It's late by a few months, but I only found out about it tonite. Johnny Chop was one of the coolest custom motorcycle builders out there. His star was definitely on the rise. He may be most well known from his appearances on the "Biker Build-Off" TV series on Discovery Channel, where he worked with his friend and fellow bike-builder, Chica. Johnny recently moved out on his own, and had begun carving out his own niche and building his own, separate reputation and style in the world of custom motorcycles. Johnny's death was unexpected to most, as his apparent health problems was something that he kept to himslef.
What can I do to help you along on your adventure? ~ Johnny Vasko (aka "Johnny Chop") - March 2006
Bike builder Johnny Vasko, aka Johnny Chop, died of heart problems at 1 am, Tuesday March 28. For those of you who may not know who Johnny is, you may have seen him on a few episodes of the Discovery Channel’s "Biker Build-Off," ESPN’s "Chopper Nation," or at a myriad of other well-known motorcycle events around the country.
Not many people knew of his health issues as Johnny preferred to live life to its fullest, rather than dwell on his own problems. We’ll all miss this young man who, at 34 years young, held a spark for both the future of motorcycle building and showed great enthusiasm for tattoos, music and just living life. I had just completed several photo shoots with Johnny, two of which are scheduled to run in our magazines soon. The first will appear in the June issue of Easyriders that goes on sale April 25 and the second will appear in the August issue of Savage Magazine with an on sale date of May 30.
I was very much looking forward to spending more time with him at an event that's just around the corner and at the upcoming Long Beach Tattoo Fest., where he was putting on an Old-School Bike Show. Johnny will be greatly missed by all of his family, friends and fans. It's hard to know what to say at a time like this, but Johnny provided a fitting statement, through the tats on his knuckles, which comes from the book "The Outsiders." As his knuckles boldly state: “Stay Gold."
Rest in Peace, brother.
Scott McCool
Managing Editor, Easyriders Magazine
Editor, Tattoo Savage
A Tribute to Johnny Chop
Topic: RIP Johnny Chop ~5/3/71 - 3/28/06~ (Read 1791 times)