What do you do for Living?

[Monitor]

lol alright, Bunnyip, since I've personally been called upon, I cannot pretend that I somehow didn't see this thread, especially not after such a nice compliment (something I am full aware of, by the way (I kid)). Also, I lol'd hard at the Worf, Bretron and HD bit, which oddly began to make sense when put this way! I'm dying to hear more about Worf, though - that man has an insanely cool style.

Hi, everyone, Ben, my name is Ivan and I'm an jacket addict.

Lol okay, short story, after moving around a bit I currently reside in Croatia, but I am hoping to be taking my business to Canada pretty soon, where I intend to stay. Or skip the border and reached that promised land I see so much about on the telly. The United States. Though I'd love to go to Australia, but I'm not exactly sure how to get there. I'm not sure it even exists, really...

At 34 years old, I guess I can say that I did many things for a living, all of which took me nowhere in life and most that flat out failed. But, I consider myself to be an artist - illustrator, to be precise, and that's a children's story book illustrator - and a graphic designer. Life would have it that I've done least work in this field, with the rest being odd jobs, like working in a book store, motorcycle courier, computer IT, working at a restaurant (Dumpster Divers line of work ), construction, etc. etc. But yes, I am primarily an artist and drawing is (still) the no. 1 source of my income and it's what puts food in my dogs bowl. I guess my profession has a lot to do with the jackets I choose. And yeah, same as Stefan, sometimes I too draw the jacket I have in mind, just to see what it might look like before I waste my two years income on it only to end up disappointed because the Grail doesn't exist. The dog's a Tibetan Spaniel, by the way.

I ride... or rather used to ride a Ducati 900SS Desmo, that I inherited from my dad. But that bike's in no riding condition anymore, and I've no money to work on it (also the reason why I cannot have a decent collection of jackets), so right now I'm riding Honda Rebel 250 when I want to feel the wind in my hair (typing this had me laughing), that belongs to a friend of mine, and that's basically my only bike right now. My friend is too ashamed to be seen on such a baby motorcycle and that works just for me. He's one of those biker-wannabe types that's convinced people are laughing at him and his baby-bike. I adore that machine though and right now I feel it's the best bike in the world. I know the best bike in the world is always the one you ride, but this really is a wonderful motorcycle that actually gets you places. Perhaps I've spent too much time on that racing beast of mine on which you can't even enjoy nothing properly...

I share my life with a woman I am deeply in love with, though same as Big J, I try to spend as much time as I can in a local bar with a great view of a very busy street, just to look at the insanely beautiful ladies passing by.

Illustrating takes up most of my hobby capacity so other than MC leather jackets, I've really no other major hobbies I'm into that are as active as my love for leather jackets, that is. I love life, though, and everything about it. Everything is just so, so profoundly beautiful, even the ugly stuff...

So yeah, that's about it. Nothing exciting but I'm having fun!

Nice to meet you all, guys, by the way and keep 'em coming. Thoroughly enjoy getting to know you better.

 

[Peter Mackin]

Hi..Peter mackin..now working in social care after 34 years with royal mail Glasgow...owner of 35 leather jackets..thanks guys ,,,owner of 92 dyna glide& Honda hornet...mx5rc for sunny days!!! In Glasgow?heading to isle of man in July then Castlemaine Australia in October....I can almost taste the pint of blackheart beer now

 

[navetsea]

hi5 to Ivan, for pursuing where the passion is no matter how life tries to crush it down and ridicule it. I too can't separate hobby from profession. I hope one day us Illustrators would inherit the earth!!!

I did some children illustration too for a coloring website for 2-3 yrs this years though they have lots of my drawings still yet to be programmed into flash, so I do comics now, basically I draw 10hrs a day, not because I'm awesome, but because I'm a slow drawer and making lots of mistakes

sadly I have too many hobbies... and doing too many unpaid activities like making countless skin textures for my favorite games as downloadable fanmade freebies..., hand sewing miniature clothes for action figures..., making a complete boardgame prototypes just to be played with friends, drawing jackets, boots, pants I dream of having them made someday, many unproductive activities that shouldn't be done by a 36yo with a household to take care
but I'm happy at heart

I'm single luckily, but I have a 93yo grandma in my care until one day she doesn't need me anymore, if by that time I'm confident enough to start a family then I'll see where life would bring me.

