Russ Mitchell, president of Exile Motorcycles, a multi-million dollar corporation stood in front of many residents at the Rocky Trade show this past weekend.Mitchell has appeared on the Discovery Channel on a show called "Biker Build Off" and as well on the Speed Channel on his own show he hosts called "World Bike Build Off."Mitchell was born in Frampton on Severn, a small farming village in the west of England. He went to the local school and in his early teens became obsessed with skate-boarding, but at 16 he traded in his skateboard for his first bike and never looked back. Russell rode daily to University in the nearby city of Bristol.At the age of 22, Russell graduated from the University of Bristol as a veterinary surgeon and took a job at a surgery in London.Life in the big city really opened his eyes.Within months he was fully immersed in the Glam-punk scene and was partying his nights away downtown every chance he got.A chance meeting at a charity event launched a side-career in modeling, and soon after Russell became the T.V. vet on the morning news.When a top Los Angeles model agency offered him a contract, he figured (like every other Englishman) that he'd come to the States for a month or two.That was 15 years ago, while working in L.A. as a struggling actor Russell met the lovely Nancy and it was love at first sight.In 1983, after a couple of other custom scooters, 20-year- old Russell built the very first Exile.in 1995 Exile Cycles was born and today Exile operates out of a 20,000 sq.ft. facility where Russell and his men create the coolest bikes on the planet.Russell is truly grateful to the United States for giving him the chance to pursue his dreams.If you would like more information about Russ Mitchell please visit his website at www.excilecycles.com | It is a story of a guy you might know of named Russell Mitchell who is the owner of Exile Motorcycles. "Today Exile operates out of a 20,000 sq.ft. facility where Russelland his band of merry men create the coolest bikes on the planet! "Well worth a read.Exile Motorcycles | And if Tina Turner orders you into the dome, you'll find yourself face to face with Russell Mitchell.Russell Mitchell, founder of Exile Cycles, the tattooed Brit with the mohawk, who became a household word (in premium cable households, anyway) on Speed Channel's Build or Bust.You know who he is; he's that guy standing between Scott Gillen and frightened would-be builders, eyeing the door.He's the one quietly saying, "I know you can do this," in the kid's ear while Scott is taunting, "What is wrong with you?!"But while Scott may have been playing the role of Simon Cowell, Russell was always Russell, his personality strong enough to negate any need for affecting.Exile Cycles is celebrating its tenth year and Russell is very comfortable with the direction the company is going in. New products, new bikes, and an extensive website geared for shoppers, fans, and the curious."It's way more than a place to buy a T-shirt and look at a wheel," he says."We actually have a fun gallery of our lifestyle that we update all the time.There are some pretty amusing pics on there."And Russell does photograph well.A modeling contract is what brought him to the states in the first place, and he tried his hand at acting as well, although he was a veterinarian by trade.Born in the small farming village of Frampton on Severn in western England, he graduated from the University of Bristol as a veterinary surgeon.While working and living in London, he got a gig as the TV vet on a morning news program.Russell Mitchell Interview Exile CyclesBut his interest in things with wheels had already taken hold long before.At 16 he bought a scooter (they've always been big in England; rifle through your albums and check out the cover of The Who's Quadrophenia) and quickly took to annoying mainstream scooterists by customizing it and earning the moniker of "scooter scum."From scooters he jumped to a Kawasaki KZ650.Arriving the US in 1991 with $9,000 to his name, he spent $8,650 on an '87 Softail the next day.His customs career got off the ground thanks to the proceeds from a lucrative Marlboro ad, and it's been pretty smooth sailing ever since.With Exile, he's perfected a style that is simple and clean, black with industrial-polished aluminum, no chrome, no junk like mirrors or speedos.Up to this point we've seen only rigids come out of Exile, but things have changed this past year with his latest bike, the RX-Streetfighter, which showcases his newest parts line and a new interest in getting back to his roots.Aimed at a different demographic than their rigid bikes, Exile's RX-Streetfighter is, Russell says, the first of the new range of Exile frames, Exile front ends, and the first carbon-fiber Sportster gas tank that Exile Cycle now manufactures and sells."We picked Billy Lane because he's so popular, we knew we'd lose," says Russell."We'd been doing the rigid thing for ten years straight and to be honest, I didn't have anything up my sleeve that was so fantastic that I wanted to showcase it," Russell says."I didn't want to go with 'ho hum here's another Exile but oh this one's got engraving, or this one's got a big motor in it,' or, worse still, have to come up with some Mickey Mouse engineering feat like a hub-less wheel just for the sake of attention," he says, then laughs long and hard at the reference to the fervor caused in 2002 by Lane's hub-less rear-wheel design for the Psycho Billy Cadillac.But Russell's more than the unblinking leader at Exile.He's the devoted dad of a 7-year-old, Lucas Russell Mitchell, and he structures his day with the boy in mind.For Russell, the workday ends when school lets out."I pick him up