Tattooer, builder, resident designer at Indestructible and now invited photographer for The Geary Getdown. We sat down with Mark to chat bikes, photography and what gets him inspired. Learn a little more about him below, and Join us on May 25th at Blood Brothers Brewing to see his gallery of works capturing life in the garage, on the road and in the culture. 

Tell us a bit about yourself, What do you do, what do you ride and what do you shoot with?

I've been a tattooer now for around 16 years - working in Toronto for around 10. My daily rider is a 1974 swing arm shovel. I also own a 73 FLH, a 76FLH and an 81 FLT. Generally I'm working on one of those three. Around the same time that I started tattooing, I also started shooting pictures so around 15 years or so. The cameras I shoot with nowadays are both Leica. The Leica Q2 is my digital camera and the Leica M5 is my film camera. Leica, like Harley just has so much tradition behind it, and that's what drew me to it. Unlike Harley though, they are still each made by hand. I just think there is something super cool about that.

 

 

How did you get into riding?

I got into riding working at a tattoo shop in the UK. A lot of the guys I worked with and owners of the shop rode. That's where I caught the bug. The first week I got back to Canada, I went out and bought a Suzuki. Within a few weeks it was bobbed out and pretty much everything on it was changed. Around 6 months later, I sold that and bought a Sportster. That's where the Harley obsession started.

 

 

Do you have a favourite style of bike?

I don't really have a favourite style of bike anymore. All my bikes are a different vibe in their own ways. As long as it's an old Harley l'll probably dig it.

 

 

What makes motorcycle culture and the community surrounding it so special?

I really think it's just an awesome way to hang out with like minded people who are into the same dumb stuff that I'm into. Nothing better than going to a show and geeking out over the little details on all the bikes. That and it gives me something to take pictures of.

 

 

What's a standout memory from a ride or trip?

A stand out trip for me would have to be the ride out to the east coast I did in 2019. Aaron, a buddy of mine and I had just finished building our first shovels. We decided why not ride them out to the Cabot trail and back for their maiden voyage. Luckily we made it there and back without any major issues - which was kind of mind blowing. The fact that we did that trek was awesome - but to do it on brand new builds - on bikes that were almost 50 years old felt pretty sick.

 

 

What's your approach to shooting bikes and the culture?

For me what I love is just documenting rides and shows. It's a hobby for me but I'm constantly trying to evolve with it and make pictures that I feel are interesting.

 

 

If you could say one thing to the community and culture what would it be?

Swing arm choppers are choppers for old guys with bad backs!