Builders are some of the most fascinating characters in motorcycling today, with fame and influence that reaches every corner of the sport. But what makes them tick? Are they just fellow riders with more skill and ambition than the rest of us? Meet Eric Gorges, founder of Detroit’s Voodoo Choppers and host of the American Public Television series, “A Craftsman’s Legacy.” Besides creating bespoke motorcycles, Gorges has made a career out of studying people who work with their hands. In this candid conversation, he reveals that the drive to make things is an obsession all its own, even if it happens to mirror everything we love about riding motorcycles.

Episode 18 – Built Not Bought, A Conversation With Eric Gorges

A podcast about motorcycle culture, who we are, and why we ride.

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This Motorcycle Life is taking an indefinite hiatus from producing new episodes. A message of thanks from host and producer Bruce Philp.

A Message From Bruce

Would you ride with me? Should I ride with you? What does it take to be a great riding companion, or even know one when we meet one? Meet Bubba Eisenhauer, a former US Army Ranger officer who knows a thing or two about rolling with people you can trust. On the road as in combat, skill and reliability turn out to be mere table stakes. An inspiring conversation that reveals what being a great riding buddy really means, and the rewards that can only come from sharing what Bubba calls “one of the most beautiful things in the world.”

Episode 54 - The Nicest People

Do women experience motorcycling in their own way? Meet lori lozinski, a Canadian filmmaker and feminist whose own motorcycle life answers that question with a passionate ‘yes’. Using her personal journey as a template, lori has explored on film the particular magic that brings women and motorcycles together, and the special freedom that comes with that union. Two films into a trilogy on this theme, she’s just getting started. A provocative conversation about her work, motorcycling’s joyful sisterhoods, and how the reason women choose this life shines a light on one thing no rider should ever take for granted. (Warning: This interview includes discussion of suicidal feelings)

Episode 53 - The Purple Motorcycle

Who on earth would ride a motorcycle in a city like New York? Meet Brian Lau, a gifted young photographer who set out to document Gotham’s vibrant motorcycle scene in search of an answer. Despite not being a rider himself, he found a welcoming community among that city’s ‘rowdy’ motorcyclists and, through his lens, a fierce sense of family that’s deeply familiar to everyone who rides. But Lau’s gritty heroes also reveal the passion, humour and defiance it takes to do what we love in a sometimes hostile world… and eloquently proves how resilient the spirit of motorcycling really is.

Episode 52 - Coyotes

Every new rider is somebody’s kid, but what if that new rider is your kid? There’s no more emotionally complicated moment in a motorcyclist’s life than the day their offspring gets a motorbike of their own. Meet Wes Stephenson, who has been both that excited kid and that terrified parent in the course of his long motorcycle life. If you ask him, the recipe for being a great motorcycle mentor is much the same as the recipe for being a great parent: share your joy along with your wisdom, collect stories together… and know when it’s time to let go.

Episode 18 – Built Not Bought, A Conversation With Eric Gorges

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