So I know it will be good for our readers and anyone who hasn't heard the tale just how did you earn the name "Roadside Marty?"
Back in the early nineties, I was riding a Pan head and everybody was just calling me "Pan head Marty" or some such shit like that and one night on the way to the bar me and a buddy of mine dropped a bunch of acid and I pulled up to the bar and my head was fuckin spinning and this chick comes out and goes "Hey it's too bad you just got here, I wanted to go for a ride!" and I said "well hell go in there and grab a loner helmet and let's go!" and seriously I hadn't even shut my bike off at this point. Well she climbs on the back and we sped off down this major 4 lane road right near the navy base in Pensacola and I had a pistol with no numbers on it an 8 ball of Coke, a sportster tag on my Panhead, I mean completely I was just a rolling fuckin felony, scratch that multiple rolling felonies actually and this chick says "I want to take this helmet off" and in my head I'm thinking oh gosh then the cops will be after us for sure, because at the time Florida had a strict helmet law and I was like "Noooo fuck that!" and so she goes "well what if I take my top off" and she manages to take her shirt off while we are rolling and her tits are just out and they're flopping everywhere and so I just immediately pulled right over in the first parking lot that I see and I didn't say anything, I just shut the bike off, motion to her to get off and turn around and pushed her over the bike and I just started fucking the shit out of her right there. There's cars going by and blowing their horns and everything and then I heard motorcycles go by and I heard people yelling, I knew it had to be friends of mine that were headed to the biker bar that had just left. Then the next thing I know a bright light is shining in my face and a loud speaker comes on and it's the county sheriff and he says "Zip it up and get the fuck outta here now!" and man that's all I needed to hear, so I pull my pants up, crank the bike up and we took off back to the bar and we pull up and I went straight around back and finished fucking her. Then when I walked into the bar and everybody was like cheering like "Hey let me get Roadside another drink" or "I wanna buy Roadside a beer" and I sat down and there were like 7 or 8 beers in front of me and well that's how I became "Roadside Marty."

So it just stuck for how many years now? Like how long ago was that? What year?
That had to be 1991 so, it's been 30 years now.

Jesus Christ, hahaha, that's awesome!
If you've seen my stickers around that say "Who the fuck is Roadside Marty?" that came about because in like 2004 whenever that whole big biker build off thing was just exploding on TV and Indian Larry was just so hot, I mean dude, everywhere that guy went he was just like mobbed with people. Well him and Paul Cox came to chopper time one year and I was on the microphone insulting people as I do. Well at the time The Horse mag used to have their chopper show down at the Last resort bar on Friday after our show. Well me and Willie loaded up and rode down there and we were all hanging out and Larry and Paul and a couple other builders, I think even Chopper Dave was with them, they come flying into the Last resort and they came right up and start talking with us and Indian Larry is standing to my immediate left. We were talking and in his sort of nasally voice of his he says "Hey Willie, I was at your show Thursday and I had a great time but who was that guy on the microphone insulting everybody?" cause you know he didn't really know who I was? Well Willie turns to him and he says "that was Roadside Marty!" and without skipping a beat Indian Larry says "well who the fuck is Roadside Marty?"

Haha Haha, that is too good!
Oh yeah man and we just started cracking up laughing and Larry said "what's so funny?" Then Willy points "that's him" and he looks right at me and goes "oh my God man, I'm so sorry" and I'm like "nah nah man it's, it's nothing." We all had a good laugh so later on some of Willie's guys ended up making stickers from the quote and that's how it all took off.

That's so good! You know truthfully I always wondered the origins of that sticker so that's pretty fucking hilarious. Just carving out some original moments with some of the greats right out the get go man. That's so cool. So this far into the interview I've already gotta ask are you ok with us printing some of the stuff?
Ohh Absolutely!

Well, let's talk about the choppertime show now a bit. So for someone who might not know the history of the show we want to get some more info to sort of paint a picture in terms of the article for what this event is all about. Let's start with how long you guys have been doing this all together.
21 Years.

So that is actually times two because that's 21 years, twice a year, for Daytona bike week then Biketoberfest right?
That's correct every Thursday of both for the last 21 years.

