Roadhouse Magazine Issue 27

Q: What do you like about our stores? A: They are so cool! I’m from Vancouver, Canada and we don’t have anything like this back home. Q: What are your favourite brands? A: I’m a big fan of Indian Motorcycle, Caterpillar, Dickies and I have to say this FXD brand you guys are rocking is really sweet! I’ve bought quite a bit of it and am going to rep this stuff back home in the bar! Q: How do you pay the bills? A: I work as head bartender/ mixologist in a bar in Vancouver called Prohibition. It’s a super cool place known for its cocktails and the atmosphere is amazing. We get lots of Aussie tourists in all year round. Q: Tell us a little about your family? A: I’m originally from a town called Willowdale in Oregon in the USA where I grew up with my Mum and Dad and my two sisters Hayley and Jennifer. I fell in love with a Canadian backpacker nine years ago and followed her back to Vancouver, Canada. The relationship didn’t last, but I fell in love with Vancouver and decided to stay. The rest is history as they say. Q: What do you like to do in your spare time? A: Every chance we get, my friends and I jump on our motorcycles and ride around Canada. It is such a beautiful and picturesque country with gorgeous landscapes. It’s actually very similar to Australia - I know everyone says that but it’s absolutely true! We’re not campers as such so we shack up in cheap motels but there are also times where we chip in and hire a campervan like we have here! I know you’re going to say we’re cheating but hey, each to their own right? Q: Hey, I’m not going to judge - I also prefer ‘glamping’ to camping! A: Oh great, so we’re not the only ones right? We’ve received a lot of heat here when we tell people we travel this way. I like being comfortable and enjoying my trip and creating great memories rather than being eaten by bugs and freezing in the elements! Q: Tell us a little about your current trip? A: Well we arrived here (me and two of my Canadian buddies) a week ago and we’ve just slowly familiarised ourselves with the local culture. I must say, we absolutely love Melbourne! We have just hired a campervan and are heading to Perth next week. From there, we go to Alice Springs, then to the Gold Coast, down to Byron Bay, Sydney, Canberra and then back here to Melbourne before heading home. It’s supposed to be an eight week round trip but from what we’ve been told by everyone, it seems as though we may have to extend the trip! That’s okay too, I might hook up some bartending jobs on the road to keep the cash flowing! Q: So how did you end up in one of our stores? A: We came into this mall because one of my buddies needed a pair of flip flops (it still kills me that you guys call them thongs) and as we were walking past the store I saw the Indian Motorcycle display in the window that got my attention. Once I was inside, I was hooked. I cannot believe nobody has done this in Canada - look there may be something similar as a concept I suppose, but I haven’t come across it yet. To be honest I don’t even think I’ve seen anything similar back home in Oregon either! Q: So you need to be sure to pop into our store in Perth! A: We definitely will. That would be cool. We should actually call our trip the ‘Roadhouse Tour’ and stop in at all of your stores throughout our trip. We will definitely drop back in here before we leave as I need to get some CAT boots for the Canadian winter, you guys don’t know what cold is man, you really don’t! 16 RHM Magazine - roadhouse.net.au BERNARD CARTER Occupation: Bartender & self proclaimed mixologist magician! Shopping at Roadhouse since: 2019 - DFO Essendon When Be rna rd i sn’t backpack i ng a round Aus t ra l i a wi th h i s budd i es i n h i s rented campe r van , you wi l l f i nd h im i n a qua i nt l i t t l e ba r i n Vancouve r i nvent i ng the mos t b i za r re new cock t a i l s and keep i ng the tour i s t s ente r t a i ned. THE CHANGE ROOM