We’re pretty pleased with the progress of things. Our first shirt designs are entering production, and we will soon begin selling the goods at Rever’s online store and getting the line into other retailers. It’s amazing where a single statement will get you. One day, Robert says to me, “I want to design T-shirts.” Nuts! Every time Rob or I make a “I wanna” declaration, one of two things happens. Either productivity in the the shop comes to a screeching halt as the brainstorm blows in, or we get to work on yet another great business venture. Fortunately, this venture is an adventure. We knew we were onto something when we figured out how to bring our love for pistons and pushrods into the picture. Mmm. Pushrods.

It’s hard to imagine that Rever’s roots date back to 1985. Robert and I met on a basketball court. It was a pick-up game in a neighborhood schoolyard. Rob seemed alright, but we didn’t say much to each other. My wife makes fun of my friends and me, “You guys get together for hours, and you don’t talk about much!” Not only is that untrue, but she never played basketball either. We didn’t go to the schoolyard to talk. This ain’t Oprah! We all had the same agenda… Play a little hoop and, maybe, pull through with a W to feed the ego. I think the only thing we talked about after the game was our friend, Jeff and his unlikely skills inside the key. Jeff was the nicest guy. A complete metalhead, out of shape, easily the ugliest dude in our group of friends and surprisingly agile and fast on a basketball court. I could never cover him, but I digress.

Contrary to my wife’s POV, Robert and I have talked a lot after 23 years. We’ve been through a lot: bad choices in girlfriends, death wish teenage driving habits, taking my T-bird and Rob’s VW off-roading—yes, we got stuck… Several times. What about it? It never mattered much; we usually didn’t have any water—that would have been a good idea—but we were usually packing assault rifles, shotguns, .45s and a sense of invincibility that got us out of the Mojave and back to the lights of Las Vegas.

Like I was saying, Rob and I talk a lot. There are always the recurring themes. Hey, I’m hungry; where are we eating today? There should be a dedicated z-rated lane for people that have performance cars—big braking power, z-rated tires, etc.—and documented track experience. Why don’t we have our own morning talk show? Hey, did I show you the pictures from the top-speed run against the F-16? You know, everyday stuff. 

Our preoccupation with cars and Robert’s “I want to design T-shirts” proclamation has led to more fun and opportunity than we could have imagined on the blacktop 23 years ago. We fabricated Rever Clothing out of thin air. The designs are outstanding, the quality of the shirt is very desirable, and the subject matter is inspiring. The horsepower brand! We think Rever is exactly what we think you would want to wear on the ultimate road trip, and you might even observe a moment of silence when you finally have to retire your Rever after years of faithful service.

Robert and I continue to talk about our designs, but things don’t change. Our conversations still wind up right back at—hand over your heart—cars.