It’s not just a livelihood, it’s a lifestyle. That’s how Jerry Covington describes his motorcycle customizing business, Covington’s Cycle City. Covington always has loved cars and motorcyles. He built his first motorcycle when he was 18. The wildest designs he has done include a chopper featured on the Discovery Channel and one named “Lucifer” that won the Texas Chop Off.

It's spring now. Bike shows are coming up: Myrtle Beach, Miami. Rafaelle has a dozen cars and 20 bikes waiting for custom paint jobs, chrome, polish or motor customizing. Step in the office, the fluorescent gloom. Eyes adjust. Man, what a mess. Soda machine that's out of most everything, little orange lights blinking. Tires. Bike helmets. Dust. Invoices. Magazines (Super Streetbike, 2 Wheel Tuner). Parts catalogues. A painting of a woman on her hands and knees, one hand on top of a skull. A closed-circuit TV camera keeps an eye on the parking lot outside. Inside the mess is Rafaelle Proctor, owner and proprietor of the garage, which goes by the name of Artistic Creations. Short, curly hair and an ever-smiling face. He's wearing a blue garage uniform, his name stitched on the breast. He's sketching on an artist's pad.