TRAVERSE Issue 15 - December 2019 | Page 25

PORTRAIT: Liam Cormier ... A MAN AND HIS MUTT AND IT MIGHT JUST WORK ... L iam Cormier … a passionate man, indeed, passionate about many things and while here in Australia recent- ly with his punk band, Cancer Bats, we caught up to talk all things … well, motorcycles … a unique motor- cycle and a unique event. “I was always so into the immediate freedom that it gave me,” says thirty-nine-year-old Cormier. “I started riding motorcycles when I was 29 years old. Even before I had my full licence, I was doing 500-kilometre backroad trips.” The Canadian explains that he’s always had a desire to ride long distances and explore the world by motorcycle however, a chance meeting of the team behind Fuel mo- torcycles while touring Spain with his band lead to taking on a unique event. Based in Barcelona, Fuel is a custom builder of Scram- bler style bikes, and while building bikes that looked the part, they wanted to prove that their bikes could actually be the part, enter Scram Africa. The inaugural event, held in 2013, saw a selection of custom scramblers take on a 2,500-kilometre ride across the Africa deserts. Such was the success of Scram Africa that it became an annual event attracting riders and bikes of all sorts. “I hadn’t specifically thought about going there before (Morocco),” Liam smiles, explaining it’s easier for him to ride Central America from his home base. “Until I met with the Fuel guys and I was like ‘sure, I’ll come rip with you guys’.” A bike was needed, and a plan was hatched to approach the Birmingham (UK) based Mutt Motorcycles, another TRAVERSE 25