Chris Callen is a lifelong motorcycle enthusiast and often asserts motorcycling saved his life. He grew up in a rough setting on the outskirts of Pittsburgh. Through his interactions with motorcycle people he found a passion that would bring him through it all and show him a better way. Today he is a Publisher, Editor, Journalist, Motorcycle Builder, Artist, Innovator, and lover of all things two-wheeled to honor of that life.
March 1997, from the back room in his aftermarket shop; Fat Cats Cycles, Callen and lifelong friend, Lou, started Cycle Source with a borrowed computer. The first issue nearly killed them both. With no experience they had very poor results. Luckily for Callen, even then, the motorcycle world could see his passion and gave him plenty more chances to redeem himself.
Callen was the first to acknowledge “the Next Generation” and ushered in the young, upcoming builders that may not have been recognized otherwise. From this early offering, Callen was involved in starting the Limpnickie Lot in 2008, a collection of these younger builders who traveled around the national circuit.
Growing up in Southwestern PA, woods racing was in Callen’s blood so any type of competition on two wheels suits him fine. In 2010 he Raced in the first Hoka Hey Challenge, a 10,000 mile race that went from Key West Florida to Homer Alaska. He helped build the Good Ol Days raceway, he’s raced at the dragstrip, flat track, motocross, and vintage racers in the Sons of Speed. Riding for over 30 years, Chris has earned more than two dozen “thousand miles in a day” patches, a dozen or so “1500 in one” patches, and even rode the then new V-Rod Muscle coast to coast in 63 hours on a bet from HarleyDavidson.
Part of his passion for riding came from the early days when he had little time and less money. He’d ride his motorcycle to every event he wanted to cover. He’d tie cases of the magazine to the bike, and many times took refuge on a spare couch at the Broken Spoke or by the Wall of Death
Callen had made it, as his dreams of a good motorcycle life were concerned, but realized that life is only half as good until you have someone to share it with.
In Aug 2015 he married his longtime friend Heather, who is at least equally as crazy as he is (His words)
Together the two became unstoppable pursuing new stories, new events, and new media outlets for Cycle Source.
They started Grease & Gears Garage in 2016 at the Broken Spoke in Sturgis. With a cell phone on a stick taped to a bucket, they launched the first ever live stream from a motorcycle rally featuring tutorials in front of a live audience and broadcast it live through Facebook and YouTube. Soon, the production quality improved, Chris learned more on this format, and started a new form of motorcycle program called ShopTalk by 2017.
Digital broadcasting was new, on fire, and just in time. In 2020 when the world was locked down, Callen started five other shows. At the height of the pandemic he held the world’s first Cyber Rally, a 17 hour live stream with everything from stunts to bartenders and a virtual bike show, all to keep the community together through hard times.
All of his life has been fostered through motorcycling. He shared his oil painting, his music, and grown into a public speaker, delivering a monologue to over 60,000 people. He has ridden through 49 states, most of Canada, and some of Europe. All because people that the world saw as outsiders took him in. It is a crowning achievement for Chris to be inducted into the Hall Of Fame, and an honor to be considered among his heroes.