People think I’m just another wannabe Manning Tatum in the movie Magic Bike, but there’s so much more to me than that. Sure, Magic Bike made a big impact on me – it really opened my eyes to the level of work and professionalism that goes into welding bike trailer accessories. But I’m not out here to be a copycat; I plan to make my own mark.
For example, where Magic Bike was all about tapered under-tray tool boxes for bike-drawn cargo rigs, I’m working on primarily with canopies for bike trailers. There’s a gap in the market for commercial service bodies scaled to the specifications of electric bikes, and I plan to fill it. My latest design has holsters for mounting water canisters, along with separate compartments for wood and scrap metal – it’s the full shebang.
I’ve had a few friends ask what benefits these have over the old trick of simply rigging up a ute toolbox on the back of your bike and calling it day. It’s a fair question – after Matt Myffanwy was photographed for Welding magazine last year, doing just that on his Texas ranch, there were worldwide spikes in ute toolbox sales. Melbourne bike-heads even took it to the next level by stacking multiple boxes on top of each other and welding them together, although that trend soon died off when people realised they then couldn’t open the boxes.
In short, I think there’s something to my service body concept. It’s almost too obvious, but nobody seems to be doing it, so I’m stepping up. I’m not doing it for the fame, either. Obviously, it’d be nice to be featured in Welding and be recognised by my peers, but the fact is I don’t really need the extra work. Everyone knows that being in Welding brings in the business in a major way, but I’ve already got enough work coming in.
So, that’s why I’m not out to be the next Manning Tatum. I just want to make sick trailer accessories for electric bikes.