🎙️ New Episode: Wrenches, Rides & Real Talk with My Big Brother Kevin Davies on Old Cars & Growing Up Canadian
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Hey everybody, it's Curtis Davies from the Real English Conversations podcast. And this episode is extra special for me. My guest today is someone who I've looked up to my whole entire life. Literally. He's 10 years older than me. He joins me from his beautiful home in Penticton, British Columbia, Canada, and has probably broken more bones in his body than I've broken drumsticks.

I'm talking about my big brother, Kevin Davies. Kevin's the kind of guy who's always had something going on, fixing a car, building something in the garage, or figuring out how to jump a dirt bike or a skateboard off a homemade ramp. And he's a car enthusiast, has a hands-on problem-solving mindset. He's a licensed electrician. And back in the day, he was even a DJ.

So if you've ever wondered where I learned how to beat match or beat mix or be a DJ, he was a big part of that. People say we even sound alike and have similar voices. We've even fooled our own mother on the telephone and they're not wrong. So if you hear someone telling better jokes, it's me. In this episode, we're going to talk about growing up Canadian, having one.

way too many garage projects, his love for classic cars, and why breaking things, sometimes bones, is just part of the learning process and how to fix stuff. Let's jump in. Here's my big brother, Kevin Davies, on the Real English Conversations podcast. Welcome. Hey, it's good to be here. It's good to see you and good to hear your voice. Right on, Kev. Let's start with the big picture. You've always been

Kind of a guy who has tools in your hands and a project in the driveway. Where do you think that came from? Was there something about how you and I grew up together in Canada that wired you to build stuff instead of buying it? Well, we didn't have a lot of money when we were growing up.

So, you know, I remember that. And I would take old, you know, junk bikes, you know, start putting all the junk pieces together to make a bike that worked. You know, I remember when I was in elementary school, so in probably grade four or grade five, I made this old chopper bike that I had out of just old bike parts and stuff. And I would take, cut some of the front forks off.

and bend them one way and then bend them the other way. So I had a chopper bike. So it all kind of started with that. You know, as far as bikes go, I'm still just as into bikes as I ever was. You know, I'm still six years old inside as far as bikes go. I still get that same kind of thrill. I ride my bike to work probably every day except for about five days this year. But I do that rain, sun, snow thing.

whatever I'm always on my bike and you know from that it just kind of was a natural progression you know into things with motors so you know I got my first car when I was 16 and my first motorcycle when I was 16 and it went from there there was this guy in the neighborhood who was a hot rod builder and I used to hop on my bike and just you know be this snotty little

kid in the back alley and I'd just be sitting there watching these guys build these cars, you know, and just thinking like, wow, I need to do this someday. You know, he had some pretty cool hot rods. He had a

early model a so that was pretty cool it was black and he had like a chopped 55 chevy which was super cool and he had this other pickup that was chopped too so yeah from that point on i was hooked uh there was nothing i could do about it that was my destiny

So nice. Now, now a chopper bike, that's the one with the big handlebars, big forks, right? The front wheels distanced farther from the actual handlebars where you hang on to the bike, right? Right. Big ape, ape hanger handlebars. So, you know, your arms are way above your shoulders and above your head and the front fork sticking out about four feet. The thing rode like a piece of crap, but you look cool.

So that's all that really mattered to me at that time. Was that the Boogie Man? Boogie was his name? No, it was Ron Boogie. That was the guy's name. Yeah. He's still around. I actually saw him a few years ago and met him again and his daughter and had a pretty great conversation, the two of them both. They came to our Cactus Jalopies car show.

Nice. And I saw you, DC. Awesome. Yeah, it must have been a huge influence to meet an idol like that, an inspiration for you, right? Oh, yeah. No kidding. He's a world-class car builder. I didn't know that as a seven-year-old in the back alley, but all I knew is he had just the coolest stuff in the whole neighborhood. Now, if I remember correctly, he was in the same neighborhood you and I grew up in, right? Just a few blocks away?

Yeah, it was probably about six or seven blocks, eight blocks away, I guess, from where we lived, you know, 10 minute walk or about a three minute bike ride. So. Wow. So cool that you mentioned that. Yeah.

