Issue 043

There are lies we tell ourselves to feel better when comparing our own efforts to those performing with greater aptitude. We like to believe these individuals are simply more inspired, have better ideas, or just have more time than we do. Perhaps this makes it easier for us to bow out rather than rationalizing that there might be a law of averages at play — that by constantly being in the work, we stand a greater chance of accomplishing greatness.

In The War of Art, Steven Pressfield writes, “The professional dedicates himself to mastering technique not because he believes technique is a substitution for inspiration but because he wants to be in possession of the full arsenal of skills when inspiration does come.” It’s a string of words that can feel like salt in the wound to anyone who has been stuck in a loop looking for inspiration when, in reality, we simply need to get to work. As you meet the people in this issue, Pressfield’s words will never ring more true.

We open with Max Hazan, who — despite a global pandemic, his city shutting down, the birth of a child, and changing homes — turned out his best work yet: a twin-engine Velocette, self-proclaimed as “one of the hardest to complete.” We share the recent labors of love from German builders Kingston Customs and Krautmotors, and later visit Mitsuhiro “Kiyo” Kiyonaga, who brought his childhood dream to life in the form of the triple-engine Galaxy, a rolling testimony of Kiyo’s skills, growth, and willingness to “suffer” for his dreams.

We meet Matias Corea, who turned a personal tragedy into a journey of 20,000 miles, and in turn, found his life’s next endeavor. Then we join up with Kris Regentin, whose attempts to conquer the Baja 1000 only serve to push him harder toward the finish line. And we pay tribute to Hubert Auriol, a legend born from one of the most dangerous races on earth: The Paris-Dakar Rally.

We introduce you to the artists behind Make.Haste.Corp, who are building a virtual dream garage as an excuse to push their personal skills to the limits, and we sit down with cover artist Bénédicte Waryn, a French illustrator who describes her drive to create as “essential, like breathing.” We meet Grind Hard Plumbing Co., whose drift dreams took a hard left … so they decided to create their own lane — one that just happens to be the width of a CRF230-powered Barbie car.

We exist on a finite timeline laden with infinite excuses. There will never be a shortage of reasons for what we didn’t accomplish with our allotted time here, so when inspiration does arrive at your door, make sure she catches you at work.

Welcome to Issue 043.