Denise Jones, of Atlanta, Ga., is probably one of the happiest people you could ever meet. I mean… she is happy. She’s full of life, enthusiasm, passion and kindness. Denise exudes an excitement for life that not many people have, today. With that said, it was a truly joyful experience to get her on the phone, recently, to talk about the things she loves most. She is feminine to the hilt, but you can’t let her bubbly personality, cute and cheerful voice and passion for fashion (and shoes!) mislead you. She is a total gear head!
Ms. Jones’ collection of specialty vehicles, which is insured by Grundy Worldwide, includes a 1970 Chevelle, an all-original matching numbers 1964 Impala and a one-off Pro Street motorcycle. She started collecting cars within the last decade; however, since she was young, there has been a place in Denise’s heart for anything with wheels.
“I would beg my dad to cut grass on any day, on his riding lawn mower, just so I could pretend it was a dirt bike of some sort,” says Denise. “My mother decided that pretending that my dad’s lawn mower was a dirt bike was too dangerous, so my dad bought me a dirt bike—a Yamaha YZ 80. I became obsessed with riding and racing it, eventually graduating to three and four wheelers and street bikes. And, my dad had a 1963 Chevy Impala within which I found a peace that nothing else other than a motorcycle could provide me.”
Denise explains that when she was a little girl, her parents separated, and her father would pick her up every Sunday to spend time with him. She recalls pressing her face up to the windows of her house that sat on farm in rural Pennsylvania, in anticipation of seeing her father turn the corner with Sam Cooke blasting from the stereo in his Impala. Denise says that this was a happy time for her. And, she also says that she thinks that is when her real appreciation for old cars began.
“My love just grew over the years,” she says.
As Denise’s love for cool cars and bikes grew, so did her dreams of changing the world, one gear head at a time. Recently, Ms. Jones started her own brand with which she plans to encourage women of all sorts— it’s called Wheel Women™.
To provide a little history behind the name, Denise explains that one day, years ago, a man spotted her wearing a sundress, while also sporting a motorcycle helmet. Amazed, but delighted by the sight, he blurted out that he’d love to put her on the back of his bike.
With a bit of sass, Denise turned to him and said: “No… I’d love to put you on the back of my bike!”
“Man! You’re a real woman!” replied the man.
“No. I’m a wheel woman,” quipped Denise.
And, so it began.
It took Denise between seven to eight years to muster up the courage to put her dream of introducing the Wheel Women™ brand into action. She says that she was not brought up to go against the grain, by doing something like starting her own company; but, with the support of family, friends, a fantastic fiancé and co-workers, she did it, nevertheless. Denise started her business in 2009; and, now that she has started, she says there is no turning back.
Wheel Women™ is (currently) a line of clothing and accessories for women who are on their own wheels—whether they are on motorcycles, classic muscle cars, hot rods, bicycles, wheelchairs, race cars, dirt bikes, trucks, skates or skateboards. We added the word “currently,” because Denise has big dreams for Wheel Women™, which we’ll touch on, in this article.
“Every piece of our clothing and accessories represent this belief that you can look sexy and strong all in one,” writes Denise on her Web site www.iamawheelwoman.com. “Wheel Women™ is more than clothing and accessories. It’s a fun way to say, ‘Hey, don’t judge people…Women can be feminine and strong. We like wearing sexy clothes, regardless of our size. We fall down and get back up; we can ride the heck out of a motorcycle, own hot rods... And, we don’t mind getting a ‘little dirty’ every now and then…fixing cars or riding dirt bikes and quads! I can take care of myself. Who cares what others say or do? I’m proud of my unconventional side. Do what you love and be who you are.’”
Denise says that the first venue at which she displayed her inspiring gear was the Biker Roundup in Atlanta, Ga. (Denise is a native of Pittsburgh, Pa., but she now lives in Atlanta.) There, she sold her first Wheel Women™ t-shirt: “Wheel Women™ ride their own!” She also marketed her underwear line, at that event: “No Back Seat” thongs and “Asphalt – We’ve got you covered” boy shorts.
In addition to the clothes, she also offers mugs, jewelry and greeting cards. Denise notes that there is a “high performance” line of “love cards” that is a little bit racier than the others. She says that her co-worker came up with the idea.
“We laugh with her because she is newly single, at 53,” says Denise, in reference to her friend who thought up the high performance card idea. “She said we better get all the creativity out of her now while she is single (and before she finds a wheel man), because then she won't have time for us!”
Many of Denise’s friends and family inspire new ideas. She says that they have continuously supported her in all of her endeavors.
