CRAVIN MOORE: Aaron Porter, you and your crew are quickly making a name for yourselves on a national, even international level in the high performance automobile world. Prior to opening your own shop Horsepower Northwest, what was your day job?
AARON PORTER: I worked for a company called Benik in Silverdale for almost a decade building pediatric hand splints amongst other orthotics and such. The Baumgardner’s are like a second family to me, it was a blast being there.
CRAVIN: So you had job security, benefits, insurance, all the things that pretty much equal up to the “American Dream” job. Then one day you left it all to follow a passion of building hot rods in your garage. Aaron, passion rarely gets you paid. You did know that going into it right?
AARON: Yes! It was absolutely a dream job in many ways. I was fortunate enough to have tremendous support from my wife Molly and encouragement from people that know me, it certainly made it easier to make the decision.
CRAVIN: So what year was Horsepower Northwest officially established?
AARON: Day one was March 5th 2019. I’ll never forget it.
CRAVIN: Horsepower Northwest is on its way to the top, but let’s be honest, you’re not rich, you didn’t have a bunch of starting money, you started all this from the bottom. How many people made up the Horsepower Northwest crew when the doors first opened?
AARON: That’s correct. I’m just a kid from Bremerton. No trust fund, no safety net of any kind. Looking back I had I no idea how to run a business even. What I did know was that American muscle cars with modern drivetrains, supercar suspension and braking, was going to get more and more in demand. Day one was just me!
CRAVIN: How big is the Horsepower Northwest crew now?
AARON: There’s five of us now, which is crazy for me to say. I’m very fortunate to have attracted some of the best talent around. My crew is Aaron Hill, Caleb Andren, Harley Trotland and Harry Mineer. I think we’ve hit a sweet spot in the shop where we are really in a groove right now. Everyone is killing it.
CRAVIN: What’s the highest amount of horsepower you’ve put in a car?
AARON: I get that question a lot. Everyone wants 1000HP till they drive a car with 1000HP! The truth is, we build cars for the real world. Meaning, if the car is a pain in the ass it’s not going to be fun, and you’re not going to enjoy it. There’s a balance to all of this stuff. We like to find that razor’s edge and teeter on it just enough that the car will scare the piss out of you but also let you know that it’s going to act right if you push it a bit.
CRAVIN: Everything your shop puts out seems to have these huge motors, knockout interiors, beautiful paint jobs, there’s nothing that seems left untouched. In turn this leaves a tight, clean, extremely flawless, fast, safe automobile. What is a ballpark time frame on a complete top to bottom build?
AARON: Thanks bud, every square inch has to be perfect. There’s no other way to do it. Turnaround time varies greatly on complexity of the build. It’s about a two year endeavor, our clients become friends by the end of these. It’s been pretty fantastic so far. We do everything in house, so there’s no farming the car out for anything which is nice.
CRAVIN: How many cars would you say have gone through the shop since Horsepower Northwest began?
AARON: We’ve got four out the door so far and currently working on six as we speak. No complaints!
CRAVIN: What would you consider the types of cars you’re building to be, are they “Resto-Rods”?
AARON: People call them Pro Touring or Resto Mods.
CRAVIN: If someone came to you and said “build me whatever you want, sky’s the limit” what would Aaron Porter from Horsepower Northwest want to build?
AARON: I’m lucky enough to get to do that! I’d like to tackle an all wheel drive truck. Maybe a tin grille D100 or even a A100 van. That would be pretty fun, and scary.
CRAVIN: I’m a novice automotive buff at best, but I do know that having a car in a Barrett Jackson car auction is a pretty big deal. From what I noticed on the internet, Horsepower Northwest had a car in a Barrett Jackson event. Am I right about that?
AARON: Yeah we took our GTX-R there, it’s a 1971 Road Runner with a Viper V10 drivetrain. It was a great time, Molly and I enjoyed the trip.
CRAVIN: Do you see the Horsepower Northwest name showing up again at another Barrett Jackson event in the future?
AARON: Sure, BJ was fun, we would go back just as guests even. It’s essentially a giant car show. The Mecum auctions look great as well.
CRAVIN: Now that we’ve covered some of what’s happening now, and some of what could happen in the future… Let’s talk a little about the past real quick. Before building high-end, high performance automobiles, you were a real badass on a BMX bike. Meaning you rode BMX at a professional level right?
AARON: Haha… yeah i spent a lot of years on a bicycle in the woods building and riding. I was a professional goofball, I had just enough talent to delay growing up for as long as possible! Some of the best memories and lifelong friendships were made in doing so. It’s funny, there’s a lot of parallels to BMX, music and art in general in the NW. We are a different breed out here, I’m proud to be a part of it.
CRAVIN: Would you say you brought any of that rad adrenaline and that gnarly competitive drive from BMX into the Horsepower Northwest garage?
AARON: I constantly compete with myself. I’m sure it’s been engrained in me.
CRAVIN: Aaron Porter from HPNW, we at the Smokestack really appreciate you taking the time to sit with us for a moment. We’re excited to see whatever amazing stuff that you and your crew will be doing next. Godspeed!
AARON: Absolutely, thanks for having me. // CRAVIN MOORE
More on the socials @horsepower_northwest, online at horsepowernw.com