That's a memory going way back in our childhood, for sure. Now, you're an electrician by trade, but it feels like your real job has always been a professional fixer of absolutely everything. Cars, furniture, engines and motors, walls, buildings.

bikes, motorcycles, even the odd relationship probably. What do you love about fixing and restoring things? What keeps you going project after project? Well, it's not really the fixing part, because that can be tiresome after a while, always fixing something, but it's the reward afterwards. So taking something that is just a piece of crap. I know I've brought cars home that

Kelly, you'd look at and start crying. You know, just what are you doing with that hunk of junk, another hunk of junk in the driveway? You know, it's just having a vision because in my head, I can always see the finished project. Not everybody sees that, but I do. So I see the potential in things. So it might just look like a piece of junk to somebody else while most people don't.

But to me, it's gold. You've had some pretty epic wipeouts on skateboards, motorcycles, bicycles, BMX, probably from skate ramps.

and bike jump ramps that you built yourself. How much of your adventurous thrill seeker side has helped you become the problem solver you are today? Or is it the other way around? Do you sometimes break things just to fix them? Well, sometimes it seems like I seem to be pretty hard on stuff. So yeah, that kind of happens. You know, most of the time when I break things, it's

on my body. But I've done that a lot of things. And as I get older, it's just takes too long to heal. So I've,

calm down a little bit. I've had 14 different broken bones, so it gets to be a bit much at my age. But you're still together. You're still intact, and that's good. Oh, yeah. I remember them telling me that, oh, you're going to have arthritis. You're not going to be able to walk. You're going to be in a wheelchair when you're 40 and all these other things. I haven't had any problems, so I've been fine.

Perfect. A lot of people admire your confidence, whether it's taking on a full car restoration or climbing up a mountain or going down a mountain on a mountain bike and doing some pretty extreme stuff without thinking twice. Do you think being fearless is something you were born with or did all those broken bones and near misses actually teach you something useful? Well, it's fear doesn't even play a part in it.

That's really not it. And it's not being fearless. It's the adrenaline rush. Most of the times when I've broken something, it's because of bicycling. So mountain bikes or even road bikes, stuff that I've done as a kid.

But you don't think of what can happen or that you could get hurt. You're just thinking about, you know, the rush, like, you know, ripping down a 10,000-foot mountain. You know, it's crazy, and it's super fun. And most of the time it goes great, but the odd time it doesn't. But I remember one time I was at the top of this mountain,

ski hill, and it was a mogul run. And I thought, wouldn't it be cool to ride my mountain bike down there? And I ended up breaking my foot right at the very top of the run. And I'm thinking, that was divine intervention. Right. That was meant to happen, right? That was meant to happen. Looking back now, I'm glad that

I broke my foot before I even started going down. Yeah. Let's dive into your passion here about classic cars. Right. Uh, I remember you made a deal with me when I was a kid. I've never forgotten this. You had one of my favorite cars that you had out of all the cars was this red MGB convertible. And you made this deal with me, um,

as a kid, I don't know if it was for you to get out of washing the car yourself. I mean, to be truthfully honest, we washed it together sometimes, but you made this deal. If I did a really good job and cleaned up your car that you take me cruising for chicks in it. Yeah. It wasn't really about making you wash the car. It was sort of to teach you how to do it and

you know, spend some time with you, talk about stuff, a lot of life and what else, but cruising around in the car was good. You know, we did that and, you know, I did that with Dale too. So, and, you know, there's two things that are really common in our family and that's music

and cars. So, you know, dad has that. I've got that. Dale's got that. And maybe not so much with you, the cars, but what you don't have and you don't know what you lack an interest for cars you make up for with music. So, you know, and those two and those two passions have always been, you know, really strong in our family. I think, you know, dad's probably pretty responsible for the

as well. And I, he always made me wash the car too. So don't feel bad if I asked you to wash the car because I washed his cars like hundreds of times. You know, it was like, I loved it. It was, it taught me how to pay attention to detail. So I was, I treated that like a Ferrari. I was out there, you know, waxing it. You showed me how to put the, the armor all, which was this,

chemical cleaner on the, on the tires, on the wheels to make them all shiny. And, um,

it really taught me those things. And then just the bonding aspect of cruising around was the reward after making the car look shiny and good. And that was really cool. Was there one car you've, you've worked on or restored that still triggers a proud memory every time you think about it? And is there one car that completely kicked your, kicked your butt? Yeah.

