fveenginedetails.” No problem, Ithought “Oh, andapull-out, stick-together modelofa V-Max, fortomorrowafernoon.”What?!

Afer fg ur ingout howI’d even do that,a nd pu ll inga na ll-nig hter,Ia rr ived with it just in ti me (backi nt he good olda na loguedays) and, afew week slater,Iwas designingBSH fu llti me!Typical Steven

Followingthe saddemiseofMMP,wekept in regularcontact and, over theyears,heofen signed me up to work on hisnext‘ bigproject’, whetheritwas designingmagazines,books, websites,t-shirts, even aCBD honeybrand.Tere wasalwaysa newidea!

He mightnot’vebeeneveryone’scup of tea and, if he didn’t like you, you’dcertainly know, but, personally,Iwillmisshim.Hewas always encouragingand supportive of me andmyfamily, andhewas abrilliant writer,extremely witty, and always hadastory forany occasion

More than that,hegaveoppor tunities to so many ta lented people,especia llyt hose of us who, let’ssay,lived on thefringes of mainstream societ y, oferingusacreativeplatformtodowhat we love most RIPStevenMyatt.

GARETH WILLIAMS

As If umblew it hwords andbegin to ty pe this most difcultofbriefs, Iimagine Ican hear Steven Myattgiv ingconstructivecriticism and encouragement, just as he didfor much of my earlycopyfor Back Street Heroes

He’s been afrequentcompanion,inmyhead at least, fort he last 41-and-a-bit years, andI stillmeasure thesuccess of most of my ar twork againsthis exacting standards(andt hose of my A-levelteacher BrianAnderson, if I’mbeing brutally honest!).

Ifrstmet Steven (and once Igot to know him, he always insisted on Steven,and notSteve)ata bikerparty in Darwen,Lancashire, in late 1983 Tere wasanew bikermagazinecalledBackStreet Heroes,and theeditor, SteveMyatt,would be there. Iwas freshout of university,and I’dbeen preventedfromtakingupmyplace training to be an artteacher as Ihad twosmall children (things were diferent in 1982), andthiswas exciting!I went to theparty with an oldschoolchumand, to hereternal credit,she kept naggingmeto go over andtellhim Icould draw but, despite knowingthere mightbeachancetoget my work published, my shynessand lack of confdence proved achallenge.I’d read SuperbikebeforeBSH came out, andrememberedseeinghis bylines andwitty copy,sowas abit in awe. He waswitha friend,too,soitmight be difculttobreak into the conversation,but Icameupwithaplan. Carefully peelingabeermat apart, Ihad somethingtodraw on and, franticallyfshingaround, founda biro Unseen,Ipennedaquick profle portrait on the fuzzycream cardboard, andgot my friend to walk roundand hand it to him. Abrief conversation followed,and Iwas invitedtosendsomefurther samplestoanaddress on theedgeofHale, near Altrincham.Terest, as thetired cliché goes,ishistory

Ashort whilelater Ivisited his1930s semi, andsat at thekitchen tableonwhich BSHwas frst assembled, andlistenedtohis fascination with vernacular architecture andkestrelsashe carefullycleaned hisoriginal’30sfront door of road grime. Te housewas forsale, andoperations were moving soon to alargerpremisesonHeath Road,Hale, whichwould become thefamousBSH Towers.Iguess theneighboursonthisleafy side street opposite therailway stationstill have some juicymemoriesofwhatwentonatthe endofthe road by thejunction.

As afreelanceramong many othernotable names, Ionlyvisited occasionally over theyears

MyattMcFarlane Publishing residenceinHale. It wasalwaysahiveofactivity, rich with thesmells of flmnegatives,Chromalin proofs,spray mount, andmotorcyclewaterproofs drying on radiators, allwithStevenatits centre.Irememberbringing thefrstcentrespreadIwas invitedtopaint,a couple of yearsafermyfrsthesitantpencilfction illustrationshad been well received,ofMorecambe Baywitha couple andachromed Triumph. Steven wasquiet fora fewmoments,and then remarked that theexhaust pipewas impossible.Itwentin though,and others followed.Terewerequite a fewartists on thetitle at this time,and Ilearned much from allofthem, especially Rich King,Stu Garland, andGeofWhittaker.Stevenliked to bringhis contributors to life forthe readers, and Irememberthe birthofmythird daughter,at 5.30pm on September23, 1984,being announced on thecontentspagewith, ‘arrived at openingtime we see’.

