Nick Gale Customs Cycles had the great pleasure of mentoring a group of young boys from the Archway Project, a registered youth charity in Thamesmead, London, with their first custom bike build, a chopper named “ Purple Haze.”

The Archway Project works together with young people who are at risk of social exclusion, in care proceedings, or who suffer abuse or neglect at home. Archway provide support and guidance, whilst diverting youngsters away from crime, reducing reoffending and providing members with qualifications and the skills necessary to help them secure meaningful employment. They provide an alternative learning experience for youngsters who have educational needs or who have been excluded from full time education.

The boys attended their first session on the 27th September 2010 and continued their workshops each Monday until the bike was complete and ready to be re built and revealed in front of a live audience at the Alexandra Palace Custom Show that was held in February  2011.
Each session began with Nick re capping the previous week using a weekly worksheet that doubled as a questionnaire. He gave the boys an outline of what they had previously achieved and asked them questions to make sure they were  learning  and fully understood the process they had recently carried out.
The sessions continued with step by step instruction given by Hugo who discussed each stage with the boys and showed them how to achieve whatever was necessary.

The entire project was supervised at all times and the dangerous handling of equipment and particularily skilled fabrication was only carried out by skilled NGcc staff  who later explained in detail how the work had been done.All work and time of course was given freely by all at NGcc.