MAMA TRIED 2022

Mama Tried to raise you right, but look how you turned out!  A total disappointment with nothing to show for yourself? 

 Well Mama did manage to put on one of the most prestigious motorcycle shows in the Midwest of the United States.  The name of the show, "Mama Tried" of course.

So we packed our bags, sent our exhibit set up and boarded a plane for Milwaukee, Wisconsin to be part of this event this past March.   Winters in Milwaukee are no joke, so luckily our hotel was right across from the event venue.  We checked into the Ambassador Hotel, almost 100 year old art decor style hotel with it's own history worth mentioning.  Stepping into the lobby was like something out a silent movie scene, old and dated but a very cool vibe.  This hotel hosted the Beatles on their first North American tour.  President John F Kennedy was known to have spent a night with Marlyn Monroe at the Ambassador and last but not least, serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer killed and cut up his first victim at the hotel.  How can you pass up staying at a place with such history!

The show took place at the Eagles Ballroom.  Another landmark venue with a deep history, built in 1926, this three story venue has been hosting music performances from Elvis to Five Finger Death Punch and once a year host the Mama Tried Show.

The first question we ask when loading into an almost 100 year old building, is how big the elevators are?  The answer, is not very big.   So you are one of the 50 top custom bike builders, invited to showcase your bike in the grand ballroom on the third floor, and the elevator is 8 feet long, but you showing your 15 foot long chopper, what do you do?  Answer is you and a couple of guys carry that chopper up the three flights of stairs, and when the show is finished same thing except this time it's down the three flights.  So you have to not only respect the build but how they made it to the showroom floor.

The show was slated to start Saturday morning and finish the next day, Sunday around lunch time.  Milwaukee is the birth place of Harley Davidson, so many attendees stopped off at the Harley Museum Friday and made a full weekend of motorcycle events by attending the Flat Out Friday Track Race event being held at the local indoor arena.  For anybody into motorcycles this was and is the weekend to come to Milwaukee despite the cold weather.

The show featured over 100 motorcycles from builders of all calibers, flat trackers, hill climbers, choppers and bar hoppers.  If it was bad ass, it was here!  The crowd was lined up early Saturday morning, to get into the venue, and the party went on all day and night.  Great bikes, loud music, pretty girls, the best beers Milwaukee has to offer, and no attitudes made for a killer event.

Many where nursing hang overs the next day. Sunday was bit more low key and for many, tear down and loading out the bikes was all that was on our minds.  The guys with the choppers had a bit more work than all the rest, but the capable crew from Mama Tried was able to lend a hand a make sure the choppers made it back to street level.  

Mama Tried has been going on for a couple of years now, and year after year it grows in attendance and notoriety in the motorcycle world.  This is a show not to miss in 2023.  Dates are set for February 18th and 19th, 2023.  Book a room at The Ambassador.  Room 507 for all you serial killer fans.

Story courtesy of Lethal Threat Brand - www.lethalthreat.com

                        Down-N-Out Brand - www.downnout.com

Photos courtesy - @matt_keane / Instagram