Tingsdidn’talwaysgotoplan. Afer JimFogg died suddenly,Iwas to paintatribute piece, with acomplex Celtic intertwinedsurround. Steven likeditbut,Ilater discovered,tried to getaway with photographingithand-held andwhenthe magazine waspublished,Iwas horrifed to see my centrespread ’d come outblurred.Iprotested loudly and, afer some discussion,hehad it reprintedthe followingmonth,thistimeproperly. He couldsometimes come across as arrogant, andhis witoccasionallyjarred, butIsaw very little of that

He wasagreat facilitator, andinstilled confdencewhere therewas little.TeMona Biker, oneofmybetter-knowncentrespreads,was conceivedaferacomment over afew beersinthe nearby Railwaypub,and it ledtomewriting and illustrating awhole tongue-in-cheekBiker History of Artwhich wasanabsolutehoottodo. He loved

result,justashereallyenjoyed my Isaiah rtwell illustrations–I thinkIwas even wedtowrite some,too,togetherwith pin-of Edwina column.ToseBSH wers days were hugely creative ones, rmeany way, andaworld away from egrind of collegeteachingand family. Trough Steven Imet andhavebecome iendsoverthe yearswithsomany wonderful people

We continuedworking together on dofonprojectsfor many yearsafer retiredfrommainstreampublishing, butitisasafriendand mentor that I’ll member himmost. It’s no exaggeration that withouthis support, honest feedback, andcontinuinginspiration afer that frst chance meetingin1983, my life would’ve been very diferent,and probably much less exciting!Solongand thankyou, Steven,for everything;I’llsee youin everykestrel swooping andhoveringat theroadside.

LOUISE LIMB

Iwas frst properly awareofSteve throughthe pagesofCustomCar magazine when he reviewed thenewlyreleased Quadrophenia and, in the same issue, wroteupsomeverycool custom bikesbased on classicBrits It sticks in my memory becausemy innocent seventeen-year-old self was so angrytoreadthisjournalistexplain saMod in oneand abiker in theother that Ipickedupmypen andwrote himascathing letter.I even posted it…and gotareply,byreturn, in whichhepointed outthatinone case,and notthe oneyou mightexpect, theclaim wasin quotationmarks,and attributed to someoneelse. Andhewas right.

IwishI’d kept that letter…IwishI’d photocopiedmyoriginal, butthenphotocopying wasn’t athing yet.

Afew shortyears later, Iwas at my brother’s printshop, recovering afer wrapping aCossack outftround alamppostoutside York,whenone of hiscustomers broughta newprint jobin. Rob wassetting up acustombikeshopinCrewe namedaferhis show-winning Amen Savior framed CB750chopper,and wanted letterhe comp’slips,and business cardsprintingfor newbikemagazine; SouthCheshire’sanswe ArlenNesswas earningafew quid workinga agardenerfor ajourno’ who’dbeencoverin thecustombikeworld forCustomCar’s twowheeledspin-of,SuperBike.So, immobilise andwithnothing better to do,Ilearned how to colour-separateartwork,sothatthe inside of thefont(that Letraset called Quentintha better knowntobikersasthe oneusedon most topand bottom rockers) of thelogo couldbeprinted in burgundy,and theoutsi in black. Te customer wouldgoontobe knownasRob theRoadie; thelogowas thre simple words, Back Street Heroes;and the blokewiththe garden?Steve Myatt. IreturnedtoYorkafew months later, mended,withacopyofamagazinethat Steve’sbossatSuperBike’d assuredhim there’dnever be amarketfor,hot of the press, andthe worldwas neverquite the same again. Youcould saythere wasnothing else like it and, whileheacknowledged

