As the host of MTV’s Headbangers Ball from 1990 to 1995, Riki Rachtman helped introduce countless bands to the metal masses. And let’s not forget that he co-owned the famous Hollywood club, the Cathouse, which proved quite popular with some of the era’s top bands (namely, Guns N’ Roses).
On a date soon to be announced, Rachtman will be taking part in a charity motorcycle ride that will take him across North America, from Key West, Florida to Glacier View, Alaska – to raise money and awareness for 988 Suicide Prevention Hotline. Rachtman spoke with BraveWords correspondent Greg Prato about the event, and filled us in on what else he’s currently up to.
Let’s discuss Riki’s Ride 25.
Riki Rachtman: “One of the things that I’m very proud of, that a lot of people don’t know is about my charity motorcycle riding. I’ve been doing it since 2014 going on long distance rides. And then I started deciding, ‘Okay, I’m going to do this and do it for a charity.’ And I picked different charities along the way. And then the rides got longer and longer. And one year I rode 14,000 miles and gave $32,000 to stop soldier suicide, giving $20,000 to Alzheimer’s. And I do it every year. And this year I’m decided to raise money for 988, which is the Suicide Prevention Hotline, or Crisis Hotline. So I started my own foundation, which is called Heavy Mental.
“And Heavy Mental is any penny that we take in, every dollar goes right to Vibrant Health. Which, they run the 988 Suicide Prevention Hotline. And so for my motorcycle ride this year, I’m going to be riding from Key West to North Carolina to Texas to Wyoming to…Fourth of July we’ll be in Palmer, Alaska, then right down Alaska, then to Sturgis. It’s going to be about 13,000 miles. My wife, Lea Vendetta, is going to be on the bike for half of it, and my goal is to raise at least $30,000. Most of it’s going to be by myself. Like on June 17th, I’m going to ride my motorcycle 1,000 miles in 24 hours, which I’ve never done. So, I go to cool places. Like I’m stopping at the gas station where they filmed The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, or Fourth of July, where they launch cars off cliffs in Alaska. So I’m doing a lot of really cool things, as well. And we’ll be meeting Tami [Downe] and Gilby [Clarke] up at Sturgis and stuff like that. So, it’s something that I just love to do.”
Can people follow you online during the ride?
Riki Rachtman: “Absolutely. If they join my Patreon, which is Riki Rachtman, they get live tracking. They get chats every day, as well as Headbangers Ball footage, Cathouse stuff, rock n’ roll, everything. And then other than that, there’s a website lostramblers.com. And of course, on my Facebook and my Instagram. There’ll be posts all over the place. And I’m working with Rambler, which is a sparkling mineral water that I love, and I’ve been a fan of theirs. And then they contacted me and said, ‘We’ll sponsor your ride.’ So, they’re going to have content, as well. It’s really cool. So, people could donate, they could just follow the ride. There’s a whole bunch of different aspects, ways that they can get involved.”
If people want to donate, what’s the best way to do so?
Riki Rachtman: “Go to lostramblers.com. It’s going to get updated, fixed soon, but there’s a GoFundMe that they can donate, or they can donate to Venmo, which is Heavy Mental Foundation. Not Heavy Hetal, Heavy Mental Foundation. They can give that to Venmo, and all the money that comes in goes right to them. It doesn’t pay for hotels, it doesn’t pay for gas, doesn’t pay for anything, it just goes right to the people that run 988 Suicide Prevention Hotline. This is something that’s very important, because there’s so many people…especially because I’ve been affected with some very, very close people that recently passed away due to suicide, and it’s just way too common. And 988 is a phone number that that people can just call anonymously. If you’re ever involved in any type of personal crisis, you call them.”
What type of bike are you going to ride? And what would you say is your favorite motorcycle overall?
Riki Rachtman: “Well, my favorite motorcycle is my current motorcycle. I’m riding a Harley-Davidson Pan America, which is an adventure bike. So it’s a Harley-Davidson, but it can go in the dirt, mud, it’s the fastest. I mean, it’s incredible. I have three motorcycles. But the Harley Pan America is the one that…I just got it, and by the end of the summer, it’ll have more miles on it than my car does. And I’ve had my car for three years. I love most motorcycles. I have a Triumph Bonneville, I have a 50 year old Honda chopper. But this Pan America is just an incredible motorcycle. I love this Harley.”
(Photo – Paul Miles)
Why do you think motorcycles and heavy metal have gone hand in hand over the years?
Riki Rachtman: “That’s a good question. I think the similarities are, there was a time that motorcycling was thought of as rebellious, and believe it or not, there was a time that heavy metal was thought of as rebellious. I don’t find it that rebellious anymore, but I guess it is, if you look for it. And it’s for me, a complete escape. And just like if I go see a show, I’m not thinking about other stuff. I’m there, watching the band, watching the crowd and enjoying it. I love going to live shows. I don’t hang out backstage. I like to go out there where everybody else is. And when I’m riding my motorcycle, it’s loud and you’re focusing on riding. And that’s how I think they go hand in hand. But motorcycle riding also goes hand in hand with outlaw country, too. They just both work for me. Pretty much my life is motorcycling and music.”
I remember the last time we spoke, you were doing some spoken word dates. Are you still doing that?
Riki Rachtman: “I did 45 shows, a lot of sold out shows in America. I did four shows in Australia. It was the greatest thing that I’ve ever done my whole life. And I want to go back out on the road and do it, because there are states that I haven’t done yet. Like I said, it was the greatest time I ever had in my entire life, because I had no idea what it was going to be like, and if people were going to like it. I didn’t have a producer or writer. I just went up on stage and started telling stories and the shows did really well, and I learned a lot about life and myself.
“Doing a show when you’re sold out is really easy and fun. Doing a show in a huge venue when there’s like 30 people there, it’s difficult. And I learned that when you do a show, and it only happened once in Knoxville, Tennessee, I played a venue that probably fit like 2,000 people, and there were like 70 people there. And instead of going out on stage and being depressed, I said, ‘Okay, who cares about the people that aren’t here? What about the 70 people that are here?’ And did a kick ass show. And after the show, I said, ‘Look, after the show, I’m going to hang out and meet every single one of you.’ And I did. So, I learned a lot about playing the shows that weren’t really crowded as well. But thank God, most of them were.”
Any other projects you’d like to discuss?
Riki Rachtman: “I’ve still got my t-shirt company, cathousehollywood.com. I still have my coffee company, cathousecoffee.com. And when the ride is done, I’m going to be focusing on some more stuff, because I’m old now. I’m old, and I’d love to tell everybody that I’ve got this big bankroll saved, but I don’t. So I still have to keep on working, and I don’t know what I want to do. I’d like to do more content for my Patreon. I’d like to do my own version of Headbangers Ball, which I did try for a while on the Gimme Metal app, which was a blast. People ask me, ‘Why don’t you do Headbangers Ball?’ Well, for one, I’m old. But for two, I want to do it. It’s just like, it’s not as easy as people might think. So, I’m still going to do Cathouse Hollywood podcast and stuff like that, and hopefully do something else with my spoken word show. That’s what I’m hoping. But that’s it for right now.”
Source: bravewords.com
