Switching Gears Nick Anglada found fame and fortune making look-at-me sport bikes. Now he's selling the look-at-me factor.

Like most young guys who ride sport bikes, Nick Anglada was just looking for a fast, fun way to get around town.

But after he bought a banged-up old Suzuki GSX-R, he became possessed by a strange creative impulse: First he applied pinstripes over the bike's stock paint, then he started chroming pretty much everything else--the engine cover, wheels, swingarm, frame, you name it.

Soon Anglada was riding a full-on, countercultural expression of his own, over-the-top individualism--the kind of thing bearded dudes on choppers do, not young guys on "crotch rockets." But as he sped around Dallas on his blinged-out "Gixxer," he discovered that he'd tapped into a secret desire among young men with a need for speed: They too wanted to be different. They too wanted attention. And he could sell it to them.