theimpactthatthe frst half-dozen issues of Bike magazine had, andthe London editions of Oz magazine,you’d be right. It also somehow managedtoescapecomparisons with the long-established Easyriders magazine outofthe States,and didsopartlybybeing quintessentially Englishinits character, humour,and content, sprinkledwithahealthy portionofsubversion andirreverence.Terewas no ‘putting down to thecantina forsomesudswithyourbros’,oran over-relianceonhalf-nakedgirls draped across motorcycles–abrave editorialchoiceinthe early 1980s. Sure,there were girlsonthe covers,but as a matter of editorialpolicytheyweretypically from thebikescene,and dressedintheir ownclothes as if on anight out. Stevetooksomefak forthat(and that thereweremoreJap 4s andBrittwins than Harleys),but he waswilling to make unpopular decisionsinsupport of hisvision, andhestuck with it.Indoing so,his creativity backed by hisold schoolfriend Alastair’s business acumen,heput theBritish custom bike scene frontand centre in amagazinethatweall considered to be ‘ours’,and he made it real

Hisvisiondid more than refect thebikescene –itbuilt on thegrowing interest generatedbythe HellsAngels’ Kent Custom Bike Show,among others.And workingwithstrongcharacterslike MazHarris, JimFogg, StuGarland,Mutch,Alison Leight,and Odgie, andahostoffreelancers (many of them Stevewriting in adiferentstyle under apseudonym), it refected aworld that might’ve existedwithout thenationalcoverageprovidedby apropermagazine, butprobablynot in that preInternet age.

Andhedid it over andoveragain as people movedup, or movedon(becauseyou can’tdo allofthatwithout fallingout with some people alongthe way) –strongpersonalities come with theirown visions, butI don’tthink anywould disputethe role that Steve’scharm,creativeability, andstrengthofpersonality played in theirown development. Icertainly won’t,havingservedan apprenticeship that Icouldn’tpreviouslyhave imagined.And whetherconsciously or not(or if he even realised)hewas agreat mentor to me,and to many others:hesimplymanaged to bringout the best in people whosharedhis enthusiasm

ANDY HORNSBY

HAMC LINCOLNSHIRE HOSTED ANOTHER SCORCHER OF ABASH AT THE COACH &HORSES IN BILLINGHAY IN MID-JULY.

This’salovely, old-school rallywitha chilledand friendly atmosphere

There’sa largecamping field with lots of parking spacefor both campers andday visitors;avariety of stalls,including popularartistTraceyDykes exhibiting her magnificent ar tworks (you canfind herat #traceydykesar tist); suppor tstandsselling theusual assortments; ahandy camp shop andseveral clothesstalls; agoodselec tion of food vendors of fering avariety of options at reasonable prices;and,for those seekingtotesttheir skillamidgreat

entertainment, therewas Wild Dakota Jack’s Famous Shooting Gallery(as detailed in theWarlocksarticle afew issues ago)

Theweekend’s musicwas supplied by a brilliantline-up of bands, plus very muchlovedsingerJenny Joy, whoabsolutely ownedthe stageasshe does everytime shesings.Strangeways,Desensitised, The Publics, King Awesome, Broadway Clash, Stormbringer,Exhibit A, TheChase,and Sandraiser were on theline-up,and sterling work wasdonebyThe JukeboxJunkies whoDJthroughoutthe weekend. Anoteof thanks must also go to thepyrotechnic team whoorganisethe magniﬁcent ﬁreworks!

Saturday’s bike show offeredtrophiesin eightcategories, andwas judged onceagain by Vicand LinofDestiny Cycles,who had theirlatestcreation‘TheGatekeeper’ there forall to admire.Alsoonsitewas theartist whosprayed thebike–Heidi Weightmanof PigassoArt.She’s been paint-sprayingand pinstripingsince shewas sixteen, andnow haseighteen yearsofexperienceunder her belt,and herworkcan be foundonsocial mediaatPigasso Airbrushing/Pinstriping. Best TrikewenttoRob Macdonald’sGrey Reaper,powered by an Audi S8 engine; this KazspirV8was builtinPolandand imported just over ayearago,and is one