 

[Peacoat]

I am a recovering jackaholic with 15 peacoats and 15 leather jackets, 8 of which are high end leather. The rest are good quality, but not necessarily expensive. My last two jackets are a Thunder Bay I got a little over a year ago and a Sheene, which I received in October. As I am on the road to recovery, I think that will be it for me. Most of my leather jackets and peacoats got no wear this year, mainly because I was breaking in the Sheene and wanted to wear it as much as possible.

Currently I am on extended sabbatical.* I have an academic bent, and am working a day or two a week doing proof reading and editing. My post graduate degree is in law (J.D.) and has served me well for almost 40 years. I no longer have a financial need to work, but require the socialization that goes along with the work place.

My wife and I have a small farm--32 acres--with Thoroughbreds and Thoroughbred crosses. My wife shows over fences and we both fox hunt. Galloping cross country is almost as exciting as flying helicopters in Vietnam. With Thoroughbreds there is a thrill a minute--just as was flying combat missions.

My current motorcycle is a 2006 Police Road King. I have had it since 2008 when it had 2701 miles and was fresh from the department. Probably will be the last MC I own. Prior to that I had a 2004 Ultra Classic, which I really enjoyed until I took a police riding course on a Police Road King. That did it for me, and I had to have one. Five days later I was on the road to pick it up. Initially, I was going to use it in competition and only as a back up to the Ultra, but I liked it so well, I never rode the Ultra again. Ended up selling it.

While I enjoy the leather jackets, my first love is the peacoat. I spent several years researching these fine coats. The PTB of this forum were kind enough to allow me to post my research on this board so that all could access it. Thanks guys.

Enough information for now, time to get on with my morning. PC.

________
*Some would call it retirement, but that just sounds too old and too final. I am still batting about looking for what I will do next. Maybe something involving law enforcement as that is still interesting to me. I know the DA, the Chief of Police and the Sheriff of my county, so there are possibilities there.

 

[Worf]

I retired two weeks ago. 33 years with the State of New York inspecting electric and gas transmission line construction (the BIG cross country ones NOT the ones on your street). I'm kinda figuring out the ins and outs of being able to sleep long as I want, hit the gym when I want and basically wander round the house buck nekid all day. But I'm sure things will change soon...

Worf

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I retired two weeks ago. 33 years with the State of New York inspecting electric and gas transmission line construction (the BIG cross country ones NOT the ones on your street). I'm kinda figuring out the ins and outs of being able to sleep long as I want, hit the gym when I want and basically wander round the house buck nekid all day. But I'm sure things will change soon...

Worf

Worf
I retired over 15 years ago at age 52 after working for GM for 34 years. It did take me a couple years to 'come down' from the rat race and settle in comfortably with the new 'freedom' that I hadn't had since I was a kid. The first month of retirement I mentioned to my Wife that I needed to get this and that done and something else by Tuesday and Friday. She looked at me and said.."Why...now you've got all the time in the world to do that." After I adjusted to the fact that she was right...I even finally had a ceremony of tossing the alarm clock. Now I'm busier than ever..but mainly at things I really enjoy and on my own (by gawd) timetable. Before you know it...all that 'working for the Man' will seem like a dream of surely someone else in a land far far away. I don't even think about it anymore..and, in my case, that's a great feeling. Sorry..gotta run now..my show is on TV...then I 'should' mow the yard. Might wait till tomorrow or the next day,though......
HD

 

[bn1966]

I'm Lee, I'm 49 & work in Psychiatry in the UK teaching staff in the main emergency clinical skills. I'm married to a General Nurse (Cardiac Lab) & live in the county of Wiltshire (I'm originally from West London) with said wife and Desert Hound Kelda.

