About Marcus Walz

1967 Marcus Walz is born on 17 July in Heidelberg. Already in his childhood he spends almost every free minute. at the nearby Hockenheimring.

1981 At the age of 14, the "motorcycle career" begins in the form of the first moped. In the same year, the first "illegal" races follow immediately.

1982 - 1985 Marcus completes an apprenticeship as a mechanical engineer. Incidentally, he practices this profession until 1992.

1987 The first own Harley, an 87 Softail. The bike is being rebuilt and sold at a profit. The money Marcus invests in his new hobby, where he will find his true passion in the following years: Moto Cross.

1988 First full Moto Cross season. Initially, he financed the sport out of pocket, only in 1990 he is supported directly by Kawasaki and thus also gets the opportunity to start at some races of the German MX Championship.

1990 Marcus strikes hard in an insignificant race. He loses almost all his teeth and breaks his jaw several times and suffers severe cuts in the face and neck area. In 1991 he drives a few more races before deciding to turn his back on this sport.

1992 Marcus invests the proceeds of his cross-machine in reasonable tools. and in a lift and begins in a converted horse stable a scrap-ready Pan / Shovel completely rebuild. The finished result can be admired shortly afterwards on the front page of BIKERS LIVE (today CUSTOMBIKE). This is considered today as the "birth" of WALZ HARDCORE CYCLES.

1994 Due to lack of space, the move to a 600 sqm new building in the Hockenheim industrial area near the famous Grand Prix track "Hockenheimring.

1998 Marcus invents and develops the now world-famous drag-style frame, introducing a whole new breed of custom bike.

1999 For the first time Marcus is invited to events in USA and Japan with his unique drag-style bikes. In the same year, the mother of Marcus dies only a few days after the diagnosis of a brain tumor. Marcus then retires from his company for almost a year and even thinks about selling his company.

2000 Michael Winkler joins the company as an equal partner and takes over the management and day-to-day business.

2004, 2005 and 2006 As the only non-American Bike Builder, Marcus is invited to the heavily endowed "Artistry in Iron" show in Las Vegas, which takes place every year as part of the Las Vegas Bike Festival. (This is also where the legendary meeting with Brad Pitt takes place).

2005 WALZ HARDCORE CYCLES opens a branch office in Miami and establishes licensees in almost all European countries.

2006 Formula 1 driver Kimi Raikkonen driving for Mercedes McLaren orders his first bike from Marcus. A year later, he is on Ferrari Formula 1 world champion and ordered, based on his Formula 1 racing car, his second bike in Ferrari red ..

As the only non-American bike builder to date, Marcus is on camera for Discovery Channel's cult TV show "Biker Build-Off" and is even the first non-American to win the show. With over 40 million viewers, the show was the most successful TV format in the US at the time.

2007 The "Biker Build-Off" takes place for the first time in Europe and is accompanied by the TV station DSF. Marcus wins again this prestigious event against the Swiss bike-builder and FIA Dragster-driver Urs Erbacher and becomes for the second time "Biker-Build-Off Champion". In 2008, Marcus refuses to participate again in the Biker Build-Off and officially withdraws from such competitions.

"Bilker Build Off Winner 2007 in the US and in Europe
Marcus is the first bike builder to work with Novitec-Rosso to build a car that suits his bikes based on a brand new Ferrari F430 Scuderia. The project, named "TuNero", will be a worldwide mega success and is the most photographed object at the IAA in Frankfurt.

SPIEGEL TV is shooting a two-part documentary about Marcus and WALZ HARDCORE CYCLES. The show titled "Hockenheim-Choppers" is a great success on DMAX. Also on VOX the TV documentary achieves high ratings.

2008 WALZ-HARDCORE CYCLES celebrates its 15th anniversary with a big party and a unique bike show. In the same year Marcus founds his new label WalzWerk and returns to his racing roots.

Together with his buddy Klaus Hülsmann Marcus is again in front of the camera. The two drive with two custom bikes from Essen to the North Cape. During the 4,500km tour through ice, rain and snow you will be greeted by the TV station. DMAX accompanied. The three-part documentary "With the custom bike to the North Cape" gives the station record ratings and is regularly repeated on television until today.

2009 Accompanied by a huge media coverage, the book "Marcus Walz - Hardcore for Life" is published. Marcus' dog "Tonka" dies at the age of 15 shortly before the publication of the book. Marcus then dedicated the book to his deceased dog.
Marcus separates after nearly 10 years from his partner Michael Winkler. From now on, Marcus will take care of the business alone.

2010 For the world-famous animal welfare organization PeTA, Marcus stands for a big one. created advertising campaign in print, online and TV area available. The campaign will be a great success for everyone involved.

2010/2011 Marcus sells WALZ HARDCORE CYCLES and all associated brand and naming rights to a group of investors and private investor Michael Kroheck, who also takes over operational management.

Formula 1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel orders a bike at WALZ HARDCORE CYCLES and at the age of 23 is not only the youngest Formula 1 World Champion ever, but also the youngest customer of WALZ HARDCORE CYCLES.

Marcus returns to motorsport and starts the popular Triumph Cup, which is held on identical Triumph Street Triples. In parallel, he also participates in some national and international races and endurance races on KTM and Ducati.

Along with Roland Sands (USA) and Ludovic Lazareth (F) receives Marcus from Yamaha. Europe officially the order to convert a V-Max. The 3 bike builders each receive a new V-Max to modify them to your liking. The project, which has a huge media interest, will be presented at EICMA's world's largest motorcycle show in Milan, and is a great success for everyone involved.

2012 Following the overwhelming success of the VMax project, Yamaha Europe has once again rebuilt a bike for three bike builders, Marcus Walz, Ludovic Lazareth and Roland Sands. This time a lot of choice on the power scooter "TMax". Although polarized, the project is making headlines worldwide.

In collaboration with Detlev Louis, Marcus develops and builds the "Louis Jubi Bike". 75th anniversary of the market leader. With an unprecedented campaign in which Louis customers can contribute to the construction of the bike online, this project is the number one topic in the motorcycle scene within a very short time.

2013 WALZ HARDCORE CYCLES celebrates its 20th anniversary and WalzWerk celebrates its 5th anniversary.

For the third year in a row, he again participates in the TRIUMPH CUP and also drives some long-distance races with Triumph and KTM.
As a commissioned work for TRIUMPH Germany, Marcus is building a high-end Café racer based on a new 2013 Speed ​​Triple, which will be presented to the public for the first time at the TRIDAYS in Austria in front of a large audience.

In September, Marcus and his partner will be opening the WALZWERK-Café at Schlossplatz in Schwetzingen.

With over 600 magazines and journals, over 60 front-page covers and covers worldwide, and featured on several TV shows in Europe and the US, Marcus Walz is currently considered one of the most recognized and influential bike builders and motorcycle designers in the world.
Find out more about Marcus on his website www.marcuswalz.com and in his book "Hardcore For Life"