Seth was recently asked by ChopperHead Magazine to write an article about his experiences with and the life of Dean Bryant. You never knew Dean, until you've read this!






Foreword by Timothy Stephens
Article by Seth Borden
2006

I met Dean "Pops" Bryant a couple years ago at the Beverly Hills car show. He caught me admiring one of his custom cars and struck up a conversation with me. He then grabbed my arm and little did I know at the time that I was going to be spending the rest of the afternoon with him. A couple days later me and Matt went out to his shop in the valley and experienced one of the most memorable afternoons of our lives with him. He is a wealth of information on many things going on in this world besides his vast knowledge of customizing cars and bikes. One of his protégé's Seth reached out to me recently and I immediately knew that he felt the same way about Dean as I did. So the following piece you are about to read is written by Seth who has spent 15 years learning alongside Dean. So, Seth for those who don't know, drop it hard on these muthafucka's and let them know who Dean "Pops" Bryant is.

Dean Bryant, what can I say, the gentleman has lived a thousand lives. Right from his beginnings as a child, Dean chose to do things outside of the box and still does to this day. From leaving his parents' home at a young age, dealing with the blood, sweat and tears that life throws at you, to his charity philanthropy work with The Special Olympics, he always wants to make things better. I have looked at Dean as a book of knowledge. We have spent many of hours discussing life, people and the way it all works together. One of the most amazing things to me, is the way he can remember a specific date and events. These moments I speak of are not your normal well known events in history. Most individuals can tell you when WWI or WWII started and what not. Dean can tell you who developed new technology, specific details on whatever subject he is talking about along with the anecdotes of the people involved as well as tell you the year, the month and the date!

Dean has done it all, picking fruits and vegetables on large plantations/ranches, enjoyed a period as a successful prize fighter, became a customizer of cars and motorcycles, is a bank owner, admits to being a C.I.A. agent and resourceful construction contractor. To hear him tell it, Dean built nearly all of Los Angeles in the early 60's and 70's including the U.S.C. Medical Center. I can recall conversations about some of the early autos that he built in the late 40's and how they would utilize a lot of the techniques and materials used in the construction of buildings and structures. I thought at the time, What ever got the job done... Now I realize that this is Dean's way of life. It was more about ingenuity than following a book that lays it all out for you. Same is true of the construction techniques he utilizes.

As to Dean coming into my life, it has been one of the most important aspects of my growing up. He has given my brother John and I millions of dollars worth of knowledge. We met him when we were young children. I can recall us walking up to him, mentioning how beautiful his car was and pointing out the details of his work that we admired. From that moment, he took a liking to us and we have not looked back nor has Dean Bryant stopped sharing his vast knowledge with us. He was, and still is, a very opinionated person, especially when it comes to the art of customizing an auto. He would ask my brother and I to get down real low and look at the sides of a vehicle. Dean would point out all of the waves and flaws that he saw, That input has stuck with us from then on. One of his biggest pet peeves is finding even the slightest flaw in the body alignment of an automobile, from the fenders to the hood and what not. Every line had to be gauged to a paint sticks thickness. Who knows how many hours we have put into the many of autos, to get the alignment so it's just right. Always pushing the envelope of design, I feel we have covered the whole spectrum of eras and their design specifics of that time. Some were very true to the period while others mix the old and new. One of my favorite builds was an early 70's Cadillac built as a late 60's concept vehicle. That Caddy was a cross between the 1960's radical styling and the B-2 Stealth Bomber of today. The Mercury's have always been nice because there classic lines flow well with a chopped top and lowered stance.

Lets not forget Dean's involvement in the Motion Picture Industry. Always choosing to be the person behind the scenes, he has been involved with far to many pictures to mention here. One of the more recent films he worked on was the remake of Gone In Sixty Seconds, starring Nicolas Cage and Angelina Jollie. H.B. Halicki who produced the original, left Dean his rare Rolls Royce, so Dean decided to cut up a vehicle valued at over a $150 thousand dollars. That was fun, as is with most situations Dean is involved in. When he talks about some of his early years and the parties he went to in Beverly Hills, he really has a way of drawing you in. You get this feeling as though you are actually hanging out with Frank Sinatra, Raquel Welch, Marilyn Monroe and James Dean, all of whom he had the pleasure of knowing on a first name basis.

My brother and I were fortunate to meet many of the folks involved in Dean's life. Including Hugh, Jerry, Andrea, Nick, Harlan, A.J., Lalo and countless others. How many times can you say you had Linda Perry, former lead singer of 4 Non Blondes and red hot producer to Pink, Courtney Love, James Blunt and countless others, stop by, followed by a visit the next day from Manny Asadurian. Or listening in on conversations with Jerry Bruckheimer, Danny Trejo or Jery Fine planning their next conquest. It happens all the time at the shop out in San Fernando as well as the old Santa Clarita location. I am still amazed with the talented individuals who are now a part of my life, so what else can I say, other than I owe a big heap of thanks to Dean Bryant.

To find out more about Dean Bryant and Elegant Customs, visit MySpace and become one of his friends at http://www.myspace.com/elegantcustoms