I've had a jacket problem from the age of 14 and things aren't getting any better I can tell you! I got into youth cults & alternative music from an early age and the dye was basically cast. I'm heavily into vintage smutter (mainly Americana) & it eats up a lot of my hard earned.

Jacket wise I like Eastman leathers and original cold war nylon jackets. I also have a big thing at the moment for service issue G1's in size 48 (anyone got one they want to sell me?)

A Passion for classic vehicles has been with me from about the age of 2 yrs & I currently own an old SAAB Turbo and one of the last Vespa PX 200 Scooters made (we are the Mods!). Adding a Yamaha tourer to the stable next year and intend to do a bit of European riding.

I like Friday nights, Staropramen Beer, Japanese, Caribbean & Chinese food (keen on a good steak too). Much of my holiday time is spent in the 'Smoke' (London) down by the Thames & in the pubs of Barnes, Chiswick, Kew & Brentford.

I like to hang out in the Lounge & relax by playing 'Blitz Brigade' on-line.

 

[Stand By]

Hi guys - and a good idea for a thread, Ben! After all, we all spend soooo much time here (and my girlfriend laments that I don't "make any real friends!"
I'm David and 48 next month. I can't believe that number! It feels like a typo but it's not.
When I left school in 1985, I had NO idea what to do. I only wanted to fly for the RAF but didn't have a maths qualification - and just didn't know what to do. An awful feeling …
Then my dad came home from playing golf one day and told me that he'd just been playing with a dentist who'd just got married and his father-in-law owned a dental lab and they need an apprentice orthodontic technician. I asked him what one of those was - and he said "I've no idea son, but you'd better bloody well find out, 'cos you're going to bloody be one!!! You have the interview on Friday." Oh.
Sure enough, I got the job and that was the start of a long and winding career that has led me out here from Sheffield, England to Toronto, Canada.
Today I'm an Anaplastologist - someone who makes silicone facial prosthetics - eyes, noses, ears, foreheads etc. Think of special effects - but for patients who have suffered various degrees of facial deformity due to trauma, cancer or congenital deformity (birth defect) and so these prosthetics help restore dignity and prevent them from becoming otherwise reclusive - so the prostheses directly aid in socially rehabilitating people as I have them flying under everyone else's radar, so to speak. Most people haven't a clue about what I do - and that's a good thing, as I'd not be doing a good job if people noticed my work! That's the point of it. I love my job. It's just good to be able to help people in a unique way and use my skills - which I can see now were developed initially from my model-building hobby (I started making models when I was 6. I remember the day I got my first Airfix kits. I got two and felt very lucky! And I had at least one kit on the go for the next 35+ years ...). There are only a handful of us in Canada (5 or so) - and I'm the only certified Anaplastologist serving all of Ontario - a province 4 times the size of the UK. But this is my dream job.
I live with my girlfriend and she brings out the best in me. We love animals - and since she took an interest in rescuing a particular older dog in Texas who was first in line to the gas chamber on a Monday morning, we went on to rescue him and then a few others more … currently we have 7 dogs, plus a parrot and 2 cats. So life has never been busier, as you might imagine. But then, it's also never been better and more rewarding … I feel very blessed. I've never had less money in my wallet, but I also feel rich at the same time.
And I'm getting back to my model building hobby after a hiatus of a few years. Love my English and Irish beers (as well as being tasty, they take the edge of a world that's gone utterly mad IMO) and enjoy one most days. Also, I love my hi-fi (I also have a nice hi-fi and turntable in my treatment room here at work) and home cinema, all things about Gerry Anderson and good sci-fi, and I ride mountain bikes to work every day, all weathers - all year 'round (the coldest I've done is a windchill of -37C. Gears cease to work at that temperature, you know!). It's just as well too, as if it wasn't for them, with my daily beer and chocolate, I think I'd look like William Shatner.
And when I'm here on the FL, I'm at work (Shhh!) .