Man, that's awesome. You know I just spoke with a guy yesterday from Indy that came down that I've known for years and done a few various bike runs with up north and he said this year was actually his 19th year coming down which I'm sure of course, you have quite a few people like that pretty devoted to the event that have helped it grow by supporting it year after year right?
Wow that's cool. Yeah we started in 2000 and we've had a lot of people come back as regulars for sure. You know actually the show started because Jeff Cochran and Donny right before they started Sucker punch Sally's they would always come down and they were friends with Willie, they would come down and in the afternoon he would ride with them over to Lollipops for an afternoon cocktail. Well their bikes were and still are very eye catching and people would pull in off of Ridgewood just to check out their bikes up close. Well, people just thought it was a bike show, and as a joke they would be like "well hey maybe you should start one?" So that next year in 2000 they finally did. At first they had maybe 15 bikes or so and a magazine called Dixie biker, a guy named Monk, God rest his soul, he was one of the first ones to feature the show and really got behind it and pushed it. At the time we had the old style trophy plaques, you know like the marble kind you get for a baseball trophy then the next year I came down and Willie came up to me and we had double the bikes that year with around 30 or so and it had jumped that quick in only a year. So he came to me and he said "I need you to pick these bikes" and he gave me a list of like 8 different types of bikes you know like, shovel, Pan, best chopper, stuff like that and I went through it and picked my bikes and it just so happened that I picked the same exact bikes that he did. So he came up to me and said "congratulations you're the judge now!" hahaha. Well then he said you gotta give out the awards and I was like "man I'm no good on the microphone I can't do this."

Which fast forward to now you're like a God dammed Howard Stern or Sam Kinnison on the mic. haha! It's so great to watch.
He goes, he goes, " look you gotta do it because I can't" and I said "well OK?" So I got up there and I get the mic and I'm like "Hey everybody I'm Roadside Marty, I'm going to give out the awards" and people were just walking around like nothing, not paying attention so I'm like "hello is this thing on?" Willie comes up to me and he slams me in the shoulder and he goes "Hey get their fuckin attention!" and I said OK well "Hey you stupid motherfuckers, I'm not up here for my fuckin health, if I call your fuckin name come up here and get your damn trophy!" and everybody just stopped dead in their tracks, it got real silent and then everybody looked and I said "first bike, best shovel head, raise your hand!" and I see a hand come up and I go "well get moving motherfucker, bring your damn bike up here" and he gets his bike and starts coming through the crowd and at that time there wasn't so many awards so you know it wasn't so long, so Willie would ask me to ask them about their bike, so this guy gets up there and I wish I had remembered who he was cause I would buy him a beer, he was a great sport. I said "Hey man tell us a little bit about your bike" and he starts going on and on "oh well my dad rode harleys and I always wanted to build a Harley and blah blah blah" and I jump in and I was like "Ohhh Jesus Christ, what is this a fuckin Hallmark greeting card?" "Get the fuck outta here!" and the crowd roared, they just fuckin loved it! Man I'll tell you what, so from then on that was it....
and you know that show has gotten so big you saw it yesterday, it has taken on a life of its own. I've had so many people over the years and I don't name names but they are connected to big shows, shows you would know, they have come up to me and said "that show would be so much better and so much bigger if you would just not be so rude and vulgar on the microphone" and I'm like I'll tell you what I'm gonna keep doing what I do because what I do works.

Yeah, I mean that's kind of like telling Andrew Dice Clay in the 90s he would sell bigger crowds if he just toned it down a bit. hahaha
Exactly! I've actually had guys who have won awards that I was very easy on come up to me afterwards and say "what the fuck man, I thought you were going to give me some shit?" and then I've had people right during while I'm giving them the award turn around and tell me "is that all you got" I'm like "OK motherfucker well where's your old lady get her and her tits up here!" Then you know and I lay into her then. So that show is really I like to say, when I'm on the microphone, I say pretty much what people are thinking or what they wish they could say. Also people are like well you're really vulgar or you're really mean and really I'm like just as hard on myself as I am on them. I make as much fun of me as I do of them.

Well you kinda have to be a good sport yourself and be able to dish it and take it.
Yeah you said it, you have to be able to take it as well as give it.

So how many years have you been involved in doing the MC part? Like did you ever take a year off or anything?
Technically I guess 20 years now the first one I was actually a spectator and I had my bike in the show. Then as mine and Willies friendship grew he asked me to be a part of it. I had known him for a few years before that. I met him in like 97 or 98 biketoberfest, I came and hung out with him and then bike week 99 and then biketoberfest 99 and we were getting to know each other better and better. Then he said something to me bike week in 2000 "Hey we are having a little show, why don't you bring that shovel head you got" So like I said for 2000 I was an entrant then in 2001 I picked up so it's been a wild ride ever since then. We've seen everything, I mean every kind of motorcycle every kind of personality, anything you can think of.

