Andrei Hotoleanu

“Omule : Andrei , tell me how everything started.”

“Andrei : Different Motorcycle was visualized for the first time in my mind the moment I saw Max Hazan’s motorcycles. I am not sure if he could imagine just how much of an impact both his creations and him as an artist had on me! I wrote to him. He replied and among many other nice things he said to me was: DREAM BIG! In that moment I have decided that I was to create the studio. I was almost 23 years old and had no funds. I decided to sell my car and my motorcycle and with my brother’s support I managed to rent a garage, buy the basic tools, the engine for the first project and the materials I needed for it. It was a small garage with tough working conditions and many insufficiencies; nevertheless it was sustained by a big dream.”

“Omule : Where do you get inspiration from ?”

“Andrei : My inspiration mainly came from Max but also from biomimicry, from nature. I enjoy quite a lot raw design, but clean at the same time. A clean raw. My future “from scratch projects” will have many lines inspired from animals and insects. I wish that in the future I will be able to create my own style and to be, at least locally, a trend setter. The School of Architecture helped me to visualise and equilibrate my projects. ”

“Omule : How do you usually start a new project ?”

“Andrei : At the start of a new project I always have the engine and the sketch fixed on the work bench and I start to dream and smile in front of them. I smile because I always get funny ideas at first. I smile at the reactions I know people will have when they will see the final project exposed and that some people will say I am crazy. I am the type that feeds quite a lot on the feedback I receive and this influences me quite a lot in the design process. ”

“Omule : What was your favorite moment so far? ”

“Andrei : I think that my biggest success so far was to raise this studio and this kind of art, a type of art that is almost inexistent in my country. The activity that I undertake in my studio has attracted a lot of support from cool people who wish, to the same extent as I do, for me to be able to develop my projects. A huge success is also the fact that I constantly learn new things. I educate and discipline myself through this studio. I can say that after two years of work I am very changed as a person and I have a thirst of achieving great things on many plans. If I will ever be able to inspire other people in the same way Max inspired me, is the only success I truly need. ”

“Omule : Have you encountered ups and downs so far? ”

“Andrei : During this steady ascension that I experienced, I rarely had to deal with failures or maybe my mindset helped me not to see them as such. I saw them as sources of energy and ambition. Maybe a time will come for such moments but I am prepared to overcome them and readapt.”

“Omule : What kind of feedback have you received so far ?”

“Andrei : It was, is and will be very funny when people who see my motorcycles ask me who helps me build them because they say this isn’t a young man’s hand and others that simply refuse to believe that I constructed them from scratch. I will never forget one time when at a party on a Saturday night I saw some bikers blowing up their engines. I was curious to see the motorcycles and after they stopped their moment of show off, I asked them if they would let me show them something. I took my phone and went on the website to show them pictures of my motorcycles. They laughed at me and told me to stop lying to them with pictures from Google. I left whilst laughing of their laugh. ”

“Omule : Tell me something about Andrei.”

“Andrei : I recently turned 26 years and I am born in a small town from Romania called Vaslui. I studied architecture for three years in Bucharest, city in which now I live and work for Different Motorcyle. I can also sing and play the guitar, though as a hobby. I love to be surrounded by all kinds of artists and I have an active social life. I party a lot and love women. I am funny and slightly egocentric, which can lead either to good or bad things. ”

“Omule : How do you see this industry ?”

“Omule : As Romania’s capital city, Bucharest is very busy in all aspects and in terms of motorcycles you can find almost any type. Vintage motorcycles are not so often seen on the streets, but I know some connoisseurs who keep them in their houses. When the warm season starts it is a nice city to ride in. The other traffic participants are not so used to see many motorcycle drivers, but this forces you to be more careful. Risk brings also an adrenaline rush so… Regarding other studios of custombikes, there are some other makers scattered through the country. We do not have a community just yet, maybe because our egos sometimes foolish. ”

“Omule : What’s your favorite kind of motorcycle ?”

“Andrei : I enjoy all motorcycles, but certainly I have my preferences. I am more driven towards the vintage models because they carry history, but I cannot stay to far from the performances of a modern motorcycle. I like the supermotos from KTM with which I made some stunts as well, but I also like the supersports from Ducati. I am not very fond on choppers and there are few naked motorcycles that I like.”

“Omule : What do you like the most about your work ?”

“Andrei : What I enjoy the most at this type of work is that I balance my creative spirit and sustain the relation between man and creation. I am often visited at the studio by friends and through this studio I meet a lot of very special people. I make my own schedule. I do what I love and it keeps me in the middle of my passion: the two wheels. ”

“Omule : Do you want to build a team in the future ?”

“Andrei : At the moment I do not afford a team, so I work alone. I hate being alone, but since I started the vlogging channel this issue was solved because I have the company of the director/videographer. I also do not enjoy that I always ruin my clean clothes and that, even though I wear gloves, I manage to get mechanic-hands.”

“Omule : Do you have any kind of routines ?”

“Andrei : A projects starts in your imagination. First of all you decide from what category you want you motorcycle to be part of – this will help you to decide what wheels to use. For the projects I start from scratch I like to use old engines, vintage/collectibles if possible, and then I start to play with it on the workbench. I customize the position of the engine and of the wheels and do several sketches until I find a line or a volumetry that I like. Then I start welding on the workbench and draw the motorcycle in more detail. After I find the design – stage that can last one or two weeks if I am not in a hurry – I start to work on the frame and fork. After I finish with the structure, I start to make templates for the rest of the components and accessories so I can be able to create them.”

“Omule : What do you like to do in your free time ?”

“Andrei : In my spare time, I like to be present at different social or cultural events, always in the heart of the city. If I do not, then I’m looking for different constructive activities that I do with my friends.”

“Omule : Serious convo , what kind of superpower would you like to have ?”

“Andrei : I would like to fly fly, to control gravity in a controlled manner.”

“Omule : Favorite place to go on a holiday .”

“Andrei : For the next holidays that I plan with the motorcycle, of course, I am going to visit all of Italy and the Cote d’Azur. I find myself very much in the Latin part of Europe. I am also sure that Romania also has to offer me many beautiful places, I just have to look for them.”