Brandon Fischer is 25 years old and currently lives in Buffalo, New York. You probably remember seeing his photography in the Apocalypse Run 9 feature published back in October. Brandon states that he’s been breaking motorcycles for about 6 years and has been shooting mediocre photos as a hobby since he was 15. I don’t believe the latter part of that sentence as his imagery helped capture the true essence of the Run. Brandon’s latest venture is bringing fellow photojournalists together by showcasing their photos through his ‘zine called Running Rich. Brandon’s hopes for Running Rich is to publish a series of 6 x 9 photo zines throughout the year. The first issue includes imagery from Brandon, Brain Taksier, Will Garcia, Max VanBriesen, and fellow contributors Jesse Ladowski, Nick Faught, Ben Grna, and Daniel Venditto. I recently hooked up with Brandon to get the lowdown. Enjoy!

“The idea for this book came to me after a month-long, cross-country motorcycle trip I took with two friends, Andy and Christian, this past August. They had the trip planned for months but I wasn’t able to get the time away from work so I never committed. A week before they were leaving I was on my way home from working out of town and got to thinking, there were really no better guys I could go on a trip with, and who knew if they would ever do it again. A few hours into the drive I decided it was something I was not going to miss and I called my boss to give my resignation, it was never anything I intended to make a career out of, and I figured I would just figure shit out when I got back. The bike I decided to take needed some maintenance and a few changes to make it a bit more long-haul friendly, but I got it all taken care of the weekend before we left.

This trip blew my mind, I have never seen any states other than California out west, so everywhere we went was new to me. I took hundreds and hundreds of photos, mostly crap but I quickly picked up how to shoot better while riding. Towards the end of the trip, I had nearly 1000 photos, and over 100 edited riding shots that showed a fraction of the beauty these states had to offer. Photos hardly do it justice, the feeling you get when cruising with your friends around some of the most beautiful mountains, canyons, deserts, or small towns you'll ever see can’t be put into words, but if you know, you know. Due to some complications with Christian’s bike during the trip, I kept hearing the words “running rich”, which seemed like the perfect title. I wouldn't trade any of those moments for anything. Those memories are the only “riches” I'll ever need.

My goal for this book was to get my photos off my laptop and onto actual paper. I’d like people to see them on something other than a phone screen. Every photographer has their own style so I figured it would be cool to incorporate other photographers to provide more, and different, content. There is a culture behind these machines that not all people get. I'd like to try show a bit of that culture through this book, why we ride, break, build, or just admire everything that motorcycles have to offer. I want to thank all of the photographers who helped me out with this issue. They all bring their own style of work to this community that I and many others admire heavily. This work they provide drives us to go ride, build, shoot or do whatever it is you do. I couldn't have done it without all of you, thanks again and ride safe!"“ -Brandon Fischer

Photos by Brandon Fischer

Nick Faught

Brian Taksier

Will Garcia

Ben Grna

Daniel Venditto

Jesse Ladowski

Max VanBriesen

By the time you finish reading this feature Issue One is on the verge of running out. You can buy your copy here and be sure to follow Running Rich on Instagram.  I would personally like to welcome Brandon to the ChopCult family, and I'm looking forward to working with him.

-Lisa