 

[tmitchell59]

My name is Terry, I'm 62 and retired on January 1st! I worked as a social worker and Counselor. I live in Illinois USA. I'm single and have two grown children. I bought my first leather jacket as a teenager in 1968. My cousin had one. It was long brown Grais, in cabretti leather with a zip out lining. Since then I have always owned a leather jacket. Through the years I bought leather jackets at re-sale shops, thrift stores etc. Worn out a few. November of 2014 I went through a closet of vintage jackets to look for something. Got me going. I have since purchased nearly 100 hundred leather jackets (I got one in the mail today). I also own several new jackets. I have sold a few. I bought and sold vintage acoustic guitars for many years, specializing in Gibson acoustic guitars. It just became too expensive, so I got into leather jackets. I still have many guitars. I also play music.

I have a great interest in vintage leather jackets. I was hoping that would be the case on the forum, but I don't think too many people are that interested. I like photography and have many pictures of mine and other leather jackets. I prefer Civilian jackets and focus on the post-war jackets from the 50s . I also maintain a etsy store, but have not done much with it lately.

I own new leather jackets by Lost Worlds, Bill Kelso, Buzz Rickson, Aero, Alexander leather. I like and wear old and new.

I plan to do some post with the vintage jackets. I have little interest in the personal slamming that seems to come up her in regard to certain companies so I hesitate to say much about those jackets.

Nice idea for a thread. Thanks.

Terry

 

[Lord Flashheart]

Hello lads,

My real name is Garry and I'm a 45 year old Scotsman living in country Victoria, Australia. I was born in Leith which is the the port town of Edinburgh and consider myself a proud Leither and Hibernian Football Club fan. I came to Australia back in 98 backpacking with grand plans to travel round Australia but never made it past Melbourne as I was playing rugby at the time and signed on with one of the teams here. I was lucky enough to be sponsored through rugby to stay on in Oz when the visa finished and have been here ever since.
I have worked for one of the government departments here for about 12 years as an inspector doing spot checks on various licensed occupations (estate agents, car yards, brothels etc) to ensure legislation compliance.
Currently living and working in Ballarat which is a beautiful Victorian gold town ( if you love federation style housing and lead light this is the place for you!) Have been married to a gorgeous redhead for 5 years and have a 2yo daughter who is a real character and great fun.
I have many interests, most of which are history related. I love Scottish history, Nepoleionic era naval history and a huge interest in vintage aviation. I also enjoy local Australian history and a growing interest in vintage cars. I think the vintage car interest is a product of the realisation that I will never own and fly a any kind of De havilland (moths, Dragon Rapides etc) aircraft so a vintage car will have to do. I love any pre 1973 MG's but especially the model A and B. Currently trying to to justify the the purchase of a 1969 "B" to the good lady but the 2yo might have put the kibosh on that for now. I also have a thing for jackets and have bought a few on the last few years. First was an Aviation Leathercraft Irvin which was a huge mistake. Beautifully made sheepskin but I now see it's as far from the real thing as you can get and as practicle as a chocolate fire guard so I sold it to China. I now have a Schotts Cafe racer (660), a G&B G1 and an Aero Teamster. My last purchase was an Austrian army M65 which cost all of $50 Aud from Aussie Disposals and is my best fitting jacket.

Anyway, nice to get a bit of background on you guys. Great thread!

Garry

 

[Lord Flashheart]

Hi..Peter mackin..now working in social care after 34 years with royal mail Glasgow...owner of 35 leather jackets..thanks guys ��,,,owner of 92 dyna glide& Honda hornet...mx5rc for sunny days!!! In Glasgow?heading to isle of man in July then Castlemaine Australia in October....I can almost taste the pint of blackheart beer now

Why Castlemaine Peter, that's like an Aussie traveling across the world to Denny! If it's the Victorian one its a great wee spot and if your a beer fan there is a real ale brewery fairly close to you and a couple of cracking pubs.

