Chris McMorrow is the man behind Black Horizons. Some might call Black Horizons a brand, but I believe it's much more than that; Black Horizons is a commitment. Chris has been an active ChopCult member since 2010 and uses the site to sells his parts and wares. He also pipes in from time to time and offers assistance in the forums. Chris shares his personal journeys through his blog, which feeds into the blogdump. His imagery and words help shine the light on Milwaukee's thriving motorcycle community. When Chris isn't blogging, you can find him ripping the roads on one of his three scoots. Please take a moment to get to know Chris. Thanks!

Name: Chris McMorrow Location: Milwaukee, WI

What do you do for a living? Graphic Design

How would you describe Black Horizons? It’s a creative outlet for me. I focus on photography and creating custom short-run designs printed on 100% made in the USA clothing and printed right here in Milwaukee. Once the design sells out, that’s it, I move to the next one.

How long has your blog ( yes, I said it, blog!) been active? It started out as a blog called Dark Horse in September 2012, but has been active as Black Horizons since May 2013.

How did you come up with the name Black Horizons? It’s a song title from Dissection that seemed to fit. They influenced a lot of the music I was creating before starting Black Horizons, and it translated well into the vision I had when creating the artwork and photography that followed.

When did the thought of adding an apparel line come into play? I used to play in a few bands when I lived in Chicago, and I would do the artwork for our records, t-shirts, show flyers etc. Once that slowed down, I still wanted to do similar work so I started to create punk and metal-influenced motorcycle art that eventually made it onto clothing.

I noticed that you are graciously offering to donate a percentage of capital raised to the BUILD Milwaukee program. Can you tell our readers more about the BUILD program and why you chose to get involved? BUILD is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to pairing teams of high school students with bike-building mentors in a collective effort to learn valuable life and interpersonal skills all the while restoring vintage motorcycles. During a BUILD season, from January to June, each participating team is given a vintage motorcycle by BUILD to work on, along with mentors, in the team’s designated space, with the end goal of racing the bike in one or more AHRMA vintage motorcycle races. I think it’s a rad program for kids to be involved in. It teaches them new skills and I enjoy being able to help a local motorcycle program in any way that I can.

What type of motorcycle do you ride? 

Currently I have a 1995 Sportster Chopper (The Scorpion)

a 1991 FXR

and a 1982 FXWG.

If you could pick one stretch of road that you love to ride upon which would it be and why? Locally I enjoy riding through the Kettle Moraine and riding the roads near the Mississippi River because they are the best we have, but roads like the Million Dollar Highway in Colorado changed my life. Riding through the mountains will always be on the top of my list, being from the midwest.

I love that you host a Bike Night every week weather permitting. How long has that been going on? I moved to Milwaukee and started a bike night about a year ago to meet more people in town and it’s turned into a weekly meeting spot. I’ve had nights where it was in the twenties and people showed up on bikes and I’ve had nights in November where it’s 70 degrees and it seems like the whole city comes out. We try to explore the city and find new spots every week.

What is your best, have to go, can’t be missed, local establishment, and why? Icky Ricky’s. Best bar in America. The classiest thing you can get is a High Life and a shot of Beam. You buy rolls of nickels and open them up and if you find a colored one you win free shots or a six-pack to go and then you throw them in these PVC pipes behind the bar. If you get a bunch in it tips off a scale that will set off speakers and a siren and you win all the money in the pipe. Ricky is always smoking at the end of the bar and the walls are covered in old motorcycle racing photos. You might find a used condom on the floor, you might get Ricky to tell you some amazing stories or he might shut down the bar for 10 min and make you stand at attention to the star spangled banner. A must-see for anyone in the area.

What events do you attend on a regular basis and why? Mama Tried, because it’s the Born Free of the midwest! Violation Tour, because it’s all close friends and High Voltage - a chopper and vintage motorcycle show and fundraiser for pancreatic cancer a friend and I started in Milwaukee. Out-of-town events I keep going back to include the Boogie Farm Clam Jam, because Jess and Kyle throw a great party and the Giddy Up because I love riding around Texas.

When did you start taking photos? Probably somewhere around 12 is the first time I can remember getting a hold of a camera and trying things out and it’s been on and off since then.

What style camera are you currently using? Nikon D3300

Do you have any events lined up that you plan on attending this year? I will be riding out to Born Free 9 this year and I also plan on hitting up Violation Tour, Boogie Farm, and all of the local car and bike shows we have locally around the midwest.

Who’s always got your back? Ken Carvajal, Chris Hartman and the Monster Ronster. Best you can ask for.

Anyone you would like to thank? Marty and Debbie McMorrow and Rita Michalski for the constant inspiration.

Follow Chris's world: Blog / Store / Instagram