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ABOUT KELSEY
MARTIN
Kelsey Martin entered the then-nascent realm of postwar automobile and motorcycle customizing in 1957 when he got his driver's license. Kelsey worked on his own projects to start. In a few years he taught himself all the skills of a successful customizer: how to paint, weld, fabricate, rebuild and much more. Increasingly, friend and acquaintances began to ask him to help customize their vehicles. The word of his talent spread throughout the North Shore region of Massachusetts . And so Kelsey went full-time professional in the early 1960's, operating out of a store front and shop in Beverly Massachusetts. Kelsey customized machines with both two and four wheels. But the 1960's were heyday for motorcycles and Kelsey’s hallmark in that era was the custom Triumph. It always featured an engine sparkled with extensive chrome plating, a radically modified chassis and spectacular multicolor custom paint. Kelsey was an early pioneer in custom painting using metal flake, candy and pearl finishes. He mastered the difficult art of applying multiple layers of transparent paint in flame, scroll and lace patterns. A typical Kelsey Martin paint involved complex masking and remasking as many as two dozen times. For the uninitiated it is almost impossible to envision how the complicated maze of taping and painting, of retaping and repainting, will look when everything is finally removed. Let alone how to plan it all. But, it is easy for Kelsey.  For some time Kelsey’s
work was undiscovered and unknown beyond the North Shore. But in 1971
he was discovered by Tom McMullen, publisher of Street Chopper
magazine. McMullen had made a large fortune selling custom motorcycle
parts and had started a magazine that specialized in the field. When he
and his staff discovered Kelsey and his work, it was a match made in
heaven. Kelsey’s custom Triumph motorcycle, the Ghost, was featured on the cover and centerspread of Street Chopper in 1971 and then it was off to the races for Kelsey. His work began to appear as major multi-page full-color features in all the major motorcycle magazines of the day: Cycle Guide, Easyriders, Big Bike, Hot Bike and many others. The fame and success did not go to Kelseys head. He did not advertise and instead relied mainly on word of mouth and personal referrals. He had a business card that said simply, Have Shop . Will Chop and had a phone number. There was plenty of work. As the era changed, he began to customize more autos. His work was featured in shows, magazines, posters and calendars by big names in the automotive business like Car & Driver, and Hot Rod. His work got awards for Top Ten and Best in Show frequently. His famed ribbon and scrolls, his pioneer flame decorations, they were all a perfect match for custom early Fords and Mercs -- and hot rods of all kinds. There continued to be steady stream of unmatched customs of all kinds that rolled and motored out from his shop. He built the world’s first 1934 Ford custom to use full fiberglass body from A& I fiberglass. He even applied his incredible art to a modern Corvette. In 1994 Kelseys shop caught fire and he was very badly burned trying to save customer work. There were fears in the custom car and bike community that he would not survive -- or if he did, he would cease his work completely. But Kelsey was, and is, a survivor. When asked now about the fire and its outcome, he looks at the wrist and arm he paints with and says through a wry smile, "Hey, everything still works-- I can’t complain!" Today, at age 70, he is as busy as ever on his own projects and, according to him, plans to paint until he drops dead. Everyone who knows Kelsey -- or has seen his work-- hopes that day is a long long way off. We suspect that -- when Kelsey does show up at the pearly gates -- he will be carrying a fresh roll of masking tape and a fully loaded spray gun, one under each arm. And the angels will be soon asking him to chop and channel their chariots! |
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