Caledonia Argus

Recovery a long process for Houston man and his business

Posted: 7/15/03

by Andrew Miller
Argus News Reporter

With dreams of running his own business, Brady Auger left a trucking job and started Iceman Custom Paint in October 1998. But last year, in July 2002, that dream almost came to an abrupt end.

After a long day in his shop in rural Houston, Auger decided to meet up with a friend in Spring Grove for a soda. Leaving his friendís house, he headed east down Main Street towards Caledonia. Without warning, a truck traveling westbound made a left turn in front of him.

He survived the impact, but the collision left Auger with a broken wrist, a damaged spine, and nine months of recovery ahead of him.

His wrist took 12 weeks to heal, but the pain didnít subside until he had his lower back fused in February. It would be another two months until he could even begin to start back up at the shop. In mid-April he made his return, but the process of getting Iceman Custom Paint back to full speed was a challenge.

ìGetting back in the shop after basically being closed for nine months was tough,î Auger said, ìand it was like I was starting all over again. My family and friends said to give it some time and see what happens, and Iím still working at it.î

Starting almost from scratch this spring, Auger came to appreciate the forces at play which helped him get off the ground when he first started the shop in 1998. Tireless labor and promotion on his part turned Iceman Custom Paint into one of the most popular custom motorcycle shops in the Midwest, drawing customers from as far away as Missouri, Illinois, and North Dakota. But were it not for the support of family and friends, he learned, it would have been a rough ride from the get-go.

The basic, hallowed truth Auger discovered was that, though he is the founder, proprietor, and chief mechanic at Iceman Custom Paint, running a business is in large part a team effort.

Building custom motorcycles often requires parts that canít be bought from a catalogue, bits and pieces of machinery that canít be found anywhere on the planet. For these, he turns to friend Kevin Jumbeck of Creative Tool in Houston.

ìThere are a lot of parts that need modification, or are just not available,î Auger noted. ìWithout Kevin and his machine shop, a lot of the parts I need wouldnít be possible.î

Running the shop can be taxing at timesñ Auger typically is working on 3-5 bikes at any one timeñ and returning to work full-time after a nine month absence meant almost nonstop labor. The burden was lessened by Augerís wife, Tracy, who lends a hand in the shop when she returns from her day job as manager at Cenex in Houston.

Part-time employee Nate Honsey was always a helpful hand in the shop, but during Augerís recovery his presence proved invaluable. Honsey kept things running while Auger was gone, doing the occasional job that came through the shop, and maintaining ties with customers that would have vanished had the shop closed entirely.

Now fully recovered, Auger is rediscovering his love for his chosen trade. Building bikes from the ground up, and working his magic with the graphics he paints onto the bikes, is something heíd missed while sidelined with the injuries.

His first job when he returned was the complete restoration of a 1964 Cushman Iron Eagle, an old scooter brought to him by a customer from Mound, MN. Slowly but surely, the tricks of the trade came back to him, and the end product turned out exactly how heíd envisioned it.

ìThe bike turned out beautiful,î Auger noted, ìand the customer was totally satisfied.î

With customers once again flocking to Iceman Custom Paint, Auger is looking to the future. Heíd planned to double the size of the shop and add a showroom last year, but his accident put a damper on that. Heís now shooting for next fall to have the addition completed.

Another downside of the accident was that, for the first time since 1995, Auger was unable to attend the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in August. Each year heíd head down to scope out the latest styles in the world of motorcycles, and admire the work of other custom bike shops. Last August, he was in no condition for any such holiday.

This August, Auger will be making his return to Sturgis in grand fashion, leading a group of 15 bikes. ìI am really looking forward to this yearís run,î he said.

With his recovery and return to work, Auger is like a king returned to his kingdom, glad to be back in the swing of things because, in his words, ìdoing bikes is what I live for.î

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