Steve McQueen was a high paid actor but he became known for his love of dirt biking. In a 1966 interview for Popular Science magazine, McQueen was asked why he likes racing.
“It’s the clean smell of the desert in the morning. The satisfaction of setting up a rig and having it work perfectly in every way,” he said.
McQueen started out as a young man with a turbulent upbringing and became a respected Marine and beloved actor. But he always did his own thing and was never swayed by the opinion of the majority.
When agreeing to do films, McQueen would demand items like electric razors and jeans to be delivered to him in bulk. Many people assumed it was an eccentricity of his. Years later, however, it was discovered that he was in fact donating these items to the Boy’s Republic Reformatory School where he spent time as an adolescent.
Dubbed ‘The King of Cool,’ Steve McQueen has become a legend not just for his acting or induction in the Motorcycle Hall of Fame, but because he was always someone who stayed true to himself and his roots.
Beyond the fact that he wore a Barbour International to compete, it’s his character that makes Steve McQueen synonymous with Barbour International. Like Steve, Barbour too is original, authentic and faithful to its heritage.
Barbour started out with one store in 1894 in South Shields, England and within a few years, the brand was putting firsts into the history books. In the 1930s, Barbour’s wax cotton motorcycle suit became the basis for the original motorcycle jacket, designed specifically for the British team to wear when racing in the International Six Day Trials – an off-road motorcycle event.
To celebrate this long and rich motorcycling heritage, Barbour’s International continues to be inspired by this classic style.