Garry

 

[pawineguy]

I'm Chris, 45, living in the northern suburbs of Philadelphia with my wife and 3 boys. She runs final stage clinical trials for a big Pharma company, and I consult with wineries on sales and marketing issues and am getting ready to open a separate (much larger) business in an unrelated field. It'll be my first time building out a physical site for a new business so I'm looking forward to the challenge. I previously headed a successful startup company that grew quite large in my 6 years there. (I was there from day one of building the business)

I do a lot of coaching in various sports, and help run a very successful Little League organization in my area. With any leftover time I travel as much as I can, play a small amount of golf, shoot my handguns, ride a Honda CTX and pound beers in the local pub.

 

[ProteinNerd]

Interesting thread and it's fascinating to see such a variety of people/careers all interested in leather jackets of all things.
I'm Martin, 41. I was never really into vintage style per se, more just into high quality clothes that stand the test of time.
I'm an account manager for a therapeutic nutrition company that services veterinarians, I very lucky to have stumbled on a job that marries two of my passions, nutrition and animals.
Outside of work and leather jackets my greatest passion are the Martial Arts. In the 30 years I've been training and teaching I've got Black Belts in 3 different styles, now working on my 4th (Japanese Jujitsu) and also training in Muay Thai but that doesn't really have a "ranking" system.
Despite my love of vintage cafe racer bikes, I own a Ducati 848 super sport. It's just such an amazing piece of engineering and such a great ride even though I love vintage styled bikes, I couldn't bring myself to sell it just to get a bike that looks cool but wouldn't be as amazing to ride.

 

[Peter Mackin]

Why Castlemaine Peter, that's like an Aussie traveling across the world to Denny! If it's the Victorian one its a great wee spot and if your a beer fan there is a real ale brewery fairly close to you and a couple of cracking pubs.

Garry

Hi Garry...my family are spread around the Geelong & Apollo bay area..n my sister n her girls moved to castlemaine a couple of years ago...I was over in September for 9days,,(sister passed away);;so I'm coming back to spend some quality time.Will do some travel n see my old haunts from when I played football in the 70s....happy days.Peter

 

[Sloan1874]

all things about Gerry Anderson

I met the amazing Mr Anderson some eight years ago when he was giving a talk in Glasgow. An interesting but slightly crotchety guy. Said that the one thing he regretted about his work was that his non-puppet productions didn't receive the critical acclaim that he felt they deserved.

 

[Worf]

Worf
I retired over 15 years ago at age 52 after working for GM for 34 years. It did take me a couple years to 'come down' from the rat race and settle in comfortably with the new 'freedom' that I hadn't had since I was a kid. The first month of retirement I mentioned to my Wife that I needed to get this and that done and something else by Tuesday and Friday. She looked at me and said.."Why...now you've got all the time in the world to do that." After I adjusted to the fact that she was right...I even finally had a ceremony of tossing the alarm clock. Now I'm busier than ever..but mainly at things I really enjoy and on my own (by gawd) timetable. Before you know it...all that 'working for the Man' will seem like a dream of surely someone else in a land far far away. I don't even think about it anymore..and, in my case, that's a great feeling. Sorry..gotta run now..my show is on TV...then I 'should' mow the yard. Might wait till tomorrow or the next day,though......
HD

God bless you my friend, just what I needed to hear. Many thanks for the "words of experience". I've been working off and on since I was 14.... it's a hard habit to break!

Worf

 

[theeggcarton]

I'm Greg and live on the midwest of the USA (Ohio to be exact)...right outside Cleveland, a classic "rust belt-steel town" if there ever was one. The city that has been butt of many jokes (yes, the Cuyahoga did actually catch on fire here back in the 70's) is an amazing town to live in. I love the look and feel of my city and we are so tied into our blue collar working class history that it should be mandatory that everyone here own a Teamster!
I personally am a fine artist and product designer. Spent 25 years of my career doing toy design as my day job and made a major shift two years back...and am now Design Director at a large US decorative lighting company. My real passion is art and am addicted to the historic photographic process known as wet plate collodion (widely popular in 1860's-70's) along with sculpture, painting, furniture building...
I found this site as I looked to get a "holy grail" leather jacket, and now in a few short months I have three!

