Hardcore Choppers

Hardcore History

Guided by his childhood passions, Carlin opened up his first shop – Hardcore Hot Rods, in a small strip mall shop off of Rt. 50. It was in this small shop that, where he worked 6 days a week, 12 to 14 hour days, restoring and building American iron of all kinds.

With a shop in his name and experience to boot, he realized it was time to have his own custom chopper. Built from scratch, the project took several months to complete, however, his efforts quickly paid off. During an early test-ride, while sitting at a local gas station, Carlin received his first-ever offer for a custom chopper build, from a complete stranger.

Not willing to sell “his first” – he promptly offered to build the man a one-off custom to his own specifications. It was with this first sale that Hardcore Choppers hit the ground running in the mid-1990s.