but taught you the most? You know, there's been quite a few cars that

that I've really enjoyed over the years. Like there's, you know, I probably own well in excess of a hundred cars in my lifetime. Yeah. That's, you know, everything that's owning a car for years and owning a car for as little as 20 minutes. You know, it's, I tend to have car ADD. I get one thing finished or done and I start driving it and

and it's great and I feel the rush of it and everything else and then it's just like wait a minute what's that over there you know so that's my problem it's you know I like I like a lot of different styles and types of cars it's just I want to experience them all but I but I can't do it all at the same time but I can do it one at a time you know we've always had these

these different passions, me with music and teaching and DJing and, you know, always pretending to be the broadcaster, you with machines and tools and making stuff work. But in your opinion, what's the connection between fixing a car and learning a skill like English? Is there patience, trial and error, or just a lot of swearing and coffee?

No, I think it's, I think the real connection is it's learning something new because, you know, even if you're working on the same kind of car, everything's, they're all different. No two cars are the same, even if they're the exact same car, there's still differences in them, you know.

But I think it's the process of dedicating the time to do it and getting in there and then the satisfaction you get from learning it, which I'm sure would be the same, you know, learning English.

And, you know, you can learn that language and actually communicate with somebody who speaks a different language than you. I think that's a pretty great reward. That's one thing I always kind of wished I had done.

You know, I learned another language, but it's on my to-do list. Do you remember any specific project maybe back in the day in the garage or the backyard growing up as kids that made you feel like, okay, this is what I love doing? Something that really clicked for you as hands-on, you know, to really create who you are as a build-it-yourself kind of guy? I think the first one was my first real BMX project.

that I did and I went through. It had those Skyway wheels on it and I really took my time and did a really quality paint job on it and put all good components on it. And then that kind of transferred over to mountain bikes. I built some pretty cool mountain bikes when I was younger too and take it down right to the bare frame and take it to the powder coaters and get it powder coated and

chasing all the threads and putting everything back together and just having it perfect the exact way that you want it because the way I see it you know some people will go and buy their dream car but I don't I don't look at any car that I see is well that's a good start.

Now, what can we do to it to make it better? And I look at bicycles like that the same way. I got a good car question for you, for my listeners who aren't car enthusiasts but want to know more about it. Now, what's the difference between a hot rod, a rat rod, a low rider, and a classic car? Okay. Okay.

So basically a hot rod, I would say it's my opinion. And everyone's opinion is different. This is my opinion. Nice. I think a hot rod has to be basically pre-war. So 1941, 1942 and older. Not very many 1942 cars, but 1941 and older to be a hot rod. And I like to think that.

All real hot rods don't have fenders, but the one I currently have has fenders on it. So that's a 1928 Model A Roadster pickup is the one I've got right now. So that would be the definition of a hot rod. And I think a rat rod, I like my hot rods to be traditional. So...

I like to use old motors, old transmissions, old style. That's kind of period for the style of car that I like. And then when you move up to something like a rat rod, I think a rat rod, you can pretty much just use any old kind of body, any old kind of frame and just bolt a lot of stuff on it. So.

You'll see them with, you know, skulls and some people have a skeleton in the seat. And that's, I mean, to each their own. If that's your thing, that's cool. But I'm not really into that kind of style personally. But a rat rod would be something that is more,

creative to that individual. You know, he sees something that he likes if it's flames or if he, you know, cuts part of the body out with a plasma cutter to do some cool things on it or

different kinds of paint jobs. I've seen rat rods with diesel motors and dual wheels on the back and crazy blowers that stick up a foot taller than the roof of the car. I think there's really no rules at all to rat rods. And then lowriders, I mean, I love lowriders. There's all different kinds of lowriders too. So you got everything from the early cars, from the

from the 30s and 40s into the early 50s. And, you know, a lot of them are kind of traditional. And, you know, I call those bombs. I guess you could call them bombs. A lot of lowrider people will call them bombs. And then you can go into newer cars from there into the later 50s and 60s, which are probably the most famous, you know, like the 63, 64 Impalas, and

early Buick Rivieras, you know, anything from sort of that era. And then you've got the next generation beyond that. So,

Like General Motors, like the G-Body cars. So they would be Monte Carlos, Olds Cutlasses, Buick Regals, you know, from the 80s. And then, you know, even newer ones. So, you know, Cadillacs and Lincolns as well from that too. But most importantly, I think, is hydraulics. Hydraulics is what makes a lowrider. And all different kinds of styles of lowriders too, you know.

