BRIAN BENT: STRAIGHT UP

June 28, 2021

Words by Brian Terhorst

Photos by Leslie Terhorst

’ve just got to say… Brian Bent is one cool cat. He excels in the most cool and creative things. He makes his own clothing, his own music and his own, jaw dropping, what the hell is that?... rapid transportation. He definitely has a style all his own… He’s an Artist. A Musician. An entrepreneur & a true Hodad Hot Rodder. He has been a creative force behind startup companies like Captain Fin, Powerbalance and most recently United 50 clothing. Very creative, very talented, very unique. Dammit, I’ll just go ahead & call it... He’s a Renaissance Man. We first met Brian in 2009 when our mutual friend Troy Rodarmel enlisted BB’s help to make up the trophies for the Revolt Summer Surf Series. He told us Brian would put something together, no direction necessary. Trust him. At first I was skeptical. First, that he would get them done in three days, second, that they are handmade trophies. We had planned on giving our athletes the old-fashioned, plastic & ‘fake’ gold plated trophies like every other surf contest. You know... the ones with the little surfer posing on top? Anyway, Troy showed up the day of our first contest with these… unreal, totally unique, custom welded trophies/sculptures that Brian had knocked out for 24 of our surfers. Twenty Four of them! I’m sure every one of those kids still have their trophy and will probably hold on to it ‘till the day they die. Very cool. To this day, the custom, handmade trophies are still one of the signature elements of the RSSS events.

So, back to Brian: His style is absolutely unique. From the clothes he wears, to the car he drives, to the boards he surfs. 100% Brian Bent. Chances are, whatever he’s wearing, he’s riding in (or on)… he has made himself. His artwork is unlike any other. When I come across a Brian Bent painting, sculpture or screen print -I know it’s his work immediately. His style is all his own. His work has been seen on display at galleries, corporate lobbies, and store fronts from Southern California to Japan and even France. His most current musical endeavor is ‘Ragged ’Ol Sailor’ – a surf rock, rock-a-billy mixture that fits his style to a T.

“My daughter is playing in the band. We still have the Pioneers but I’m more active with Ragged ‘Ol Sailor. We’ve played at Lightning Bolt, Surf Indian. We just played in Laguna at the AR4T Gallery (Artists Republic 4 Tomorrow) With Nick Simich & Duffy. Both are pretty good musicians as well.”

He’s opened a small shop to showcase his own artwork and styles for United 50 clothing company, that he and Troy Rodarmel began a couple of years back. Hot Rod Garage Sale is an intimate space in North Park.

“With older era lifestyle items sometimes thrown together pretty quick, so not to lose the raw and simple spontaneous feel, mostly being built or sewn, painted, fabricated, printed or picked.”

You will find wall to wall hand made clothing, original artwork and silkscreens inspired by a 30’s-50’s retro vintage with a punk edge. Keep your eyes open, there is a plethora of smalls placed throughout the displays. Very cool stuff.

“It’s a style that followed after the guys that owned Hotrods & surfboards back in the day.”

Leather Jackets with hand painted messaging and wool sweaters with hand sewn appliqués that actually function as wetsuit (of sorts).

“Yeah, I surf in one. Wool doesn’t chill. It holds the heat in. I don’t recommend them for everyone - riding the kook box, I’m up out of the water. Longboarders can pull it. But Shortboarders… not so much. It’s kinda like this: You put it on in the morning, go down to the beach in your roadster. Take off your T-shirt underneath & then you surf in it. You leave it on afterward while you drive back & the wind blows it dry - by the time you get to work it’s dry & you can even wear it the rest of the day. Even go out to dinner in it, like a jacket. They call it repurposing - My grandfather did that most of his life. We used to collect scrap iron, we’d go to scrap yards & pick it up by the ton in my granpa’s old chevy. I grew up around that.”

His work bench is repurposed angle iron, his shelves rescued bits of shelving and cabinetry from who knows where. A very resourceful dude.

“Like that piece over there” (He gestures to the corner) “That came off a 27 Oakland”. I take a moment to appreciate the nearly one hundred year old steel fender that he refers to. Rusty gold. Topped with a bit of personalized artwork - this piece is adorned with his ever present animated character ‘Stew Pot’ riding a classic ‘Kook box’ surf board (curiously he’s holding up an armful of pistons) and the words ‘’Hot Rod Surfer’ and ‘Slide The Curl’ - The theme resonates through out his studio.

Stew Pot:

“He’s my ‘San Onofre Flake’. He’s that 40’s character. He’s that Navy guy in the south pacific. Sailor hat, half sleeves, stirring the pot of laundry. I just dig those raw characters. It’s funny… being surrounded by all this crazy stuff - So, I kinda just blended this guy from being a sailor, surfer, hotrodder. Ya’ get the big eyes... they signify that 1930’s ‘Moon over June’ style like Oswald The Lucky Rabbit, Betty Boop or some of the old Popeye characters - That’s the era I like. Old Mickey Mouse too.”

“Kinda like Ed ‘Big Daddy’ Roth & Rat Fink. Roth derived his legendary Rat Fink character from just taking Micky Mouse & making him all gnarly. Brian grabs a folded paper napkin and a fat bic pen, pops a squat on the floor and proceeds to sketch a version of Rat Fink or Mickey Rat on the napkin. “See, without looking at a copy of Mickey you just go by memory and come up with this weird version. He sketches wildly… 1 Min. Flat.

He rocks back on his heels, cocks his head at the drawing, “See? Add some stripes here… some flies buzzing around…” Yes. I see. And I get where he is going.

“It’s almost like the cars I build. They’ve been coined ‘Ratrods’. They’re built to look like the old racers or Dry Lake style. I use materials that may not even necessarily belong on a car, it may not be a car ‘part’… sometimes It just needs to ‘work’. It may be aerodynamic or simply fit what needs to be done. Steel can be cut to make bumpers or crash bars…. whatever. It’s getting the pieces to find where they go.

The 31 Ford out front - we built as a mascot for the Hot Rod Church. It was my first Hot Rod. My oldest. It’s got the Boat Tail style. 41 or 42 hood on the back. I actually got in an accident on the freeway coming back from surfing with Dan’O at San Onofre. Missed a shift, spun out, wound up backwards on the freeway & wham! A Semi clipped the back & just folded the whole roadster pickup back. That’s how it got the boat tail… plus I just like the boat tail. It’s what I drive down to San Diego everyday.”

That’s what I appreciate about Brian. He just makes it happen. Need a cool car? Build it. Need a unique shirt? Sew one together. Have a message? Get it out there man! Gotta love the hustle. He has it down-pat. Glad to call him a friend.

Go check him out at Hot Rod Garage Sale – 4420 30th Street in the heart of San Diego’s historic North Park.

Tell ‘em Revolt In Style Sent ya’ – B&L

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