of only 12 (three of which’re in theUK),and all’re unique.BestEngineering went to Rick Diamond’s Rocket 3– amuch-appreciated Valentine’sgiftfromhis loving wife which turned outtohavesufferedbadly from alife on thecoast,and required twoyears of intensivecareand multiple surgeries, assisted by Carl at Just RocketsinSpalding sourcing theparts required foracomplete rebuild, andpaint by fellow FlatlandsDrifters member Bunj.BestClassic wasAlanJay’s 1936 BSAY13,a1000cc V-twin bought in 2020 as arunning bike with amuchsmaller sidecar–heboughtaVelorex fibreglass tub, andmodified it with fire-door sheeting

andmoreﬁbreglass into this 1930/40s-style boat-shape sidecarmoreinkeepingwith thebike(afterthe presentations, he took admirers foralap of thesiteinthe sidecar) Best Harley wasan1850cctweaked Harley chopperboughtbyKeith Clarkacouple of yearsago,and slowly beingupgraded to suit histastes. Best Chop wasanother, even more recent acquisition–Foxyfrom NCCLincs’green n’ whiteShovelchop, ﬁrst registered in 1981,importedfromthe States in ’95, andboughtbyFoxyjustamonth before theshow! Runner-upBestinShow wasJohnPettitt’s 1200 Shovel chop with itschrome-plated Paughcoframe,4 -speed

Knucklegearbox,suicide clutch,jockeyshift, andpaint by Mark SmithatPaint Supremacy, Lincoln. Last,but certainlynot least, Best in Show wasClive Rees’1960BSA A10 scrambler(whichyou’llbeabletosee in BSH fairly soon as Nik’sphotographedit) that he bought in 1982,chopped,rodeitfor awhile, putawayfor thirty-odd years, andthen rebuiltitintoits presentform–itis, in every way, athoroughlymodernclassic The10 th Bullfrog Bash will be held from 25 -27July, at theCoach &Horsesagain, andtickets’reavailable from BullfrogBash@ HellsAngelsmc.co.uk or seethe Facebook page LAUREN

NEW LAYOUT,SAME GREAT QUALITY FOR THE 20th ANNIVERSARYROCK &BIKE FEST!

Thiswas theirsecondyearatthe Notts&Derby Showground, situated notfar of fJunction 25 of theM1, andthe venue af fordsa newlayoutwithamore condensedmainarena,but Ben andthe team have so much experience to call on that smallerworks really well.

Themusic here is always superb quality, and theﬁrstofsix bandskickedoff at 5pmonthe Thursday.Theystarted at 3.30pm on theFriday (ten bands!), and2.30pmonSaturday(another ten),and this year therewerenew attrac tionsto entertainduringthe pre-band downtime;they’re awareofthe changing eventdemographic,and put alot of work into providingday time entertainment.

TheBlack PigBorderMorrisDancers (named after theshipfromCaptain Pugwash) putonfabulous showsbothFridayand Saturday,performingtheir ownuniquestyle of Morris

Heav yrai ni nthe preced in gwee ks mean tthe Mo ns te rTru ck di sp lays ha dtob ec an ce ll ed,b ut El evatio nWre stli ng step pe di nw ithb othmal e an dfemal ew re stli ng bo ut s, th re eo fw hich we re ti tl ematch es,o ne re su ltin gi nan ew El evatio n Wo me n’sCha mpio n, Le onie Rose.W he th er yo u’re aw re stli ng fa no ra ni ntrigu ed pa ss er-by, th ey pu to nahig hl ye nter ta inin gs howw hich wa sm uc ha pprec ia te dbythe au dien ce s. All th ereg ular features of this even twerethe re, too: ta ttoo co mp etitio n; fa nc yd re ss;v in ta ge bi ke di sp lays;lin e- da nc in gc la ss es;silly ga me s; ab urle sq ue troo p; pl en ty of loos (a nd afew so la r- powe re ds howe rs); an da good se le ctio n of food ve nd or so pe nfro m9am fo rb reak fa st th ro ug htothe ea rl yh ou rs