from school and we go to the park, the pool, we do homework, watch a bit of Sponge Bob," he explains."He's in bed by nine, I'm in bed by ten, up at six, maybe I get in a little exercise before he wakes up, and we do it all again."He also takes times to read, and is currently engrossed in a library of his own journals, compiled over the past thirty years.While Russell keeps his weeks pretty tame, his weekends are another matter.Booked solid with bike shows, the weekends are filled with plenty fun.While some might chalk up those weekend shows as real work, Russell admits that for him and his crew the shows are a blast."How could they not be?"he says.Russell is well known for his tattoos and is currently six sessions away from having a complete body suit."I had my first tattoo when I was 21, an eagle on my left shoulder," he says. | And if Tina Turner orders you into the dome, you'll find yourself face to face with Russell Mitchell.Russell Mitchell, founder of Exile Cycles, the tattooed Brit with the mohawk, who became a household word (in premium cable households, anyway) on Speed Channel's Build or Bust.You know who he is; he's that guy standing between Scott Gillen and frightened would-be builders, eyeing the door.He's the one quietly saying, "I know you can do this," in the kid's ear while Scott is taunting, "What is wrong with you?!"But while Scott may have been playing the role of Simon Cowell, Russell was always Russell, his personality strong enough to negate any need for affecting.Exile Cycles is celebrating its tenth year and Russell is very comfortable with the direction the company is going in. New products, new bikes, and an extensive website geared for shoppers, fans, and the curious."It's way more than a place to buy a T-shirt and look at a wheel," he says."We actually have a fun gallery of our lifestyle that we update all the time.There are some pretty amusing pics on there."And Russell does photograph well.A modeling contract is what brought him to the states in the first place, and he tried his hand at acting as well, although he was a veterinarian by trade.Born in the small farming village of Frampton on Severn in western England, he graduated from the University of Bristol as a veterinary surgeon.While working and living in London, he got a gig as the TV vet on a morning news program.Russell Mitchell Interview Exile CyclesBut his interest in things with wheels had already taken hold long before.At 16 he bought a scooter (they've always been big in England; rifle through your albums and check out the cover of The Who's Quadrophenia) and quickly took to annoying mainstream scooterists by customizing it and earning the moniker of "scooter scum."From scooters he jumped to a Kawasaki KZ650.Arriving the US in 1991 with $9,000 to his name, he spent $8,650 on an '87 Softail the next day.His customs career got off the ground thanks to the proceeds from a lucrative Marlboro ad, and it's been pretty smooth sailing ever since.With Exile, he's perfected a style that is simple and clean, black with industrial-polished aluminum, no chrome, no junk like mirrors or speedos.Up to this point we've seen only rigids come out of Exile, but things have changed this past year with his latest bike, the RX-Streetfighter, which showcases his newest parts line and a new interest in getting back to his roots.Aimed at a different demographic than their rigid bikes, Exile's RX-Streetfighter is, Russell says, the first of the new range of Exile frames, Exile front ends, and the first carbon-fiber Sportster gas tank that Exile Cycle now manufactures and sells."We picked Billy Lane because he's so popular, we knew we'd lose," says Russell."We'd been doing the rigid thing for ten years straight and to be honest, I didn't have anything up my sleeve that was so fantastic that I wanted to showcase it," Russell says."I didn't want to go with 'ho hum here's another Exile but oh this one's got engraving, or this one's got a big motor in it,' or, worse still, have to come up with some Mickey Mouse engineering feat like a hub-less wheel just for the sake of attention," he says, then laughs long and hard at the reference to the fervor caused in 2002 by Lane's hub-less rear-wheel design for the Psycho Billy Cadillac.But Russell's more than the unblinking leader at Exile.He's the devoted dad of a 7-year-old, Lucas Russell Mitchell, and he structures his day with the boy in mind.For Russell, the workday ends when school lets out."I pick him up from school and we go to the park, the pool, we do homework, watch a bit of Sponge Bob," he explains."He's in bed by nine, I'm in bed by ten, up at six, maybe I get in a little exercise before he wakes up, and we do it all again."He also takes times to read, and is currently engrossed in a library of his own journals, compiled over the past thirty years.While Russell keeps his weeks pretty tame, his weekends are another matter.Booked solid with bike shows, the weekends are filled with plenty fun.While some might chalk up those weekend shows as real work, Russell admits that for him and his crew the shows are a blast."How could they not be?"he says.Russell is well known for his tattoos and is currently six sessions away from having a complete body suit."I had my first tattoo when I was 21, an eagle on my left shoulder," he says. | Russell MitchellRussell Mitchell | Dake goes Hollywood - Barry White of Wrecks to Riches and Russell Mitchell from Exile Choppers.John, Russell Mitchell of Exile Cycles and DennisJohn (l), Russell Mitchell of Exile | Dake goes Hollywood - Barry White of Wrecks to Riches and Russell Mitchell from Exile Choppers.John, Russell Mitchell of Exile Cycles and DennisJohn (l), Russell Mitchell of Exile