This Man Is An Artist, But His Portraits All Have Wheels
Posted: Friday, July 04, 2008
by Marty RicKard
Roger Burman is an artist. But don't look on walls for his creations. His unique artwork has flowing lines, sparkles like diamonds and comes in brilliant colors. They all have one thing in common-wheels.
Burman owns Lakeside Rods and Rides in Twins Lakes, Iowa . He is a master car builder, mostly street rods, and the eye-popping work he produces is his quiet rural setting has garnered international acclaim.
"It's strange to get a magazine with one of my cars in it and not even be able to read the story," he said, referring to a foreign language publication on his desk.
Magazine layouts mounted on large, hardwood plaques cover his office walls. Each commends his craftsmanship.
And, by the way, If a person needed emergency surgery and all the operating rooms in the area were busy, they could do worse than Roger Burman's garage. He takes pride in keeping his well-lighted work area spotlessly clean.
"There's not a lot of junk piled up in here," he said, "because I don't take more work than I can handle." His two-year waiting list testifies to that.
It all started when the Fort Dodge , IA , native was in seventh grade and got a job at Grove-Burke Kawasaki in his hometown.
"When I was a kid, motorcycles were my main thing. I worked there after school, cleaning up and doing whatever I could."
Before long the folks at Grove-Burke saw promise in the young lad and started sending him to Kawasaki seminars.
"I went to a school in Minneapolis , and I remember someone had to drive me up there because I didn't have a license," he smiled.
After a stint at Fort Dodge Honda, Burman opened his own motorcycle shop in town, called Fort Dodge Cycle.
"I worked on motorcycles, but I started fixing beat-up old cars," he said.
Then one day a friend gave Burman a tip that launched his career as a street rod builder.
"Jim Porter, from Fort Dodge, was a friend who had street rods, and he gave me the address of a guy with a 1935 Ford, five-window coupe." Burman bought the car, and fixed it up "from junkyard parts".
In 1989 he took the car to a show in Minneapolis and sold it to a man from California .
"That was more money than I had ever seen," he said.
He invested in another car, fixed it up and called the guy in California who had purchased his first one.
"This guy's buddy called me right back and bought my second car on the phone, sight unseen," Burman said.
With those first two sales, Burman has never looked back. He moved his business to Twin Lakes four years ago because "I liked the quiet" of the area.
"I don't need walk-in business, and the less the phone rings the happier I am," he said.
"The only thing I really miss from Fort Dodge is the junk yard. I used to go there all the time, but now that it's farther I have to plan my trips a little more carefully."
Burman is a man of few words who works hard and doesn't relish interruptions. Zeus, his pony-sized Great Dane, with a bark that sounds as if it comes from a rain barrel, is always around the shop. His very presence dissuades unannounced visitors, and that seems to be all right with his master.
"I guess you could call me a workaholic," he said. "But my wife works every bit as hard as I do. She helps here, keeps things straight at the shop and around home and has a full-time job besides."
Burman's wife, Kris, is a bookkeeper for their business and the office manager at the new Cooperative in Otho, IA.
Burman squelched rumors about how much his cars sell for.
"Let's just say they are very expensive," he said.
He explained that some people order cars with a $3,000 motor and others spend $30,000 on a motor with a lot of chrome.
"The three-thousand-dollar motor does the same thing as the one that costs thirty thousand; it just doesn't look as pretty," He said.
Burman said most people who purchase his cars sell them later for more than they paid.
It typically takes about six months to build a car, he said, but a really radical design can take up to 18 months.
"I don't build show cars. I build cars that can be driven on the street and I show them."
The difference in a show car and a street rod is internal, according to Burman. The brakes, and steering on a car built only for show are not rugged enough to be safe on the street, he explained.
Burman had recently returned from a major car show in Indianapolis . "Out of 3000 cars we got three Pro Picks'," he said. "Only 12 Pro Picks are awarded at the show."
A Pro Pick is an award given by the most prominent individuals in the trade. One of the Pro Picks is selected by the Good Guys Association, a major street rod organization.
The president of the Good Guys asked Burman to work on his Buick, as a result of the show.
Who helped Burman most as he climbed the ladder to prominence in his profession?
"That's easy," he said, "It was my mom. That poor woman went through hell raising us kids," Burman said.
He explained that his father deserted the family when he was about nine, and his mother raised six children on her own.
Burman's mother, Betty Melton, lives in Des Moines with one of her daughters.
"Now I am able to help my mother financially," Burman said, "to show my appreciation for all the work she did."
Marty RicKard Bio
Marty RicKard attended William Penn College , Iowa State University and University of Southern Mississippi , from which he holds a BS degree in journalism and photojournalism. He also has a Masters Degree in photography, in addition to the Craftsman, CPP, and A-ASP degrees. Marty spent two years as a technical writer for White Motor Company, and has worked for the Charles City Press, Mason City Globe-Gazette, and Davenport Times-Democrat. He was co-owner of the weekly New Sharon Star, where he was twice named Iowa Master Columnist for his article, which was syndicated in twenty Iowa newspapers. For more than a decade Marty's regular column appeared in the Professional Photographer magazine. He has been published in many other magazines and newspapers, including Writer's Digest, Writer Advice, Golf Digest, Resource Magazine, Picture, Range Finder, and Darkroom. In addition to his writing credits, Marty has won numerous photography awards, has lectured in 48 states, and has traveled internationally as lecturer, and judge. He was one of thirty from the U.S. to participate in the first cultural exchange with China in 1986. He currently is a regular columnist for Lens Magazine, and a full-time writer of fiction and poetry. He is the author of two poetry books and one volume of short stories. He is an entertaining speaker.
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