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I’m just riding around [with a head band on] I got a KTM later on and someone I know told me about racing hare scrambles, describing it to me as “two hours of rocks, roots, ruts, and torture.” Racing hare scrambles turned out to be a classic New England beat down: you’re tired, you want to throw up and drink everything in the cooler, including the cooler water and the labels that fell off the Jack Daniels. We all began racing hare scrambles and called ourselves the “Bellingham Dirt Ball Dirt Bikers.” We were all Massholes, tried and true and FAHQ Racing evolved out of that. Being an artist I made whacky t-shirts so I started making some for FAHQ. I got my foot in the door to helmet painting because I had a sign shop in Millis called Black Rainbow. I did everything: silk screening, airbrush, stickers, t-shirts, truck lettering signs and pinstriping. If I could throw paint on it and it would stick, that’s what I was
doing for money. It must have been pretty cool to see two of your passions converge with motor-
cycles and art. For sure. It was a good catalyst, everything I did was a base platform for branding. Even though now we all know what brand exposure is, back then we were just doing what we do. A lot of things that I did (and still today) at the time were based on that shock value, getting a rise out of people. Nothing makes me happier than making someone’s left eyebrow go up really high: “You did that? You said that? You drew that? That
happened?” I still feed off of that. One of FAHQ’s members, Tommy Norton, actually won the Black- water 100 on a KTM125 which was practically the Mt. Everest of hare scrambles. Can you tell
us about that accomplishment?
I went down to Blackwater to support Tommy one time but I wasn’t there the year that he won. The year I did go with Tommy, his wife Cheri and my roommate Timmy we all got in a big motorhome and drove all the way down to Davis, West Virginia. So, I experienced the Blackwater from a fan perspective and I know that it’s all about suffering. Some people would go there just to make one lap! The Blackwater 100 was four twenty-five mile laps. The year he won it he called me up to report in and I said “Hey, how did you do in the race?” Tommy says; “I won it!” I go “Yeah, yeah...whatever. No, seriously, how did you do in your class?” He explains he won the overall. I just went into mental neutral. Tommy barks; “Dude, I pulled a number one. I was on the first line with Larry
48 THE PULSE • FEBRUARY 2018