The History of Whiskey River Motor Company

For as long as I can remember, I've been obsessed with motorcycles. For the lost time beyond the memory of a two year old, family photos help tell the rest of the story. My Grandpa had been riding Harley's since the 1930's and my Dad and Uncle raced Triumph's and Bultaco's on the dirt tracks and TT's around Southern California in the late 60's. It was only natural for most of my toys growing up to be the two wheeled type with handlebars. On Christmas morning of 1982, the plastic toys were replaced with a bright yellow Yamaha PW50. I was 4 years old that Christmas. Since then, motorcycles have had a tremendous influence on my life, passed down to me by my Dad and Grandpa's love for two wheels. That's three generations and over 100 years of seat time; myself making up the shortest period of 28 years.

A couple years later, my Dad bought a go-fast boat to take the family out to the Colorado River on the weekends. This was something he and his friends did "back in the day" before the wives and kids came along. That boat was my first taste of blurring speed and raw V8 power. Truthfully I was scared to death of that damn thing at 6 years old. It was loud; radiated blistering heat from the headers and backfired flames out the carburetor often. Half the time I wouldn't ride in it, but I was hooked on what it was all about. I can't tell you how many boats I would draw on projects at school, and dream about the ones I wanted when I grew up. Obsession #2 was alive and well. I definitely wore out the pages of a few PAW and Rex Marine catalogs looking at all the shiny parts.

My first trip to the Drag Boat races at Puddingstone Lake in San Dimas was in 1989. That was like a visit to the candy store of horsepower. At that time there were a lot of bright colors on Drag Boats, but I'll never forget the boat that caught my eye when we first walked into the pits. It was the red flamed sponsons over solid black Top Fuel hydro of the late Denver Mullins. Maybe it was their all black rig and trailer with a giant skull and crossbones painted on the side. I was too young to know it at the time, these guys were bikers. I mean... REAL bikers. Denver was a pioneer in the custom bike scene of the 60's and 70's. His shop, Denver's Choppers in San Bernardino, build some of the best choppers EVER. I'm sure I'm not the only one that shares the same opinion.

My interest in speed on the water naturally progressed to speed on the pavement. My Dad bought a small transmission repair shop around the time I was heading into High School. The shop just so happened to be 100 yards up the street from the legendary Dragmaster shop in Carlsbad. The dragsters were gone by then, but there sure was a lot of hot rodding history that came out of those roll up doors. Now that I was pushing 16, it was time to start looking for some wheels of my own. My friends and I were living the California Surfer lifestyle, and thought it would be bitchin' to have classic cars that were big enough for six hoodlums and our boards. The first time I saw this mass of metal outside a surf shop in Oceanside, I decided I had to have one. This thing was BAD ASS! I searched relentlessly until I found one that wouldn't leave me stranded on the freeway, or burn through two quarts of oil a day. It was a 57 Willys Wagon that my friends and I dubbed "The Beast". This thing had more than enough room for the hoodlums, a few girls, some skateboards and all of our surfboards. The Beast got a lot of attention and was really fun to drive, but I soon learned that I couldn't afford the gas that the 2 ton wagon and thirsty small block consumed. Pulling transmissions in the summer at the shop just wasn't bringing in the cash, so I downsized to the rusty shop truck and parked the Willys.

Around the same time, I was fortunate enough to be introduced to a couple guys in the Surfing Industry that showed me a thing or two about the apparel side of the business. Not only were these guys cool, they were also hot rodders. When Steve wasn't in his shaping booth, he was wrenching on his 60 Impala. It meant a lot to this long haired punk kid to be able to watch and learn from these guys. Being hosed down with a fire extinguisher when I walked around a blind corner was a small price to pay for the idea of someday creating my own apparel brand. Fifteen years later, both Steve and Sean played a part in bring Whiskey River Motor Company to life.

In 1997, one year out of High School and into College, I was offered a job by a family friend who was partner in a brand new company; One Industries. The products and apparel that One designed and produced were marketed to the booming Motocross Industry. This was my first taste of lifestyle apparel designed for guys like me, and at eighteen I loved every minute of it. I was able to see the design process all the way through production, marketing, packaging and sales. I was also able to help with the apparel designs since the products were targeted at my age demographic. Now I was pretty much hooked on this stuff.

When I was 20, my Dad and I took my Grandpas Harley's out for a ride through the Cuyamaca Mountains and out to Julian (of Julian apple pie fame). This was my first time on a Harley and not on dirt. My Dad took the lead and was hauling the mail. I trailed him about a half mile back feeling like a monkey on a football. Half way out to the hills, riding that bike felt like second nature. There's nothing like the feeling you get riding through wide open country roads on a v-twin. It truly is a peaceful sense of freedom. Welcome obsession #3 to my life.

A good indicator that there was no turning back from grasps of this vice were the designs I would draw on my lecture notes during class when the subject wasn't too interesting. I was constantly thinking about ways I could apply my knowledge of apparel design to the Harley Davidson, Customs and Hot Rod industries. However, I was set on making a boat load of cash when I got out of school. I back burnered my vision of designing my own apparel brand in hopes of finding the so called "American Dream" somewhere in the Corporate world.

After graduating college in 2002 with a degree in Communication and a few years in the "real world" under my belt, I realized that I wouldn't be completely content if I didn't stay true to my goal of calling my own shots. This was a goal that I had set long ago in my High School years when I first got a taste of the apparel business. Eleven short years later, Whiskey River Motor Company was born, and we're just getting started. I'm sure there quite are a few people out there with similar stories and backgrounds who share the same passion for tradition and take pride in American made products. These people are the reason for creating Whiskey River Motor Company, and in a time when it's needed more than ever.