War Pony Customs, owned by Bear and Carmen Redd, began several years ago as a hobby.  Bear had been riding since the early 70's and enjoyed working on and customizing his own bikes.

A Certified Master Diesel Mechanic, Bear spent several years in the commercial truck driving industry as an owner/operator of his own fleet.  After years on the road and away from family, Bear made the decision to sell his trucks and began teaching at North Georgia Technical College.

The freedom of finally having a "9-5" job at the college allowed Bear the extra time to start riding again and working on bikes as a hobby.   Life was pretty much "the norm",  living in the northeast Georgia mountains, home to Bear's beloved Cherokee ancestors. But unbeknownst to anyone, things were about to take a drastic turn........

In July 2005, Bear was taking an early morning ride on his 97' Heritage Softtail over in neighboring Blue Ridge, Georgia, when an SUV pulled out in front of him, hitting him head-on.  Bear was life-flighted to Atlanta Medical Center with multiple life-threatening injuries.

After spending five weeks in ICU Bear came home and began the healing process of being able to walk again.  Unfortunately, this required 14 surgeries, plates and screws in his wrists and ankles, rods in his leg, and an artificial hip and femur.

Unable to get back in the cab of an 18-wheeler and sit for hours during instructional driving, Bear was forced to retire from teaching, but it did allow him time to start back doing what he loved, working on motorcycles.

After about two years, Bear began working on bikes in his shop a home, sometimes while confined to a wheel chair with his son, Jeremy as his "muscle", turning the wrenches for him.  It wasn't long before he had out-grown the small shop at home and  decided to take it one step further by purchasing a shop on Hwy 441 in the heart of Rabun Gap Georgia, now known as the home of  WAR PONY CUSTOMS.