And what I think, what I really like about lowriders is the amount of detail they put into those cars. The paint jobs can be absolutely insane. Yeah, the rims, the wheels, right? And they ride low to the ground. Yeah, you know, and then with hydraulics to lift them and lower them.

Air ride. So that uses like it's pneumatic. So it uses air to lift and drop the car. And low riders will use hydraulics, which is liquid. So lift it and drop it. And it's much, much faster with hydraulics. And that lets you do so many different kinds of things that you could never do with an air ride car.

So I think it has to have hydraulics to be a true low rider. You know, the amount of detail, like the chrome and the engraving. And I have seen some cars that are just, it's just, you can't believe that somebody actually built these things. There's so intricate and so much attention to detail and the airbrush work and the paint work and the interiors and some of these things are just unbelievable.

Yeah. They really are, are pieces of really super cool and, and really cool artwork on the road on wheels. Um,

pieces of art on wheels. Even though I don't share the same automotive creation as you do, but I show appreciation from actually looking at these vehicles. I see them in Guadalajara. They just had a car show here with old Ford cars. And I didn't get a chance to go see them, but I saw them online and they were absolutely beautiful. But that's what a custom classic

automobile is all about is the artwork on wheels so people can visually see it on the road. Right. So, yeah, that's fascinating to learn the difference. And then, yeah, getting into the last one, classic cars, separating it from hot rods, rat rods, and low riders, classic cars is anything from probably the early 1900s to maybe the 1970s.

No, no. Even newer than that now. Okay. Fox body Mustangs are super popular right now, too. They're pretty expensive and a lot of people restore them. I call a classic car restored to original is kind of what I would say.

Good definition. Yeah. What's your advice for people who want to learn how to fix things, not just cars, but anything mechanical, but they don't know where to start? For example, my students and my listeners of my podcast may feel like, oh, this English stuff is too complicated for me.

listen to Kevin and Curtis use these phrasal verbs and awesome vocabulary even in this podcast. What's your mindset that you need to have to give people advice for how they want to learn to make things better? I would say just jump right into it. I mean, if you're trying to fix something mechanical, it's already broken. What have you got to lose? Or if...

cars or whatever, you know, it could be vintage toasters. You know, there's people that are into all everything, you know, and if you find something that you like and there's something wrong with it, there's always a way to fix it. Sometimes it might not be worth fixing, but hey, it's, that's up to you to decide. There's so much help nowadays on online and with YouTube videos and, you know, different websites. It's really easy to pretty much do. Anyone can do it.

at any skill level, you know, just start, just start doing it and work your way up.

And don't be discouraged if you don't get it right the first time, you know, or if it's a failure and you end up breaking it worse, you know, it's okay. You just fix it again. Or throw the wrench across the garage. I don't really do stuff like that, you know, like, you know, even when I, you know, bust some knuckles, you know, on something or, you know, because, you

That's one thing is I don't think it's a good session in the garage until you end up bleeding. That's pretty much the way it is. If you look at my hands, you'll see it's either from work or from working on cars or other things like that. But I've always got a skin knuckle or a cut or something everywhere. And I don't know if I'm just...

careless when I work on things, but it just happens. And then most of the time, I don't even notice I cut myself until I say, hey, where'd that blood come from? What I really admire about you is that do-it-yourself spirit. But now that you're in Penticton with more tools, more space, and probably a bigger garage, and probably more parts laying around than a junkyard,

How do you stay focused or is it part of the fun that part of the fun of your, you're really never finishing anything. There's just ongoing projects. It's funny that you say that, you know, cause just recently I just started selling,

some of my vehicles because it just gets overwhelming because they're all old they always need work always every every time there's they're never ever perfect it just becomes a little bit overwhelming so i've sold the volkswagen westfalia i just sold that yeah and i'm gonna be selling a volkswagen dune buggy like a it's called a like a manx style so okay yeah we

which is the fiberglass dune buggy. Pretty common in Mexico. You see stuff like that. And Volkswagens are super popular. I would recommend if anyone's looking to get into any kind of

fixing of anything, buy an old air-cooled Volkswagen. They're super simple. Parts are really cheap, still pretty cheap, and really user-friendly. You'll find more tutorials and more self-help videos on Volkswagens probably than anything else. They've got such a strong following.

