Brad Ruel 2009 - Strip Club Choppers

The Wharf Rat Rally in Digby, Nova
Scotia Canada held September 3-7 was
a fantastic event hosted by the most
accommodating people with a very
unfortunate tribute. I had been looking
forward to attending my first Canadian
motorcycle event since last year’s
event and customs issues precluding my
attendance that combined with the official
debut of Strip Club Choppers of Canada.
That all changed on July 14, 2009 when
I learned of the surprising passing of my
friend and former employer Brad Ruel of
The Wrench. I worked for, and with Brad for
many years. That experience contributed
in no small part to the start of Strip Club
Choppers. Peter Roberson the promoter
for the Wharf Rat Rally was also dearly
affected by Brad’s early passing. Besides
btr 40 | borntoride.com
being Brad’s friend his son worked for The
Wrench. Brad and Karen had even opened
their home to him, as they had done for
many others in the past.
The Wharf Rat Rally featured numerous
activities as a tribute to Brad, which
included a burnout contest (one of Brad’s
favorites) memorial t-shirts, and last but
not least a moment of thunder at high noon
on September 5, 2009. During the moment
of thunder thousands of bikes roared to
life as a tribute to Brad. Jay Barbieri from
American Thunder TV, custom bike builder
Matt Hotch, and I were on the Digby fire
truck paying our respects. This tribute was
above and beyond my expectations and
its success can be attributed to the shows
promoter, endearing show attendees, and
the legacy Brad leaves behind. Brad’s wife
Karen was in attendance for the entire
event and is a good friend of mine and I
think this gave her a feel for how people
felt about him. But I guess she already
knew that because altruist is a word that
best describes them both.
In closing let me say the motorcycle
industry has lost a very ingenious builder,
but the world has lost a good person and I
have lost a friend. Please visit The Wrench
Rig during the fall rally season which
will be touring with Strip Club Choppers
during this transitional phase, please
visit www.thewrenchonline.com or www.
stripclubchoppers.com. See the new Strip Club Chopper at BornToRide.com
Johnny Lange, Owner
Strip Club Choppers
R.I.P. Brad