THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Just as every artist has a muse, city-based Sunu Babu finds one in bikes. His canvases are bikes which he customises and restores, giving them a new attractive look. “I do not think of anything else while riding. I live in that moment. According to me, riding is ‘being in the moment’ and enjoying each and every moment of life,” says Sunu. His passion in bike customising led him to give up his 11-year IT job and launch his brand ‘Petrolhead Customs’ in Kochi which displays some of the finest customised bike models.
Now, Sunu, who is in his 30s, is turning heads with his stunning bike models, ranging from sports bikes to even vintage bikes.“Petrolhead means an auto fanatic. That’s how I named the brand as it means an auto fanatic’s customisation. When I first came to a workshop in Kochi to service my bike, I met the owner Binu John, who was also a rally champion. Everything changed from then,” he says.
The transition from wearing formals while working in the IT industry to engaging in a job that takes a lot of greasy manual labour is something Sunu likes. “That’s what I love,” he says. Petrolhead Customs mainly deals with two important things: One is bike customisation and two, restoring vintage model bikes. When this artist sees a bike model, he immediately looks into making it more stunning and beautiful.
Along with the sports bikes, his garage is also a treasure house for a 1969 model Suvega, which is made by a French company called Motobecane. “We picked this up from a scrapyard in Mettupalayam in Tamil Nadu and restored it to its original form,” he says. In one of India’s biggest Biker festival India Bike Week (IBW) which happened in Vagator, Goa, last year. Sunu stunned the audience with his piece of work which was ‘Maverick’ - a customised Hero Honda Karizma R. His next stunner was named ‘Bull’ which was a customised Royal Enfield Bullet.
Though Sunu is into customising bikes, he says, “As per rules, modifying is illegal in our country. This is why I have turned to restore bikes instead of modifying. I see a lot of people are interested in vintage model bikes.” Besides bikes, he also plans to customise jeeps, cruisers and other four-wheelers.
In the future, he wants to have a biker theme cafe with a garage attached to it. At the cafe, anyone can watch the bike customisation live. “I like art and I am also interested in music. Everyone has a passion in life. One should identify one’s passion and follow it. That can never be a wrong decision,” Sunu adds.