Smiley Gill
  "They call me Smiley and I have a small shop in Lake Worth, Florida. We do custom fabrication and machine work on motorsickles and hot rods. I started working on motorcycles at a Jap bike shop in 1992. Since then I have worked at a few different bike shops and machine shops. I opened my own place a year and half ago. We have already relocated to a larger building and now are making our own line of parts and accessories.

  "One of the downfalls of having a motorcycle shop is not having time to work on your own stuff. So this bike build is going to be a lot of fun for me. Finally I get to build myself a new bike; I can hardly wait to get started. I haven’t had the chance to meet everyone that’s involved with this chop off, but it looks like they all build some pretty cool bikes and I can’t wait to see what everyone builds."

Smiley’s Choppers, Bobbers & Hot Rods
Lake Worth, FL
561-296-7779
www.smileyschops.com

Donny Loos and Jeff Cochran
  Donny Loos and Jeff Cochran are two guys that grew up around motorcycles and choose to live their lives and do business by a simple philosophy: they believe in quality and value, and are always willing to help a brother out.

  "We build bikes and rollers and offer them at a fair price for guys that work hard for their money. Bike building is in our blood; both Donny and I have been building bikes for over twenty years and stand behind our products," said Cochran.

  Jeff is a third generation builder and Donny has been building bikes and hot rods his whole life. The two teamed up because they had the same vision, to build badass, custom, old school choppers and to stay true to their roots by offering their rides at a reasonable price. They formed Sucker Punch Sally’s and the rest, as they say, is history.

  "We build bikes we would like to ride and carry on our family’s tradition of building mechanically sound, rideable, stripped-down American motorcycles," said Donny.

  Donny and Jeff just build bikes they like. Old school choppers have become more popular over the last few years, but Sucker Punch Sally’s has no intention of following industry trends. Donny and Jeff are looking forward to working together to build the baddest chopper around for the Horse Chop Off next year.

Sucker Punch Sally's
Cincinnati, OH
513-353-1446
www.suckerpunchsallys.com

Chris Sullivan
  Chris Sullivan of Sully's Customs has been building bikes for around 10 years. Sully's Customs is a division of Sullivans Motorcycles located in Centerville, Indiana. Chris wanted to name his one-off bikes and their now-licensed manufactured bikes "Sully's Customs" to give some kind of different name for people to associate their motorcycles with.

  Chris' first love in motorcycles is bobbers. He has built a few choppers but feels the bobbers are a better ride and easier to handle, plus he likes the vintage feel you can achieve with a bobber.

  Sully's has launched a line of rigid and Softail bobbers that are being sold in a few shops around the country. Chris also wants to keep doing one-off builds as well as the manufacturing part of the business to keep himself fresh and up to date. Chris and Sully's Customs hopes to be building bikes for years to come, so look for him and his creations in The Horse magazine in the near future.

Sully's Old School Customs
Centerville, IN
765-855-5307
www.sullivansmotorcycles.com

Steve Broyles II (Duce)
  "When I got the call from The Horse about the chop off, I was like a deer in the headlights; I didn’t know what to say. My mind was working but I was speechless, the call caught me totally off guard. All I remember is saying yes and I have to write a bio. I didn’t even write one in school. Now they want me to write one for The Horse. I think this is going to be the hardest part of the build.

  "So a little about me; I’ve been around bikes all my life. I'm a third generation rider. My grandfather rode and as you know, my dad rides. Growing up, my dad had a shop in the garage, and that is where he taught me how to repair and build bikes (thanks Dad). Someday I hope to pass this art onto my sons.

  "In the early '90s I decided to drop out of college and team up with Dad in a full time commitment. That is when Stevenson’s Cycle opened its first retail store. Since then we’ve had to move the shop to its third location, for the need of more room. I have no regrets with my decision; it is great to work with my dad.

  "I’ve done a lot of rides in the past, but the best ride I’ve ever been on was the Stampede (Barstow, California to Salisbury, North Carolina). A ride for me is not just riding your bike to and from work. That’s transportation. Wouldn’t it be something if all the builders road on the Stampede? I think that would be an interesting ride.

  "This build is bringing back memories of my first Harley; it was a Sportster that was in a wreck and on fire. Dad and I rebuilt the thing like new. With a little custom work on my little-to-none budget, it turned out great. Then I took it to the Autorama show here in Detroit.

  "To build a bike on a $10k budget is not hard; but to make it clean and win, well, that is another story. So lets get started chopping. I got a… (uh, next issue)."

Stevenson's Cycle
Wayne, MI
www.stevensonscycle.com