It’s always interesting how each of us become engrained in this hobby. Heather’s interest in motorcycles is grounded in a pure love of hobbies as a means to expand knowledge; there were no bikes in her childhood stage of life. “My first love was music. I play the drums and some other instruments, and used to tour around the southeast in a surf rock band,” Heather says. “All through high school and college I also loved anything with wheels - bicycles, roller blades, skateboarding, etc.” Unfortunately, despite begging and pleading to her parents, they would only officially endorse Yamaha instruments, not Yamaha vehicles. That shift would have to wait until after school.

If you can’t tell already, William is clearly a close friend of mine. In fact, he is one of the first motorcycling friends I ever made in Atlanta. This story has all the makings of a classic romance: we met on Reddit after I saw William post a photo of his Thruxton, a bike he is now easily identifiable with, posed on the Jackson Street bridge. Predictably but independently, both of our wives immediately suggested murder was the only possible outcome. A 50-50 roll of the dice produced motorcycles rather than body bags, and together with fellow rider Jonathan Hung, we managed to spin together a few cafe racer meetups before Brother Moto hit the scene again. Not bad.

Lawrence was born in Florida, but perhaps this can be forgiven since his Georgian naturalization came at the age of six. We actually share an identical entry point to motorcycling; Lawrence is also part of the new rider wave that struck just before or during the kickoff of the pandemic. “When I was a teenager, I learned to ride on scrappy little dirt bikes. When COVID hit, I was looking for a hobby I could pick up where I could enjoy open air while still social distancing. I went to WOW in May 2020 and bought a Triumph America which I still ride now.” If you aren’t familiar with the 865cc America, think of a Bonneville with cruiser-style controls. More screaming eagle, less tea and crumpets.

If you don’t know Larry, he originally hails from some distant principality called “Ohio” - it’s okay, I haven’t heard of it either. He’s a former Navy serviceman who moved to Atlanta after brief stints back home and in Florida, where Larry met his wife. “I moved to Atlanta to become part of a community development project, Focus Community Strategies, that my wife is involved in. It brings youth programs and housing to underdeveloped communities,” Larry says. “I saw kids all the way up to their young twenties in trouble and wanted to help.” It was a pivotal moment for Larry, who had seen his father, an inner-city school teacher and the first member of their family to graduate college, give back in such a way during Larry’s childhood.

Time to bring in the real protagonist of our story, Jared Erickson. A Brother Moto co-founder, Jared is one of the most friendly and genuine faces you’ll meet in Atlanta. His origin technically lies in Norcross, Georgia; Jared’s family moved around the state semi-frequently, but never formally lived in Atlanta. Jared swears that he told himself that he would never move here (we all know how that turned out). Life eventually executed its grand conspiracy to bring him inside the perimeter - 14 years later, Jared still loves kicking it in the metro area.

Introductions are in order: if you don’t know already, Laurel Bristow is kicking butt. An avid motorcyclist who has helped craft Atlanta’s riding scene, she is also a public face for science and a provider of uncommon common sense. Laurel has been a trusted educational steward around COVID and infectious diseases since the dawn of the pandemic over three years ago - just ask her legion of Instagram followers. It is a testament to Laurel’s character that she has been closely involved in crafting two very different communities across both physical and digital mediums. As such, we’re incredibly proud to have her in Atlanta for the long haul. Laurel’s journey to us, however, actually begins in the distant, sunny lands of northern California.