A bit difficult to pin down: this is the way you might describe Deus Ex Machina. The self-described Emporium of Postmodern Activities, it is at once a custom motorcycle build shop, a surf shop, and a cafe. Their art and clothing is so popular it’s been picked up by that mall standard, Urban Outfitters.

Their shop seems like it might be Hipster Mecca. They have surely hit on something, too, because they’re apparently doing really well selling $50 t-shirts, $100 hoodies, and $120 bluejeans! They sell some riding apparel, too, that is right in their retro-fashion alley and similarly pricey. And lately, they’ve taken to filmmaking.

The Deus Ex Machina team took some time off from bike building, board building and manning their flagship store/cafe in Los Angeles to make a movie. It is exactly as you’d expect, if the trailer is representative of the feature: it’s a buddy film with surfboards, a panel van and several Honda XR400 motorcycles fitted with side-mount surfboard racks.

To their credit, the photography is pretty stunning, the video quality is beautiful and they look like they’re having a really fantastic time. They travel to Baja California to ride motorcycles in the dunes, surf the shore and generally have a good time. They’re no slouches, either: they show off a ton of skill on camera both on two wheels and in the water.

The road-trip film is called “Death Rides a Horse.” There are three teaser/trailers for it on the Deus Ex Machina page where it says “Feature Film Coming Soon.” I’m betting even with a chase truck it will be an authentic representation and pure road trip–that thing was built in 1963. The film’s description is “Beers. Breakdowns. Waves. Repeat. In the summer of 2018 five friends, four custom motorbikes with surf racks and a 63 Chevy Panel Wagon made the trip to do both.” Maybe Charley and Ewan will have a little competition!

Source: YouTube, Deus Ex Machina

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