by Chris Force | Jan 12, 2021 | Travel
In between the southern stretch of the Great Plains and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains lies Vermejo Park Ranch—558,000 acres of wilderness now owned and cared for by 82-year-old media mogul Ted Turner, the third biggest private landowner in the US (John Malone,...
by Chris Force | Jan 8, 2021 | Design
“I’m always in a three-piece suit,” Niels van Roij says. “They’re tailor-made with fabric from cars I’ve worked on.” The 36-year-old designer’s studio specializes in coachbuilding, a throwback to the days when cars were sold as a rolling chassis and the body was...
by Chris Force | Jan 6, 2021 | Design
“I have a very creative mind. I don’t sleep much,” says Dave Kindig of Kindig-It Design, a premium custom car shop and the subject of the reality TV series Bitchin’ Rides, now in its seventh season. Dave built a special ’58 Lincoln Continental named Maybellene. “It’s...
by Chris Force | Dec 28, 2020 | Design
Eny Lee Parker grew up in São Paulo and moved to LA when she was 13 years old. There she was reunited with her Korean mother who didn’t speak Portuguese, but with the help of friends she learned Korean and then English. “I had a typical immigrant experience in LA. I...
by Chris Force | Dec 25, 2020 | Design
Dominic “The Shoe Surgeon” Ciambrone is a high-end shoe customizer. If you’ve not heard of that profession before, it’s likely because Dom largely created the genre, taking name brand gym shoes and skillfully customizing them. His work can easily cost into the six...
by Chris Force | Dec 22, 2020 | Design
“It’s complicated,” says Paul Wraith, the chief designer behind Ford Bronco. This is not the answer I was looking for. I had asked, in a long, meandering, chat-cast kind of way, essentially this: “So, how did you create the all new Ford Bronco?” Dumb, I know....
by Chris Force | Dec 18, 2020 | Products
“Harley-Davidson wasn’t founded as a motorcycle company. It is a motor company. The name is Harley-Davidson Motor Company,” says Aaron Frank, brand director for the new Serial 1, an electric bicycle company powered by Harley-Davidson. “The oldest artifact in the...
by Chris Force | Dec 17, 2020 | News
It’s raining outside. Gray. My dog, Koda, in from a short walk, is thoroughly drying his body all over my couch, writhing around as if his long fur is on fire (if you ever visit you’ll understand why my living room has the curious smell of D.S. & Durga candle and...
by Chris Force | Dec 17, 2020 | Studio Tours
The first thing you notice in Nicole McLaughlin’s Brooklyn studio is a giant rock climbing wall setup. “Yes, I have a fully functioning rock climbing wall, which seems a little bit extra,” she admits. “But if I need a break it’s nice to work out and do a couple of...
by Chris Force | Dec 14, 2020 | Products
The GR III Street Edition is the small camera you didn’t think you needed. I mean, you just dropped more than $1,000 on your new iPhone 12 Pro, and that’s got a 12MP f/2.2. camera smushed right into it—why bother with another pocket size camera, right? At least that’s...
by Chris Force | Oct 28, 2020 | Design
Pre-COVID, we had ridden close to 2,000 rugged miles through Vietnam, from dense cities, choked on crazed scooter riders, to pastoral rice fields sprinkled with farm animals. Our group—which included custom motorcycle builder Dave Mucci—spent two weeks hurling a fleet...
by Chris Force | Aug 27, 2020 | Products
Two years ago when American motorcycle giant Harley-Davidson announced it would be creating electric bicycles, riders across the country collectively scratched their heads. “Bicycles? From Harley?” But the idea made sense as part of a (now-shelved) plan called “More...