Justin Kell may not be an A-list actor, nor a famous screenwriter or director, but if you've seen the latest Indiana Jones feature or Quentin Tarantino's Hell Ride, you've seen his work. Kell was the motorcycle coordinator for both films, as well as the upcoming Star Trek movie. As such, he had the enviable task of building, renting and maintaining the motorcycles for each film.
For Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Harley-Davidson supplied Kell and his crew at Rank and File Motorcycles with five Softail Springer Classics, which he had six weeks to rebuild to fit the movie's 1957 setting. "Ideally, we would like to have used period bikes," says Kell, "but due to product-placement deals and safety issues, we had to go with new bikes." For getting the job done, Kell credits his two main co-workers: Cretins M.C. member Eric Orr and Paul Greenstein, L.A.'s resident Indian expert "for the under-70 set."
The fact that Kell also owns his own brick-and-mortar retail shop has earned him his movie-industry nickname, "Storefront." As owner of Glory Sales and Service in Hollywood, a one-stop shop for all of your Rocker needs, Kell, 38, has rebuilt a lot of vintage bikes, many for celebrity clients. Pressed to name names, he prefers to respect his customers' anonymity. "Nah, I don't do that," he says. "That's why this place isn't littered with Polaroids of me with Famous Guy A or Famous Guy B."
But Kell wasn't always living the Hollywood dream. Back in his native Baltimore he worked as a plasterer, and after he moved to L.A. in '98 worked for an antiques dealer. Not long after he decided to start his own shop, and in February 2000 opened the doors to Glory's showroom on Hollywood Boulevard, where it still stands today. "The first day we had three bikes, a couple of couches, some neon signs and not much else," remembers Kell. "Within six months we were selling Davida helmets and more bikes. It turned into a sort of lifestyle shop."
A walk through Glory reveals greaser-style jeans alongside Lewis Leather jackets and a lot of vintage memorabilia. About six years ago, Kell decided to bring more clothing into the shop. When Levi's turned down his request to sell their reissues, he thought, "F*ck you-I'm gonna make my own!" Kell started his clothing company, Glory Utility, by buying tons of Levi's original Big E Selvedge denim. "What's a bigger 'f*ck you' than that?" he laughs. "I wanted everything U.S.-made by small, hands-on companies, and that's how we still do it." This kind of integrity permeates everything Kell does. "We have always run this thing on ethics and credibility," he explains. "We've been here 10 years and we haven't f*cked anybody yet. That's just not our business practice-and I've reaped the 'unbenefits' of it!"
But Glory is not just another clothing company banking on the motorcycle cool factor. "We are a motorcycle company making clothing," he says. "Our customers are motorcycle people." In fact, Kell spends most of his time building bikes and is rarely in the retail store.
Having put 40,000 miles on his 1965 Norton Atlas, it's easy to understand why Kell seldom does classic restorations, and prefers to do performance-based rebuilds. "I believe more in making a bike useable, built for the rider's needs, than trying to walk backwards in time," he explains. Regarding a 1953 Vincent Series C Comet he recently sold, he says, "You could ride that thing cross-country without thinking twice about it. It's got 12-volt electrics and a Mikuni carb on it." Pointing to the original Amal carb sitting in a display case, he explains, "This is a better place for it than on that bike." Kell decided to sell the Vincent because he was spending too much time pounding on it. The bike never made it to eBay, however, instead finding an appropriate owner through the local Vincent club.
Speaking to Kell, you realize that vintage motorcycles are a big part of his life. "Glory was started because I have a passion for this. I'm doing what I'd be doing if I didn't have to work for a living. I realize how lucky I am and I try to remember that every day."