The show really is diverse I mean there's just such an awesome mix of everything it's so cool.
That's one thing I do strive for but one thing I hate is it's gotten so big and we've got a lot of judges now which is actually kind of good and bad.

Well that's gotta be a little easier on you guys a bit right so it's not so one sided on the judging or maybe even so you can just blame the other judges like "Hey he picked your piece of shit, I didn't." Hahaa
Haha yeah kind of but what I've run into a lot is guys sometimes wanna pick their friends bikes or they want to pick a bike that's won already at the show even multiple times. Me personally, I mean I'm not judging anybody but me personally, I like to pick a bike that hasn't won at choppertime before and also most importantly, that I don't know the guy who owns it.

So really the underdog then
Yes exactly it's just like that one bike over there I picked from Iowa when that guy rode in I immediately without even coming up and looking closer at it I was like that's Roadsides choice right there I don't know the guy and I love the bike already if it looks good from 20' away as it does from 2' away that's it.


Well and the funny thing is about that bike to it looks insane from even 6 inches away like the paint is absolutely nuts. Over 100 hours alone in just that paint job. We ran a feature on it this year.
Yep I saw that paint too and I was like alright that's it that's the one. So to me it's like I don't know that guy, I've never met him but he rode a cool bike and man everything about it was just perfect and I try to tell the guys please pick a bike from some guy that isnt like, well, I know that a certain person might build a cool bike every time or hes a known guy or whatever but....

Or that they might feel entitled that they should be picked or something???
Oh my God yes. You have no idea, I mean I've almost lost friendships over things like that because people come to that show and when they don't win they get very upset and I'm like with some of them "you've got awards for 3 or 4 years here, I mean come on man?" I mean honestly that kind of goes against everything I'm trying to accomplish when I judge my roll cause if I don't maintain that then you know I'm just paying lip service. Like I said I just really try to make sure that people, the regular guy, the guy with the mortgage, the wife and kids, two car payments and his motorcycle is 7th or 8th in line when the money gets figured out, that kind of guy so you know it's a big deal for him to build a custom motorcycle, to come to an event like this and you know possibly from the Midwest or wherever to come on down here put that bike in the show. That's the guy I wanna talk to. That's the guy I wanna see win something because that guy in all honesty is the one who really keeps this shit going, he really is.

Well yeah and that guy is not even here for the trophy. He's here for the experience and 100% to come to something like this is a big fuckin deal so that's really cool that you can build somebody up like that or bump them up a notch.
Oh my God, I've had guys that I've given awards to that no joke they had tears in their eyes like "oh my God I never thought I would win something here, I've read about this in magazines for years I've seen this on this and that...."

So does stuff like that really keep the show fresh cause you know it's not just going to be the same bikes every year?
Well we've had some guys who have supported the show from day one, I mean came for years, every show bike week and biketoberfest and me and Willie appreciate that more than anything. Some are local, some regional but, they come and they just want to support the show and be a part of it because honestly it's more than a show, I like to say it's kind of like a "happening" you know what I mean? You saw that firsthand.

Well when you're in Daytona and especially if you're someone from up North the Midwest maybe even the West Coast and you aren't familiar with the area you drive by the tattoo shop and you see Willies tropical tattoo shop for the first time and you see that lot totally barren, like no motorcycles and in your head you're like, there is no way they are going to fit 200+ motorcycles and like a 1000 people in there but come the day of the event you guys DO and you see it for yourself and you're like holy shit, they really did it and even took the entire block over! I mean it really is a "happening" like you just feel like you've been a part of something and you really have.
Well the vendor's, the food, the bikes, the band's, the people, the veterans fund benefit, you know just everything about it is what makes it special. You know me and Willie have been trying for several years to purchase the property next door to the shop right where you were set up at selling the photo prints, we tried to purchase that because we wanna take and maybe even turn that into a bar and build a deck up on top of the building where the bands could play.

Well the notoriety of choppertime has expanded so much that I think that would be pretty easy to facilitate right? I mean it's such a big part of Daytona and people come from all over the country just specifically to go to this show I mean it's where all the most true choppers are hands down.

It's like this one knuckle right here that bike when that came in I was just blown away. I mean to me that's the style that I like, like that late sixties kinda feel you know. I see stuff like that come in and it's obvious that that guy rides the shit out of that.

