I realized how amazing and inspirational Larry's story was (and worthy of a biography published by a major publisher) when I interviewed him in his bedroom for an article on the Machine/Art movement to appear in an art magazine.

At one point, he blurted out "Did you know they used to call me the angriest biker who ever lived?"

"Why did you bring that up?" I asked.

He laughed some more.

"I saw you looking at the poster" and pointed to the poster hanging above his bed.

I had glanced at the poster but hadn't really looked at it. Now I did. The poster was the stereotypical biker/chick photo. Five hairy young guys with tattoos, leather and chaps, a gleaming custom chopper and a scantily clad babe draped across the bike. The guy, dead center, arm around the girl with short slicked back Brando hair, glaring and sneering and balling a fist was a mean and nasty looking Larry. He looked really pissed off in it.

"That's you?"

He nodded. "Man, I was an angry son-of-a-bitch back then".

I looked at the "now" Larry, the tattooed guy with long grey hair and a smile in his eye. He was sitting on his bed, holding his cuddly pet ferret. The anger of that young Larry in the poster was long gone.

Most people just don't change that much. Even fewer pull themselves out of the pits of hell and despair to become a leader in their profession.

The story of how Indian Larry became the man in the poster, and how Indian Larry survived being the man in the poster, and finally how Indian Larry overcame being the man in the poster to become the best motorcycle builder in the world and the beautiful person sitting before me was a story to inspire not only his many fans but everyone.

It was a big voluptuous story with lots of ups-n-downs, twists and turns and one of those happy American Cowboy endings where the guy gets the girl and rides off into the sunset....not on a horse but on a customized Chopper that sounds like thunder.


Indian Larry passed away from a head injury sustained on Saturday, August 28, 2004 at the Liquid Steel Classic and Custom Bike Series show at the Cabarrus Arena and Events Center, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Larry was surrounded by 8000 fans, his wife Bambi, his friends and his loyal crew. When he fell, Larry was standing on his favorite motorcycle, Grease Monkey, arms outstretched, long grey hair blowing, the engine roaring, fans cheering, riding off into the sun....he is riding still.

An autobiography on Larry's life is scheduled to be published by Crown Books, (A Division of Random House), early in 2006 tentatively titled "GREASE MONKEY, The Life and Times of Motorcycle Artist Indian Larry, By Indian Larry with Chris Ward."