Daniel Pérez I Vélez-Málaga (Málaga), (EFE).- From his workshops in Miami (United States) and Vélez-Málaga, the Malaga ‘customizer’ Francisco Alí customizes motorcycles for clients from all over the world, such as Alejandro Sanz or Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada, and is considered one of the best internationally in this discipline.
His fascination with motorcycles dates back to childhood, when he would watch video clips of Los Angeles rock groups and ‘chopper’ and ‘custom’ motorcycles would appear. That first seed meant that he never separated from the world of two wheels, although in adolescence mountaineering and climbing became a refuge for him.
As he explained to EFE, it was a period of extreme emotions and experiences, such as the occasion when he was mistaken for an Albanian terrorist on a flight back from the Himalayas and had to spend several weeks in a Pakistani prison.
Months before, preparing for that trip, he suffered an injury that led him to be immobilized for a month, which led him to continuously watch the first motorcycle customization programs that were broadcast in Spain on Discovery Channel.
“That’s where I got poisoned,” he says, “and when I stopped climbing I said to myself: since I’m not going to travel around the world climbing now, I’m going to start going to the United States.”
Arrival in the United States
In that period he met his television idols in person, by visiting the temples of ‘customization’ in North America, and began to weave a network of contacts with the industry that made him launch into customizing motorcycles in his hometown.
Although at the age of 18 he created a company dedicated to vertical work and restoration of facades, his motorcycle customizations began to win prizes in Europe and he came to be European runner-up in the official Harley Davidson championship held in Fuengirola (Málaga).
But the year 2008 had a twist in the script in his life in store for him. On one of those trips to the United States, the possibility of settling in Miami arose, where he created the company American Rider, dedicated to renting Harley Davidson motorcycles and tours, which made him get rid of his company and leave his family in Spain to pursue his american dream
difficult beginnings
As Ali explains, the beginnings were not easy: “He had no economic capacity and to give everything to the business he lived in the same warehouse. I showered in the street when people left the industrial estate with a bucket and slept on a sofa that was where customers sat in the waiting room to rent their motorcycles”.
Despite the difficulties, he managed to regroup his family and the business, after a change of location, began to have increasing success, renting 2,600 motorcycles a year.
It was then that he returned to his true passion, starting to customize bikes for himself, without any pressure, but which he later exhibited at the rental company and quickly sold to clients fascinated with the transformations.
Contacts with business people and personalities from Miami were immediate. Clients like the singer Alejandro Sanz, from whom he received a commission for his ex-wife Raquel Perera, or the film producer Gerard Barba, knocked on his door.
Clean slate
Despite the success, Ali closed the Miami motorcycle rental company and created the Lord Drake Kustoms workshop there in 2013. Shortly after, he won the world champion title at Daytona Bike Week, considered the ‘Oscars’ of the motorcycle world, with a motorcycle inspired by the Red Baron rider.
From then on, the orders multiplied and the shipment of personalized motorcycles destined for European countries, such as Belgium, Germany or the United Kingdom, was constant.
Ali decided to open a second workshop in Vélez-Málaga in 2014, from where he personally distributes his custom motorcycles in a van throughout Europe.
Ali explains that he takes references from everything for his creations, although where the inspiration really comes from “in 90% of the cases” is while he sleeps. “We are dedicated to making dreams on two wheels come true,” she says.
Long list of awards and commissions
Awards and recognitions accumulate in the windows and walls of his office, but the title of current runner-up in the world “customizing” Harleys and the fact that he is among the world’s “Top 10” of the year 2022 stands out.
His portfolio of clients has also been growing and he has made designs for Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada, for the charity gala for the actor Antonio Banderas, for the former Formula One driver Beltran Gachot or for the guitarists Paco Ventura, from the group Medina Azahara, and Tom Kaulitz, from Tokio Hotel, for whom he has customized a motorcycle inspired by the film “Scarface” by Brian De Palma.
In his workshop, a long line of half-disassembled motorcycles await their turn. And in the elevators, employees work on three Harleys and a Triumph that already sport some modified parts. Finished motorcycles ready to be delivered await their transport to leave room for those who will arrive.
Francisco Ali also has new plans for the future: soon he will open sales and exhibition offices in Mexico and Dubai, he dreams of recording a documentary about his life and is writing his biography.
On his arm, Ali sports a Latin tattoo that sums up his philosophy of life: “All great things have small beginnings.”
“I consider myself a winner, because I dedicate myself to doing what I am passionate about and what I like every day. Not because I earn money or because I have prizes, but because I am lucky enough to say that I do and live from what I like ”, he underlines. EFE