"The forbidden-ness of the place..."

...is what made it "so compelling", Greg Noll once said of his decision to surf Waimea Bay, which, in November of '57 he conquered.

Surfing there was considered a no-no of sorts, stemming from the death of Dickie Cross there in 1943, as well as the sacred ruins in Waimea Canyon, and a house that the locals presumed haunted... All signs of surfing the almost unexplored (at the time) North Shore seemed to have a big red slash through them. But on that fifth day of November, a drive was so great in the mind of one man, that he cast all superstition and fear aside, and rode some waves. He was quickly joined by Harry Church, Bing Copeland, Pat Curren, Mickey Munoz, and Mike Strange... six guys who spent three years trying to draw enough courage to surf there... And once they did, they became legends.

What's any of this have to do with building or designing hot rods?

Plenty.

I get inspiration from a wide range of sources, and always seek to implement the ideas I get from those sources into a design, or piece of art. Mr. Noll is one of the people on my list of great inspirations, as he was a true pioneer in his craft, whether riding waves, or creating the boards to do so. While I could go on for days about his contributions to the surf industry, I'd rather concentrate on those few opening words from this entry...

"The forbidden-ness of the place is what made it so compelling."

Has there ever been a better way to describe the feeling of taking a torch to a car with the intent of creating something unique?! I imagine the late Sam Barris, contemplating the first cuts on his Merc, or his Buick, for that matter... It was a visionary, bold move to drop the lid on either car, and yet, his decisions to do so spawned legend... and countless chopped tops to follow. Decades later, some in the hobby/industry still embrace this pioneering spirit with the battle cry of "dare to be different!", pushing the creative envelope just a bit further each time. It takes a big ol' pair of stones to carve into something different, something not considered mainstream, and really have at it. Of course, it also takes "doing it well" to be successful.

I recently penned a design for Popular Hot Rodding that embodies this approach, taking a relatively forgotten and over-looked car, and just "having at it", bringing in influences from all over the place...


...and it was cathartic, man. "You don't do one of THOSE..." I was told... Which only fueled the fire, as such challenges often will in those with a creative bent. I finished the roughs for the car, and began to think of even more rides off of the beaten path. I'm not saying that drawing this car even compared to riding Wiamea for the first time, but the excitement of taking a direction with it (that I've sat on for years) that is fresh sure packed, metaphorically, anyway, the anticipation of paddling out.

I guess that it all just comes down to finding inspiration in unique places, and then summoning the courage to apply it properly. Not to mention boldly crashing though some previosuly closed doors along the way...

More, as always on my site!