BREAKING

Art Of Our CultureIn The Magazine

Cowboys & Indian Larry

clip_image002Cowboys & Indian Larry

September 2004

We Met Indian Larry just this past May in Myrtle Beach, SC at the Broken Spoke for the Spring Bike Rally. He was in the Easy Rider’s Bike Build Off and I was just an innocent vendor who happened to be set up next to the building that he made his appearances in.

I definitely knew who Indian Larry was. I was interested to meet him but I have never been one who was overwhelmed with celebrity. It has been my experience that most of them are a lot like getting your best friend to sleep with you and your boyfriend…. The anticipation is better than the payoff.

Indian Larry did not introduce himself to me when he came over. He made a bee line straight to one of my models and proceeded to steal her away from my platform at every opportunity he could fabricate. I started to think that being located next to Indian Larry was not such a good thing for a photographer who had beautiful women available for photo opps.

Larry continued to make our working environment less than ideal for 2 days until finally he approached me at the end of the day on Saturday and offered to bring his Rat Fink bike to my platform early the next morning so that I could do a photo shoot with the bike and his now favorite distraction, Maranda. I, being sufficiently annoyed with him by this point, told him that we needed to tear down and begin our long ride home to Milwaukee but that I would try to come early and if he was there we could do some shots.

A late night turned into a late Sunday morning start and by the time I arrived at my platform near noon, Larry’s Rat Fink bike was indeed sitting next to my platform and Larry was joyfully learning to ride in the Wall of Death Thrill Arena that was set up next to me. I was impressed with his effort to keep his word but more overwhelmed by the work ahead of us to pack up and vacate our home at the Broken Spoke that we had occupied for the previous 10 days. I ran and got a spare tire to replace the one we had blown on the trip down and by the time I returned Larry had emerged from his training session with Jay Lightning in the Wall of Death.

Citing my half-packed equipment and the crew’s need to eat lunch I politely declined the opportunity to shoot Maranda and the Rat Fink. Larry cited his need to eat as well and we all agreed that we would go to lunch together.

I was amazed at how many people recognized Larry as we sat on a deck overlooking the ocean and had lunch. Waiters, waitresses, old and young, smart-dressed and biker-clad all offered words of praise and respect to the heavily tattooed man sitting across the table from me. He was polite and affectionate to everyone no matter how many times they interrupted his meal. He gladly proffered autographs and handshakes and thanked them for their support and admiration. He talked softly of travel, business, his new bike and the new breed of builders. He listened intently to our stories of photography and business back home, of my recent decision to leave the security of my full time job working for someone else and go for my dreams full time. He told me of his long road to the place where he was now and I was surprised to find out he had done the exact same thing that I was doing just 3 years earlier. He talked of the people that worked for him and how much they meant to him. He told me of Elisa, his manager, and how she pulled a seemingly impossible schedule together for him and how he still struggled with money because as he grew as an entity, he had to support the infrastructure of a business on the grow.

Then he gave me some advice. Larry told me that I couldn’t afford to worry about “making it”. Larry said, “Do what you do with passion and the rest will follow.”

We looked at the ocean and it was then that I made the comment that I had been in Myrtle Beach for 10 days and hadn’t even so much as stuck my toe in the ocean. “Never?” Larry asked.

“Never.” I replied.

With that, Larry rose, kicked off his signature wrestling shoes and sweat pants and standing in the restaurant clad in an Indian Larry tee shirt and Tiki boxer shorts Larry offered to take a swim with clip_image004me. My first in ocean water.

I was starting to think this guy was all right.

Larry taught me to body surf that day and I did a 180 on my first impression of him. I took a rain check on shooting the Rat Fink and all of his other bikes. We talked about doing a calendar for his marketing line and he invited us to his BBQ in July at Gasoline Alley.

J.P., Maranda, Larry and I met up at a few other events this past summer. I just spent 4 days with him in Milwaukee at the Milwaukee Rally and visited him in Sturgis. Maranda was inspired to start building a bike of her own and J.P. started designing a custom booth for him to sell his wares from. Larry talked excitedly of his book deal to have his biography written and I continue to ignore the past due letters because I am doing something that I have a passion for.

Then, on August 28th, while out with a friend from S&S, he received a call from Kendall Johnson. Larry had fallen and it was bad.

I got the call on Monday morning from Julia at Gasoline Alley that Larry had died.

I cried for him.

I cried for his wife.

I cried because I felt that we had lost a friend that we had known for far too shortly.

I thought of the people who shook his hand and told him to “keep up the good work” and so I cried for all of the good work that was left undone.

I thought of the half-finished tattoo that he had just shown me on his back. The Grease Monkey with 4 digits on one hand and 5 on the other (just like Larry) and I cried for the strange analogy it made. A man no longer young but coming into his prime. He was not finished yet with all he planned to do and he died far too early.

I cried for Maranda who lamented the Larry would never get to see the bike she was building that he inspired in her.

I thought of Billy and Kendall and Ron and so many others who lost their friend.

I thought of Julia, Elisa and Bob and all of the others who worked with Larry.

I thought about my man and myself and all of you who ride every day and I thought about how precious life is…. And I wished it wasn’t Larry who had to remind us of that.

He touched us all and we will all miss him. I didn’t know him best, but I liked him and I’m glad he was doing what he loved most when he left us. It is what he told me to do and I won’t forget it.

That is my view from behind the lens.

Colleen

Related Posts

1 of 66