Thebikeshowwas held in themainarena Saturday af ternoonand,althoughentrantswere slow to trickleinatﬁrst, it wasa real squeeze to getthemall in before thepresentation. Best American went to Richard’sShovelhead(he owned thebikebackinthe ‘90s,soldit, spotteditoneBay andboughtitbackagain twenty yearslater); Best Female wasKerry’s HondaShadow; Best Trike went to VW Bertie’s Badger (built during lockdown by Tedand hismateTed,inthe shed); Best Rat to theBSH-featuredPC800,now ownedbyGez; Best Classic/BritishtoChris Hunt’s WhiteHelmets Tiger750;BestJap to DanEllis’KawasakiGPz H1 hybrid;BestPer formance to BarryRober ts’ CB10 00;BestPaint to Mark Freeman’sBourget Py thon,sportinglovelypaint by former ownerand tattooistColin Smith; Best Chop to WayneClark’s XLH100 0Sportster (heimpor tedthe engine andthenshed-builtthe chop around it). The tworemarkablesteam-punkbikes,Ketonskiand Isambard,built by master fulengineer Paul Keeton, didn’t fall neatly into apreparedcategory, so Ben made oneupfor them and, ﬁnally,BestinShow went to theex-BSHCustomChamps-winning billet Twin CamofSimon Butler,which is just an engineeringmasterpiece (but youknowthat alreadycos you’ve seen it in BSH)

The2025fun-packedRock&BikeFestival will runfrommidday10Julytomidday13July, andtickets areonsalefromthe website www. rockandbikefestival.com

WHILEMANYOFUSCLAIM THERE’SNO SUCH THINGASARIDINGORRALLY SEASON,FOR MOST OF US SEPTEMBER DOES BRINGTOA CLOSETHE BEST OF THECOMFORTABLE RALLIES,OLD BONES NOTENJOYINGTOO MUCH DAMP.

One of themostrelaxed ralliesI know rounds of f thesummer–the Reject Brotherhood’sDrink, Drop &Doss, in deepest Kent

Therally star tedonthe Thursday,and many of therally faithful’d been through weatherofbiblicalproportions (okay, so probably no locustsorfrogs,but hail and ﬂoods) but, luckily, theweather turned and, followingacoupleofgoodnights of partying, Ifound most folk soakingup thesun when Iarrived on Saturday.Held in gloriously sloping farmland,which just adds to thepeacefulnature, thesite’sa bitofa suntrap, andhas agoodchoiceof food vans,and othertraders included the

popular axe-throwing,and theViking stall. Therewas asmall bike show,withseveral trophies,and whileitwas small, it was good to seesomebuildsIhaven’t seen before,including acoupleofpurposeful Bandits, andawell-used modern Bonnevillechop. Therewas also acoolrat, afew groovy trikes,and anice650 Savage. Thetrophiesfor furthest travelledwerein excess of 250 miles, andthere wasa good European turnout, too.

Trying to persuade folk to participate in thesilly games, unusually, took awhile, as folk’d foundsunny spotstorecline in, whilearathergoodband, MilesCookman, wasplayinginthe bar, too, buteventually they did, persuadedinnosmall part by all thekidsasit’sa very family-friendlyevent

Therewas atug-of-war, runbyRenegade MC,which washotly contested, andalso averyodd game with plungers andloo rollsthatI’m notsureanyoneknew, or understood, therules,but whocares? Ican seewhy folk come back regularly to theDDD,asit’scalled: it’s anicesize, so youdon’t feel swamped; it’s in aglorious part of thecountry to explore; it’s relaxed; anda greatpar ty.Ilookforward to returningsoon.

BOSUN

This year’s Drink, Drop &Dosswillbeheld over theweekend of 18-21September, andyou canget more info’fromthe RejectsBrotherhood’sFacebookpage.

ROYGILBY,THE BUILDEROFTHIS ‘EREOLD-SCHOOL BANDIT STREETFIGHTER,IS AGUY WHOKEEPS TURNING OUTNICEBIKES,MORE

THAN A FEW OFWHICH’VE BEEN FEATUREDINMAGAZINESOVERTHE YEARS, UNDER THEMONIKEROF STONDON CHOPPERS WHICH, WHILE IT MAYSOUNDLIKEIT’S APROFESSIONAL OUTFIT, A SHOP, IS REALLY JUST HIM, WORKINGALONEINHIS GARAGE BESIDE HISHOUSE.