Jon Ard - The driving force behind Ardcore’s success. Jon has been involved in motor sports in some form or another since basically birth; he was raised around race cars, hot rods and bikes. Hell, his Mom used to race stock cars on the ice as a teenager. As a kid, he cut his teeth working at his uncle’s bike shop (The Chopper Emporium in Columbus, Georgia) in the mid 70’s and has continued his pursuit of building the coolest stuff on the planet ever since. Jon has built and raced just about everything with wheels and an engine, from rear-engine dragsters to Speedway bikes (yeah, the ones with no brakes). When asked about being referred to as a “Master Builder” he laughed and said, “There’s only a handful of guys in the world worthy of that title and I sure as hell ain’t one of them! I‘m just a cut-and-weld guy that builds stuff people seem to like.” The first to downplay his abilities and talents, he is quick to point out that the guys at the shop are the backbone that make it all work. Jon also owes a huge thanks to his Mom and Dad (R.I.P. POPS). Support from his family is what keeps him going, claiming his wife Kim is deemed for sainthood. If you see him at a show or out on the road, stop and give him a shout; you won’t meet a nicer, more humble guy.

Carl Turner - Carl has been with Ardcore since the beginning. Starting off as basically an apprentice with Jon, he has become a talented welder/fabricator and rides a pretty cool little bobber of his own. Currently Carl handles the majority of the TIG welding at Ardcore and adds his own sense of design to the mix, helping to turn out some pretty nice projects. Having a mohawk before they were considered cool, Carl is one of those dedicated guys that makes working in this industry interesting.

Ben Muilenburg - Ben came to Ardcore in the spring of 2008. With an extensive background in design and engineering he has been instrumental in helping Jon with the design and development of new products. Ben is one of the few guys around that can basically do everything from programming a CNC machine to bending up a frame and everything in between. Look for some exciting new stuff coming from Ardcore in the near future with Ben’s help.

Travis Sizemore - “Travis just started hanging around one day,” says Jon, “so we put him to work.” Handling most of the metal finish work now, Travis has proven to be a valuable asset to Ardcore. Travis is the perfect shop guy, he does whatever is asked and would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. Rolling on the locally renowned “El Pepito” XS 650 chopper, Travis has become a welcomed addition to the Ardcore family.

Nate Spainhower - What else can be said? Nate is one of the top painters in the Midwest. Originally of Sure Shots fame, he’s done a few Biker Build-Off paint jobs. He came to Ardcore as a customer, having them construct the “Wizard Sleeze.” Eventually, Nate came on board as the shop painter, bringing the quality and design aspect of the finished products at Ardcore to a new level. In addition Nate currently assists with sales and the huge amount of emails they receive. “It’s nice to finally have a painter we can just turn loose with the design and color choices,” says Jon, “we’re confident that the finished outcome will be as cool as possible.”