For almost two years, young Arbie and his family have lived in the dark in the small town of Minalin, Pampanga.
Financial constraints prevented them from paying their piled up electric bill resulting in disconnection.
His dad, a mechanic, would juggle vehicle and motorcycle repair works to put food on the table and get through their daily lives. At a tender age, Arbie and his brother Kim both learned how to work in the talyer assisting their father.
“Datang mu rin ing aldo na aisip mu rin ing sasabyan ku keka (Time will come and you’ll understand why I’m teaching you this),” Arbie’s father would also say when he would try to avoid working in the shop.
In 2010, he started repairing and working on the details of a two-stroke scooter with his brother.
More than a decade later, he still finds himself inside the talyer turning what others would think to be pieces of scrap metal to arresting and functional motorbikes.
“Meg inspire kaku para gawan ini i tatang ku ampo reng pamilya ku lalu na ing misis ku uling pangarap mi ini kanita pa, pauli na din ning hilig ku ka reng classic at vintage a mutor (My father was my first inspiration. My wife and I have been dreaming of this since then because I am really interested in classic and vintage bikes),” Arbie says.
Arbie has tried working as a truck driver, an ambulant merchandiser, and an audio-video technician for events but his love for two-wheeled machines led him to open his own shop called AZG Moto Custom.
He would normally start his morning planning how his day at their garage-turned-workshop would go. From visualizing a new design to preparing his tools of the trade, Arbie is very much hands on.
He’s currently working on the restoration of a 1979 Yamaha DT Enduro100, a 1979 Honda XL250s, and a classic 250cc motorbike.
“Tatanggap ku mu naman obra keng saken kalupa ning paint job, under chassis at mechanical job (I also accept paint jobs, under chassis, and mechanical jobs for cars and other vehicles),” Arbie adds.
Putting up his small business, a talyer in their garage is never easy. But Arbie, with the guidance from his father, knows he would eventually make it big in the bike restoration scene.
Here are some of his amazing works:
Photos from AZG Moto Custom FB Page
