The beauty in the build. (@toby_dodds)
Ever think of building a custom chopper? Well my good friend Toby Dodds has that shit on lock. Ever since he was a young lad, he and his dad have been tinkering, building and riding bikes together. Toby loved it, surrounded by bikes, getting dirty, watching his dad race side car’s and pushing his limits was just a part of every day life where he grew up. There’s a lot that can be learned by spending quality time with our elders. In this article I’m going to review the most important lessons that Toby learned from his dad and the most important lessons he wants to teach his kids.
Imagine being just old enough to legally ride and being able to afford getting your own chopper. Now imagine you could build it into whatever you want with the help of your old man. Toby told me the hardest decision he had to make in all of this was to actually take the grinder to his already ride-able Harley Davidson. But hey, when you see a plethora of cool customs in the magazines you memorize as a kid and have already been surrounded by bikes our whole life then why not, right?
Once the build of his bike was underway, Toby had an endless amount of spunky ideas. I guess you could say that it was hard to control the direction of the build. That pretty much sums up the state of his first bike and the build that his dad helped him out on. Although it turned out immaculate and he learned the correct ways to chop a bike without losing the integrity of the frame, it wouldn’t have been an easy task for him or his dad. You see Toby was young and wanted this flash bike and his dad being of wiser and more experienced taste knew just how much pizzazz to put into it.
I guess you could say the biggest lesson that Toby learned from his dad, not only on the bike build but in life as well, was that if its something you truly want to be right then its best not to rush it. Pay attention to every little detail. Make sure every step gets done correctly so that your not leaving things half finished before you get to the next step. Another lesson Toby’s dad showed him was that his marriage with his wife worked. They were high school sweet hearts and stayed together through the good and the bad. This helped shape him into the man and father he is today. The last important lesson that Toby learned from his dad was this, you need to pay your way and earn your keep. There is no accepting something from nothing, you work hard and appreciate your possessions or you’ll lose it.
So now that my friend is grown and has a family of his own he gets to pass these obviously important life lessons to his children. There is a couple things though that he wishes he learned growing up that I myself find is important for today’s youth, what with social media and information readily available at your beckon call. Think for yourself and don’t follow the herd. Everything in today’s society is worth questioning, so don’t take it all for truth. Find your own answers and put the work into knowing as much as possible.
Whenever we work on ourselves, whether it be a legacies, business projects or whatever, we should treat it like our own custom chopper and ensure there are no corners cut. What’s the use of getting to the top if you missed half the floors on the way up! Some story that will be…
You can catch Toby on his instagram account @toby_dodds
