It’s been said that a picture is worth a thousand words, but sometimes that’s not enough. Walk into my office and you’ll be greeted by an eye-popping black-and-white image from September 13, 1948. It’s a picture of a reasonably hairy man wearing nothing but a skin tight speedo laying face down on a Vincent Black Shadow motorcycle.
The man in the picture is Rollie Free, and it shows him setting the motorcycle land-speed record of 150 mph. The goal was outrageous, incredibly dangerous, required huge balls and would be impossible to repeat today. Rollie was the perfect nut-job, just the sort of guy who would strip down to his shorts to squeeze an extra mile per hour on his speed attempt. He’s one of my heroes, and it’s my honor to share his story, with the hope that it will inspire you to live an epic life and dare mighty things.
Rollie Free had several unique qualities…
- a fiercely competitive and courageous nature that some would say boarded on insanity.
- a burning desire for vengeance against Harley-Davidson (which reneged on a promise).
- a 100% commitment to achieving his goal at any cost to include removing the bike seat, laying flat on his stomach in the prone position…and stripping down to his birthday suit (almost) going 150+ miles per hour.
Rollie’s antics engendered loyalty and devotion among his friends, and an incredulous admiration from his enemies… read more >
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