Well that and it obviously takes a certain individual to even want to own or build a bike like that and then on top of that maintain it and everything. When you see it you instantly respect that cuz you yourself know what it takes to maintain that bike. Especially with your own knuckle.
Ohh absolutely. You know there is a lot that goes into doing the show too. I mean a lot of behind the scenes we have a lot of people that want to be one of the vendors or sponsors and I mean not to brag but it really is one of the biggest shows in Daytona. Well we've always had people that wanna come up and tell me a better way or a different way to do something or pitch some kind of stuff to Willie and I always listen but I'm usually like, no we're not going to do that, or we've gotta keep it like this. It's something that works I mean it's obvious. You saw it yesterday. I mean man, that was really like the old days, it really was. I mean that crowd was just unbelievable, I haven't seen a crowd like that in years and on average will have like 150 or I think the most we had 1 year was over 200 bikes registered.

Well how many did you average yesterday?
Yesterday well we had about 160-170 bikes registered on paper but we had a couple of new security guys and they parked about 30 bikes in the back that should have been entered. So we woulda basically broke 200 this year which is a lot you know! At one point in time Willie was a bit disillusioned with all of it and just like the sponsors and trying to deal with setting everything up and I'll tell you, I love that man like a father. Well we were talking about the show and the sponsors and stuff one day and like a night or 2 later, 3:00 a.m. in the morning my phone starts going off, notification after notification, then a phone call and at first I thought, I was dreaming and man my rule of thumb is anything after 10 o'clock at night, it's probably not good. Well, so the guy who called is like "is Willy OK?" and I'm like "well why wouldn't he be?" Am I dreaming? So I'm like "well yeah of course he is" and the guy says "well he sent me this email" and I'm like "oh my God, wait a minute, let me check my email" So I pull up my email and I'm looking at it and it says "thanks to all our loyal friends it's been a great 10 years or something and I'm gonna hate to have to do it but...." almost like a damn suicide letter or something! Like "God bless, adios!" And I'm like "Ohh my God!" And my phone is still steadily just lighting up like, ding, ding ding, ding ding ding ding and I just type out a very quick email " Everything is OK, Willie is fine, disregard this email. - Roadside Marty" and I pressed send and fuckin, oh God, everything stopped after that. Well the next day Willie calls me then he says " I think I fucked up" then I was like "oh my God boss" because you know sometimes, he would take ambien to make him sleep and sometimes he would also take a few shots of Patron while on the ambien and oh man he would be real fucked up.

Damn, man that is wild.
You know it is something that year long I get messages and comments and questions about, that show and it is something I am so proud to be a part of and I couldn't imagine not doing the show. I mean I just couldn't imagine it not going on.

Well like you had said it's clearly taken on a life of its own.
It really has, it really has. I mean there are a lot of people behind the scenes that do a lot of stuff too btw. Like Clay one of the tattoo artist there or JT Willies nephew, of course Willie's wife, also Tito, Marcus, Shaun and Luke, a couple of our security guys, they're always helping put up banners and set up the parking lot. We also have to thank

Chops magazine for promoting it over the year. All of our security that come and help you know they are all volunteers and what we do after the show we always go to a restaurant here in Ormond named "Mario's" it's a really nice Italian restaurant and Willie buys dinner for everybody. It's like a big family type dinner, it's so great we all laugh and talk about what happened at the show like "can you believe who said this" or "can you believe what this moron did" or you know things like that. It is just like a big recap of the day. Well one year Ohh man, I'll tell you, I just can't thank Willie enough, that man, well one year we went to dinner and I told the waiter I said "Hey give me the bill" and he says "Ohh but wait Willie always pays" and I said "oh no he gave me the money" so the guy goes "OK" so I hand this guy the money and I say here you go, plus a big tip. Well about 30 minutes goes by and Willie goes "Hey where's my bill?" and the waiter points to me and you know, I call Willie boss, I said "yeah boss I took care of it this year" and man, I have never seen him get mad like this he drew his fist back and he hit me right in the center of my chest and he said "get the fuck outside right now!" So we go outside and as soon as we get outside he just double palm slams me against the wall and he goes " let me fuckin tell you something, don't you ever disrespect me like that again. You're a guest in my town and when I ask you to break bread with me, I'm asking that, so don't you ever disrespect me like that again! You need to learn this one lesson and don't you ever fuckin forget it!" and I swear to God man, I was just like taken back and then he said "You've got two things in this life when you check out and that's the memories you fuckin made and the food you ate so you make great memories and you eat great fuckin food and don't you ever forget it!" and I'm like "man, not a problem boss, not a problem."