I don't know what it is. I've had so many over the years. I think one of my first vehicles, myself and my friend Rob bought this Volkswagen for a hundred bucks and turned it into a dune buggy. I still remember the first one we built. We took it out and we were driving it and there was a road that was decommissioned. So an excavator went in there and cut this deep rut into it.

And my friend Rob didn't see it. He was driving. He hit this big rut, threw himself up off the seat. Of course, no safety, no seatbelts or anything. You know, we're just two 15-year-old kids that were too stupid to know any better. He knocked himself out cold. Oh, brutal. But he's okay. He lived to tell the tale. Oh, yeah, yeah. He was fine. He woke up in a minute. Yeah.

Hey, hey, get up. You're smacking him in the face, right? No, no. I was a little bit worried, but then he came around. He was fine. Yeah, Volkswagens are... I would recommend playing with those things. They're really simple and really...

really quite cheap to work on and you can have a lot of fun with something like that. There's so many ways that you can build them, you know, like a Baja bug or a street bug or, you know, you can slam it on the ground. You can lift it up, you know. I don't know why I've always had, and I still got Volkswagens, so that's

That's how much I like them after all this time. 45 years later, I'm still playing with them. Now we're going to do something fun in this interview. Do a bit of a, you've probably seen it on a late night talk show or other podcasts. You've probably heard it on a bit of a one word response or quick fire, rapid fire questions here. Just say the first thing that comes to mind. So the car that you wish you never sold. The 57 Ford.

Yeah? Yeah. All right. Best tool you ever owned.

Good set of sockets and wrenches. Worst injury from a bad idea. Worst injury from the bad idea. Broken bone. More than once. Yeah, more than once. Yeah, you've got a history of that. The funniest fix that actually worked, whether it was zap straps or duct tape or something like that. I once fixed this Volkswagen on the side of the road.

By grinding down the points on the side of the road and using a matchbook or piece of cardboard like the thickness of a matchbook cover to set them. And I got home. Nice. Loudest engine you ever started? My Harley. Oh, okay. Yeah, it is obnoxious. It's so loud that I won't even start it. I can't ride it to work because I'll wake all the neighbors up. So it's...

It's obnoxious. So you still have it? Oh, yeah, I still have it. It just sits there, though, because you're going to wake everybody up. Well, I make sure I take it out after 10 o'clock in the morning. Okay. And final question in the rapid-fire round here. One project you still haven't finished but swear you will someday. That's my Model A. It was finished. It was on the road, and then I broke it again. And the repair has been –

Yeah. And the, the, the final one here being big brothers, being brothers, my big brother, we've always had our own past, but somehow ended up with the same drive and passion to learn, teach, create, and build. When you think back of how, you know, we grew up, does anything surprise you about where we ended up or does it all kind of make sense? Well,

Sometimes it surprises me that I'm still alive, but, you know, it all kind of makes sense. I think you kind of sort of find your way through life and you stick with the things that work and you naturally just get rid of the things that don't. Yeah, I wasn't really too surprised. I think all people end up finding their own way as long as they stay dedicated to it. Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

and got through as difficulties, but shaped our lives today. You've always been someone I've looked up to, always, now, and still do, whether it's building something from scratch or launching off a sketchy ramp on a skateboard and hoping for the best.

you've always had the guts to just go for it. And that's inspirational to me and hopefully my listeners. And for our listeners, I hope this episode gave you some inspiration to get your hands dirty, take more risks, break something, fix it, try again, especially if it's your speaking, listening, comprehension, and just being natural in every conversation. And stick with the process, whether you're learning English or rebuilding an old car. So thanks for being here, Kevin. Hey, it was a

pleasure. I really enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun. I did as well. Thanks, bro. If you're ready to take your English to the next level and start speaking with confidence at work, whether it's in meetings, job interviews, presentations, or important conversations with your boss, co-workers, or clients, I can help you. You don't have to feel nervous about finding the right words.

worrying about your accent, or struggling to keep up in fast-paced conversations. With the right practice and guidance, you'll be able to express your ideas and yourself clearly and naturally. Let's start with a trial lesson. We'll go over what you want to improve and

Do a quick evaluation and map out a plan to help you feel strong and in control when you speak English. I only have a few trial spots available each month, so if you see an opening in my calendar, grab it while you can. Click the link below to book your trial lesson with me now.