Life has a cunning way of revealing your destiny through unfortunate events. Can you have a great day having never experienced a horrible one? Appreciation in life comes only after experiencing hardship and struggle. Everyone at some point in life experiences a “what if” moment following a mishap. At age 12 Rick Thorne was hit by a car while riding his bike down the street permanently removing his front teeth. “What if” Rick hadn’t been riding his bike, “what if” Rick had left his house a little earlier, or a little later, “what if” Rick never got back on a bike? Fortunately that’s not Rick’s style, his never give up approach to life is what has made him Famous. “Growing up with a lot of problems, like anger, doubt, fear & negative thoughts I needed something, my parents got divorced when I was around 6 or 7, I really don’t remember, but I do remember wanting my dad back. 
That never happened & my family values went out the door with him. Times were tough straight up, I was born & raised in Kansas City, Missouri in a lower middle class family trying to survive the only way we knew how, I remember shoveling snow on days off of school to help buy food, my mother always worked, she worked hard in a factory, I respect her, she never gave up & I learned from her to be a hard worker & sweat it out”.
On November 22nd 1963 JFK was shot while riding in a 1961 Lincoln Continental four-door convertible limousine custom built by Hess & Eisenhardt. This tragic event has given these large box styled cars a dark menacing attraction. When I asked Thorne why he had chosen the Lincoln he said,
“I hate that JFK was shot in it, but I guess it was the Matrix and the Marlyn Manson video, it’s a hustler car you know like a classy gangsta car, it’s always been my dream, it just feels dope. My favorite thing about this car is that I can go 90 on the freeway and it’s smoother than my 2005 Dodge SRT, I wouldn’t change anything about the car, black on black with logos is what I always wanted”.
The ’64 remains pretty much stock with a few subtle custom touches that make this ride stand out from the rest. A full custom sound system inside is thanks to Kicker while the 20” rubber from Toyo Tires keeps the wire wheels rollin. When asked about the wheels Thorne said, “I don’t think classic cars look right with modern rims, I think it would look like I tried too hard to make it cool, it’s the crusin vibe ya know?” The Chop Shop would like to thank Rick Thorne for showing us the results of never giving up.
More "NEWS": B on tha lookout 4 tha new Tattoo Magazine called, "Sleeved", they focus on gettin' under tha skin on tha story behind peoples tattoo's. They followed me 4 a day last week & I will B featured N tha next issue. Check'em out @ www.sleevedmagazine.com. Much luv,
Thorne
Biker-N-Black
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.