Aside from watching Orange County Chopper as a kid, my first introduction to biker culture was when my mom got with my stepdad, Chicken (AKA The Chickenman, AKA The White Winged Warrior, etc.) when I was 16. When I met Chicken my world was shaken up and rattled loose in the best way! I had never met anyone so cool in my life. You see, Chicken is an awarded builder. Having wrenched on choppers and hot rods his entire life, he embodies what it means to be a true old-school biker. He's traveled the country on his 1986 Heritage Softail, lovingly referred to as "Cincinnati Red," with nothing on him but his beard and a duffle bag, in search for any hole-in-the-wall dive bar rural America has to offer. I knew immediately that I wanted to be like him when I grew up, and experience the freedom that he had. I never anticipated that I would ever be brave enough to see it actualized, though, that is until I started thestudio.
The first time I went to the Buckeye Bounty Farm (Chicken's Home) it was as though the world ceased existing outside the walls of the cornfields that surrounded me. Stepping into the garage, I was transported to 1976. The walls around me were plastered with Budweiser and Harley Davidson posters from decades past, trophies adorned shelves, and other miscellaneous tchotchkes sat on any and all available surfaces. Dayton Bike Week and Sturgis flags hung from the rafters in the old garage, swaying in the soft summer breeze, while I sat at an old oak table sipping a White Claw. The mellifluous notes of Jimi Hendrix played over the radio (seemingly a private concert for us) and drifted through the night air and into the sky outside which had been illuminated by the expansive Milky Way galaxy. The sounds of the radio were accompanied by the ripping outcry of Harley's thrashing through the countryside and the crack of another frosty beer. Knuckleheads, Panheads, Shovelheads galore; I felt bewitched. Then I saw it, the 1936 International Panel Truck. The truck was remarkable, but the artwork on it is what caught my eye; it was covered in Von Dutch pinstripe work, cloaked in an airbrushed David Mann mural and an Indian Larry tribute painting. I had so many questions. Chicken told me all about Von Dutch and then Ed Roth, and I took it from there. I bought my first pinstriping kit in 2021 and haven’t looked back.
My introduction to chopper culture over a decade ago has changed me forever. Along the way, I found myself and renounced my inhibitions. I stopped letting my fears rule me and I challenged myself to face the things that frightened me the most. I decided to be brave. I started riding, showing the world my art, and being authentic to who I am; not who the world wants me to be. I refuse to be kept in a box for the comfort of others; I did that for 26 years. I owe everything to chopper culture; this community has built me into who I am, empowered me to laugh in the face of those who doubt me, led me to some pretty tremendous people, and has given me the gift of liberation. My dream for Angel Claw Studio is to leave a lasting mark on the chopper community and empower others to live their truth. While Angel Claw Studio was born in 2023, it has grown to be so much more than just pinstriping; it has allowed me to step into the person I am today.
Well, that's a little tidbit on who I am and what Angel Claw Studio is. Thank you for being here and reading this. It would mean the world if you followed me on this journey and reached out. I would love to connect with you and maybe even paint you a commissioned piece!
Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope you follow along to see the chop process through! I am so excited to learn the ins and outs of this bike and chop many more in the future.
Hugs and tickles!
Angel Claw
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