Synopses & Reviews
A stunt man and side show performer made famous by the Discovery Channel, Indian Larry Desmedt is best remembered for his remarkable custom motorcycles, his wild tattoos, and his love for building and riding rolling art. This book, by those who knew him best, offers a closer look at the life that made Larry into the "chopper shaman" so many admired. Full of photographs that document a uniquely colorful life, the book follows Larry from his humble beginnings to his unlikely stardom, tracing his short career as a bank robber, his time in prison, his spiral downward into heroin addiction, and his rebirth in 1994 as the spiritual bike builder revered by so many - and running through it all, the love of hot rods and motorcycles that finally brought him happiness. Note: This edition includes a collectible Indian Larry poster on the reverse of the book’s jacket and a silver-foil stamped Indian Larry logo on the book’s spine.
Review
Thunder Press, June 2006
“Although Nichols employs a style common to most biographies (e.g., from birth to death), catchy chapter titles like ‘Rebel Without a Pause’ and ‘Media Magician’ draw the reader in. He evokes a hint of sensationalism by throwing out tantalizing bits about what can be found in later chapters, making it difficult to put the book down.”
Review
IronWorks, Sept./Oct. 2006
“As you page through Michael Lichter’s photos in Indian Larry: Chopper Shaman, you’ll feel like he’s still with us – or at least wish he was.”
Review
American Iron Magazine, August 2006 “It’s an unusual womb-to-tomb … a fitting tribute to a revered character.”
Synopsis
A stunt man and side show performer made famous by the Discovery Channel, Indian Larry Desmedt is best remembered for his remarkable custom motorcycles, his wild tattoos, and his love for building and riding rolling art. This book, by those who knew him best, offers a closer look at the life that made Larry into the chopper shaman so many admired.
Full of photographs that document a uniquely colorful life, the book follows Larry from his humble beginnings to his unlikely stardom, tracing his short career as a bank robber, his time in prison, his spiral downward into heroin addiction, and his rebirth in 1994 as the spiritual bike builder revered by so many and running through it all, the love of hot rods and motorcycles that finally brought him happiness.
Why was he nicknamed Indian Larry? Because early in his career, he ceaselessly rode his Indian Motorcycles through the street of New York City.
Synopsis
Stunt man and sideshow performer Indian Larry Desmedt, who died in 2004, is best remembered for his remarkable custom motorcycles. Now, Desmedt's widow contributes to this fully illustrated look at the love of the beloved spiritual bike builder. 250 full-color photos.
About the Author
Dave Nichols has been involved in many forms of media both in front and behind the camera since 1978. He has written and produced over 1,200 TV commercials with Shadoe Stevens, Inc., a series of television comedy specials for HBO/Cinemax, and American Top 40 for ABC Watermark. He has produced live events for Jani International and live sports programs for television, created early-learning software for Microsoft, and developed ad campaigns for radio, TV, and feature film trailers for New World Pictures. Dave has been the editor-in-chief of Easyriders and V-Twin motorcycle magazines since 1998 and is currently overseeing ten automotive and motorcycle magazine titles for Paisano Publications, including the new Road Iron custom touring bike title. Nichols was the on-camera host of V-Twin TV, a 26-episode motorcycle-related television series seen on the SPEED channel. He is also the bestselling author of Top Chops, Indian Larry: Chopper Shaman, One Percenter, and One Percenter Code, all published by Motorbooks. He lives in Ashland, Oregon, and Los Angeles and is currently creating TV series and feature film projects with HBO producer Michael Hill.Better known by her stage name, Bambi the Mermaid, Andrea Cambridge is a performer at Coney Island, where she met and married Indian Larry in the late 1990s.Since the early 1980s, Michael Lichter has been photographing custom motorcycles, often hanging from the beds of pickup trucks during rainstorms, photographing packs of bikers in places like Daytona Beach and Sturgis, South Dakota for the pages of Easyriders magazine. He has written and photographed a number of books. He lives and works in Boulder, Colorado.