In Texas, the "custom" chopper bike thing has been very big with young Hispanic guys for a long time. I was very impressed one day in a bike store in San Antonio. A kid, about age twelve, came in with his customized bike. He had done most of the work himself, and worked a variety of jobs to earn money to pay for each "upgrade". His bike showed the hours and hours of work he had put into it.
In a society where many kids that age are just watching TV, or playing video games, it was cool to see a young guy investing so much time and energy into something constructive.