Whoa!!! Damn.

Duuude, yeah, so it's like man, I'll tell ya, he is just such a solid guy....

And it's a damn shame you guys cant put his phrase on a Willie's choppertime tshirt. Haha. Man what a guru at life.
I swear to you that man has taught me so much, about business, friendships, brotherhood, fucking courtesy, common respect, I mean I could walk around behind him with a note pad and pen and not catch all the wisdom he is got to give. You know we joke that hes the mayor of Daytona and I am his chief of staff sometimes. haha

That's so great, I had actually even said that phrase to someone yesterday in regards to him being the mayor. So I want to make sure we touch base on this because this is definitely a big deal for the show the veterans fund has always been a big part of the event, what are some of the good things that you yourself can think of that you guys have done with the contributions to the fund over the years?
Well we've been doing these contributions since day one and man, there's been so many you know. Also btw, honestly there have been so many people over the years that have said that we needed to raise beer prices or this or that and I'm like absolutely not. Two dollar beer and dollar soda and waters, I'm like listen, that's part of this show were not gouging people and believe me when you're not trying to gouge people or reach in their pocket, they will reach in their pocket for you you know what I mean? So you know every bit of that the beer sales and what not that all goes to helping the veterans. Well sometimes that means buying various equipment for the veterans home and one year we even bought them a new handicap accessible van, we also had other donors that helped but we got them a van to go to their special appointments and stuff. The work we do with the fund, it's really phenomenal because, I'm an army veteran myself so I'm really proud to be a part of it.

Yep, as you know Bear is a veteran as well.
Exactly and you know guys like me and Bear, we are fortunate enough that we can do things that some of the older veterans can't. So it's like I have no problem doing something like this for them. On that note I will say this and this is a statement of mine and only mine personally but whenever people know that I've been in the army they approach me and say "Hey thank you for your service" and I stop them right there and I say "Hey don't thank me, if you are going to thank someone, I mean there's not a lot of World War II or Korea vets still around but if you want to thank someone like that, thank someone like a Vietnam Veteran that was drafted and went to Nam, you thank that individual, don't thank me. I went in there and I raised my hand on my own I needed the army a hell of a lot more than they needed me. So please don't thank me, they did more for me than I ever got to do for them. So you know doing this show and being a part of it that just makes me feel good like I'm doing my part.

Well I feel like there's a certain respect that just comes with the job that people normally extend to and always have extended to military personnel, 1st responders, firefighters and etc. It all comes from a place where the average person, it's like they just feel indebted in some way, so they want to show that respect, no matter what the sacrifice was that was made.
Right, well you know we up there at chopper time man we are very patriotic, we are true Americans and I honestly believe that just because you don't believe the same belief I have, political or otherwise just because you don't think the same as me that doesn't make you a bad person and that doesn't make me a bad person, it just makes us different and you know what I like different because if we were all the same that would be a really fuckin boring world. So if you come up there keep an open mind don't be too offended just laugh and have a good time enjoy yourself. I mean, are you gonna hear some things that are offensive, absolutely and are you going to see some things that are offensive, absolutely, but you know what if you come up to me and say, "Hey I didn't like what you said or what you did" I'll either explain myself or I'll apologize, it's that simple. If you can present your point of view and convince me that, Hey, I was wrong. Well I'll gladly apologize. I just really wish that more people would think that way. So what I mean to say is everybody is welcome at choppertime and if you don't have a good time well that's because you don't wanna have a good time.

Yeah it's kind of like if you've got bad vibes it's only because you brought them with you, we didn't bring them to you then right?
Absolutely

Right on, right on. OK, well here's the very last question. So say you are an average Joe coming down to bike week, maybe even for the first time, what would you say to that guy to choose coming to willies over maybe one of the other events because events can get pretty stacked down here, there is a lot going on and a lot of things happening that are pulling people in different directions all over town the week of bike week. (pretty much a show or sometimes 2 shows a day) So what would you say to that guy to let him know this isn't your average chopper show, you need to come check this out!
Well if you win an award at any other chopper show nobody's gonna call you a dumb motherfucker and tell you your bike as gay, but Hey, I am!!! hahaha. In all seriousness, I promise, if you want a good laugh and a good time come on over. I promise you won't find anything like Willies Choppertime anywhere else, it's a good time.

Marty wanted to send a special dedication to Brooke Payovich who was the counter girl and friend at the Tattoo shop, Brooke unfortunately passed away shortly after the event.

Photos and words by Mike Vandegriff