CHARITY RIDES
by Anicka Quin
Vancouver Chopper’s Troy Teather finds a new formula for mixing business and charity.
Troy Teather isn’t okay with my tape recorder. “It’s a biker thing,” he says. “I guess I got it from my dad.” I acquiesce, because we’re not here for an exposé. It’s Teather’s heart, not his history, that’s up for discussion.
That’s because Vancouver Custom Chopper Motorcycles, West Coast distributor of Nasty Boy Motorcycles, has developed a unique and generous way of supporting local charities while getting their bikes into the hands of fans. Five Nasty Boy Motorcycles have been earmarked for charity fundraisers this year, the first of which is in support of AIDS Vancouver. How that relationship came together is a unique story in and of itself.
John Pigeon, a former freelance reporter was involved with Journalists for Human Rights (JHR). Pigeon had written about Vancouver Chopper for 24 Hours, so he called up Teather to see if he’d support him in his involvement in a JHR event: participants would honour the 25 million victims of HIV/AIDS through 25 hours of silence. “Troy called me and said, ‘How would you like me to build a bike for AIDS Vancouver?’” says Pigeon.
Teather’s happy the relationship between the two organizations prospered. “I’m thrilled that we’re working with AIDS Vancouver because we want to get rid of the AIDS virus and we want to help support the people that are currently living with HIV/AIDS,” he says. “AIDS Vancouver is putting their time and effort into something that is good for the whole world—these people are doing their part in a very large battle.”
For their part, AIDS Vancouver is happy with the relationship. “The first thing is, we’re building a community partnership and that is great because we are all about community partnerships,” agrees William Booth, director of AIDS Vancouver. “The second thing is we get to reach a new demographic that we currently aren’t reaching. It’s not just about the money—this way we also get to spread the word.”
Vancouver Chopper opened its doors in 2003, though Teather is a longtime rider. In fact, his links within the motorcycle community are his greatest assets when it comes to assisting charities with their fundraising drives. Teather guarantees the charity a minimum of $10,000 in revenues raised, a feat he can confidently state because his community is supportive in getting fundraising tickets out there to purchasers. (In fact, he’s convinced that the revenues will be closer to $250,000 per charity.)
This isn’t the company’s first venture into charity fundraisers: last year, they donated three bikes to the Firefighter’s Burn Fund, an organization that Teather continues to donate to personally.
Nasty Boys Motorcycles is one of the only lines of bikes built right in Canada. They’re also the only Canadian-built chopper motorcycles on the road recognized by the Department of Transportation and registered with the Insurance Bureau of Canada.
“He’s introduced a new model for business by partnering with not-for-profits,” notes Pigeon. “This may well be the future of fundraising.”
The bikes that Teather is donating are valued at $95,000 each. Customers can purchase custom choppers for anywhere from $55,000 to $150,000, depending on what they’re looking for.
First impressions of Teather are that of a tough and well-travelled biker—he’s a big guy, with a five-o’clock shadow, sunglasses and flames on his cowboy hat. But he’s got a laugh that echoes through his tidy and impressive showroom—you’ll find the largest bike tire on the planet here, at 360mm—and he’s a committed family man, reserving each Sunday to cook dinner for his extended family.
“Charity starts at home,” says Teather, whose grandparents were heavily involved in supporting the Salvation Army. And though the charity drives are also a business decision—he’s able to get the Nasty Boys’ name out there, and he receives cost for the bikes after the charities gather at least $10,000—it’s obvious that his intention is to do good work in the community.
http://www.powersporttrade.com/issues/ja07/charity.html