Thanks to all for the continued help and insights!

 

[pawineguy]

God bless you my friend, just what I needed to hear. Many thanks for the "words of experience". I've been working off and on since I was 14.... it's a hard habit to break!

Worf

So many retired guys in the group, I envy you all, and am glad you can now enjoy the fruits of your hard work. For any of you that want to possibly fill a few hours of your week, there are a couple of part time listings that I am aware of related to our passion:

1. Customer Relations / Publicist: Come join our exciting team as we conquer the world! We are a small company based in Greece, but currently produce the world's finest reproduction jackets from the world's finest leathers, incorporating the world's best patterns and the world's greatest attention to detail. The job entails patrolling the internet to ensure no one questions the previous statement, belittling those who do, and pointing out the laziness and ineptitude of our "competitors." A big plus to anyone who has experience at either the DMV or at the IRS.

2. Broker / Buyer - While currently a one man operation, I am seeking to expand my jacket brokering empire and am looking for a few slippery characters who share my passion for discounts and size 48, 50 and 52 jackets. Please leave your ethics at the door, this is not a business for the faint of heart. If you've ever talked a kid into a 2 for 1 deal at his lemonade stand, this might be the job for you! Must not be allergic to Yak hair. Send your resume to fortypercentoffminimum@size50.com

 

[Sloan1874]

lol:eusa_clap

 

[Superfluous]

Great thread!

I'm Craig. Born and bred in Los Angeles. Normal upbringing until age 11, when I discovered drugs. The next six years are a blur of addiction and related insanity. Before the age of 17, I had been arrested six times, primarily for drug related offenses (e.g., sales of LSD and cocaine), and was incarcerated for one year. Thankfully, I hit bottom at a very young age (still a minor) and got sober through AA (31 years sober). Very active in recovery related community service. I was gifted a high school diploma (I certainly didn’t earn it, having been kicked out of the Los Angeles Unified School District and attended eight different high schools). Convinced a university to take a chance on me. Made the most of it. Then law school. I have been practicing law for 24 years. I am a business litigator . . . primarily entertainment (movie studios) and real estate (institutional developers).

My first leather jacket was from Wilson’s Leather. How I loved that jacket. As my addiction advanced, I bought into the marketing and purchased certain Italian jackets (e.g., Loro Piana, Zegna, RLPL, Sulka). Fine jackets (particularly the LP), but I was not satisfied. Then, I came across a vintage Buco J-100 and everything changed (I continue to kick myself for not purchasing the jacket on the spot – I called back two days later but it was sold). My interest in leather jackets quickly shifted from the Italian stuff to the vintage repros . . . primarily moto, civilian and car coats. I don’t know how many leather jackets I currently own, other than that I have way too many considering that I live desert adjacent with limited opportunities to wear a jacket. My favorite jackets are from Goodwear, Real McCoy, Himel, Aero and Freewheelers. I am also interested in watches and sports cars. Had a motorcycle many years ago but, after a nasty accident, I was psyched out and unable to regain my confidence . . . four wheels ever since.

Very happily married (second time is a charm). Mixed marriage – I ski – she snowboards – married at the top of Mammoth Mountain. Winters on the slopes – summers travelling (China/Tibet and France/England last year, Kenya/Tanzania/Rwanda the year before). Two daughters and a step daughter – eldest daughter leaves for college next year. All three are great kids. Step daughter is learning to drive – absolutely terrifying!

Totally jealous of the retired folks among our ranks. How I would love to leave my practice, escape the rat race, move to a rural area, and enjoy a more tranquil existence. Maybe when the kids are finished with college.