Learn all about Rick and me here!

[Mindy Beth]

My first magazine layout can be seen in the Jan/Feb issue of BikerAlly...a motorcycle magazine geared for women. You can read the article I wrote here, but if you want to see the entire layout you have to buy the magazine!

www.bikerallymag.com

The Ultimate Husband & Wife Team
by Mindy Beth Matarazzo

I don’t think it could have been any more perfect. It was Christmas Eve and we had just finished watching ’It’s A Wonderful Life’. I was so tired. All I wanted to do was go to bed but Rick insisted on showing me something. He told me to wait inside as he opened the slider door and exited out into the unusually warm December night. So I’m standing by the Christmas tree wondering what he’s doing when I suddenly hear the muffled sound of music coming from outside. He finally comes back in and leads me by the hand onto the back deck. Looking out over the backyard I could see all these pretty white lights strategically strung up over the back part of the pool. They were so pretty as they glistened over the stillness of the water. As I squinted my eyes to read these brightly lit words I said, "Oh Ricky, it’s beautiful......what’s it say?" He looked at me and said in an obvious tone of voice, "I Love You!" "Oh!" I exclaimed (a couple of the bulbs had broken). Then he led me into a slow dance to the song playing in the background. It was something I had made him listen to in the car some time ago because I thought it would make for a good wedding song. Before I knew it I was sobbing uncontrollably. Not because of what was about to happen, because I honestly had no clue, but because that was the most thoughtful, most romantic gesture anyone had ever done for me. Then he said in a soft voice, "Will you be my wife?" I answered, "You know I will", STILL not realizing that I’m being proposed to because we had talked like this many times before in regular conversations. Then he pulled out a ring. Not just any ring, mind you, but a ring I had fallen in love with on Martha’s Vineyard. A beautiful ring made of white gold and cobalt blue enamel (our color) and teeny weeny diamonds. Once I saw that I knew he was asking me to marry him! Yeah, I’m quick. Of course I said yes. Then the police came. Yup, that’s right. Someone called the cops on us! We were so caught up in the moment that we forgot all about the Jennifer Knapp CD still playing in the stereo. I told the police we were sorry but that I had just been proposed to. One of the officers said "Oh, we’re sorry! We didn’t mean to ruin the moment" and then proceeded to ask if we wanted them to turn the blues on for us. We didn’t make them turn on their lights but we did get some pictures to remember them by.

Rick and I have been married now for three years. We have our own business called Phantom Phenders. Rick builds the bikes and I paint them. Rick has been in the motorcycle business his whole life. He is an amazing body-man and fabricator. But, unlike everybody else, he lacks all the fancy equipment and machinery. Yet he is still able to put a gorgeous finished product out there. I have been airbrushing for about four years now. Before that I was struggling to get work as a muralist. That’s how I met Rick. He hired me to paint a mural in his motorcycle shop. When he saw what I could do on a wall he bet I could do it on a bike, too. So he bought me my first airbrush and that’s how I got started. It was tough to learn at first. Airbrushing is a completely different way of painting. I was only familiar with my good old paintbrushes so, being Irish-Italian, I may have had one or two minor flip-outs trying to teach myself. But I eventually got the hang of it, although I don’t think I’ll ever be done learning. I’m always striving to do better each

and every time I paint. I’m a perfectionist, as is Rick, so I’m never completely satisfied with my work. I always see room for improvement, but I think that’s what makes a good artist.

People often say Rick and I should have our own show. I suppose we would be rather entertaining to watch. As a married couple we do tend to have our differences from time to time. If I’m in my studio painting I DO NOT want to be disturbed. So when Rick comes in to innocently ask me if I’m gonna eat anything I might get a little snippy with him. When I get into that state of concentration there’s just no talking to me. But ya know, he’s got some quirks of his own. We’re not perfect. We fight. What married couple doesn’t? But one thing is for certain and that is our love for each other. It only gets stronger with every battle. Why did you choose the word battle you ask? Battle because that is what our life has been, one battle after the next. Things have been tense from the get-go. Two months before our wedding Rick was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Fortunately, the disease hasn’t progressed much further than when we first discovered he had it. His eye sight has been affected and he does experience fatigue, aches and pains and dizziness. Stress brings on these symptoms which is why I’m so scared for him. If he’s not able to slow down soon the MS is going to catch up to him. It has actually already started to affect him in different ways. Many of which I’m sure he doesn’t tell me about, probably because he doesn’t want to alarm me. The stress of our financial worry and all the INSANE work he’s been doing to help us survive is having a serious toll on him. He is now 44 and still "grinding and sanding" his life away. He shouldn’t have to work this hard anymore. He’s becoming extremely weary. The guilty part about it is that I think he’s been doing all of this for me because he believes in my talent. He just keeps on working non-stop doing anything he has to do in order to ensure our survival. Survival meaning it hasn’t exactly been a picnic around here. There hasn’t been much demand for custom motorcycles and specialty paint work. Not in our area anyway. And I know it’s not because the quality of our work is bad. I know this because people are constantly telling us how amazing our work is. Their facial expressions alone speak volumes, especially when they ask who did the paint. Usually, when I tell them I did the artwork, the response is laughter followed by "No, really." Yes, really! And, you know, only the guys react this way. Their eyes pop out of their heads as if to say they didn’t know it was possible for a ’girl’ to paint that good. The women always have a way better response. They think it’s cool that a woman is working in a male dominated field and kickin’ ass doing it!

I feel bad when I get all of the credit for a paint job because poor Rick is the one who does all the prep work and clear coating. And let me tell you, that is a lot of work and it takes skill to lay down a perfect coat of clear. Not too many people can do it. His clear coat is what brings my work to life. Of coarse, Rick does get his share of compliments, too. Wherever we go, people always flock to his bike. They say it’s the nicest bike they’ve ever seen. It was created and fabricated by him and him alone. Everything was hand done, from the tank design to the hand-braised webbing. His fender design is the most unique, though. People are always trying to make their taillights built in, but no one does it the way Rick does. The fender is completely smooth. No seams. It’s a special process he created years ago and it’s top secret. I like to incorporate my artwork with the taillight designs so that when the brake light isn’t on no one knows it’s even there. All they see is the art. But when it’s turned on all you hear are ooohs an ahhhs! That’s why we call ourselves PHANTOM PHENDERS. Because no one knows the fender has a functional taillight until it’s turned on.

My husband is one of the most HONEST and kind-hearted people you will ever meet. There is nothing he wouldn’t do for me. I would love to see us finally achieve the amount of success we’ve been striving so hard for. We are the ultimate husband and wife team and we’re on a mission. We are going to be the next big thing to hit the scene. No matter how bumpy this road gets we are NOT going to give up because I know this is what we were meant to do and I know we are one of the best around. Especially considering the fact that we do everything the old fashioned way, you know, with blood, sweat and tears. No CNC machines or plotters here. I’m not saying it wouldn’t be nice to have those things, but for right now we gotta make the best with what we have. Mainly an airbrush, some paint, sand paper, string, scotch tape, a couple of tacks and some glue. Hey, if MacGyver can do it, why can’t we?