“My friend ‘Sarg,’ who doesn't get much into cars, loves wearing the clothes, because she just thinks it so cool to wear something that is such a conversation piece. As a self described ‘geek,’ she says she feels super cool!” says Denise. “She keeps me focused and on course.”
“My friends mean so much to me and are so encouraging. They think of new sassy sayings and products all of the time and encourage me every day,” she continues. “They crack me up because they come up to me all of the time and say things like… ‘I have a 315 motor in my car,’ trying to talk like a wheel woman. I laugh, because I know there is no such thing! They just have grown to love ‘gear head’ talk and want to be a part of it! It’s special to me.”
Just as her friends’ interest in what she does is special to Denise, the items she sells are just as special to women of all sorts, shapes and sizes. Her clothes and other items were an instant hit, at the Atlanta Biker Roundup, selling out in just two days.
There was something for everyone.
In her mission to promote independence, confidence, freedom and hope, Denise wanted to include all women when designing her apparel.
Ms. Jones says that she grew up thinking she was “so ugly.” She explains that her insecurities came from the fact that she is biracial (Black and Italian) and has always had a muscular build. As a kid, she was picked on because of the very things that make her so beautiful, today.
“My mom built my confidence,” says Denise. “She helped me be proud of being biracial and infused and inspired my love of fashion. She is ahead of the curve when it comes to fashion; and, that has helped me when coming up with designs for Wheel Women™.”
Today, Denise has that confidence and wants to help other women experience the same freedom she has – specifically, she made it her personal mission to include a large variety of sizes so all women could be comfortable but feel feminine and attractive while wearing her clothes. (Her motorcycle apparel is sized by sizes of motorcycles: 250cc (small) to 1400cc (4XL). The classic muscle car line uses “big block” sizes!)
Denise notes that because it is difficult to find wholesale shirts in “plus sizes,” she is now researching what it will take to make her own “cut and sew” shirts that will be made from scratch to ensure that the plus size audience is represented.
“Everything we stand for is empowering for women,” states Denise on her Web site. “We want women to feel positive when ordering their apparel and look great when they are wearing it!”
This makes sense— Denise is all about positive thinking. As we mentioned before, she might just be the happiest person you could meet.
“People ask me why I’m so happy,” says Denise. “I answer that it’s because I woke up!”
“I would be mad if I died right now!” exclaims Denise. “I’ve still got a lot of living to do.”
(She says that she still has a lot of cars to buy and work on, too!)
“Every day I wake up, I wonder what exciting thing is going to happen. Even if it’s a challenge—what challenge will happen today? I like challenges! And, I live in the moment. There aren’t any ‘what if’s’—no shoulda, woulda, coulda’s. I’m not living my life with regrets.”
In alignment with her goals of sharing that positive perspective and hope, a portion of her sales from select products go towards local domestic violence programs, making her clothing line all the more special.
But, Denise does not stop giving back, there.
As a retired employee of both the PA Department of Parole and the PA Department of Corrections (you won’t be surprised to hear that inmates called the bubbly and fun-loving Ms. Jones “Officer Sunshine”), Denise plans on starting programs to help women coming out of the prison system.
“Life behind Bars” (motorcycle program) and “Bars to Cars” (automotive program) are two prison programs for women who are serving or have served time in prison. Denise says that these programs will be geared toward helping women pursue a non-traditional career in motorcycle or auto mechanics, drag bike and car racing, building or customizing motorcycles and cars, once they are released from prison.
She adds that these programs will also teach basic writing and communication skills along with building “self.”
In addition to these prison programs, Denise would like to start a repair school for women, in a few years; she would also like to hire women out of the prison system to work at a Wheel Women™ automotive repair shop, too.
“One day, I’m going to do it,” says Denise about her intentions of being “a full-time wheel woman,” with a clothing line, greeting cards, knick-knacks, a repair school for women, a repair shop ran by women, motivational and instructional classes – the whole shebang!
Denise says that she is so excited about all of her ideas and all of the opportunities that will come with starting the Wheel Woman™ brand that she’d like to see them all in place by… Monday.
But, she curbs her enthusiasm a little, in order to take some time to plan future projects with care and attention to detail. For now, Denise will keep the focus on the clothing line and take things one step at a time, while working towards achieving all her dreams that she has built around the Wheel Women™ brand.
A Wheel Women™ exhibit will be displayed at a handful of events throughout the Spring and Summer, including: Ridez Of The Timez in Orlando, Fla., "It's My City" Skate Jam in Atlanta, Ga., the Carlisle All GM Nationals in Carlisle, Pa., BikeFest in Carlisle, Pa.and Hot August Nights (The Reno Arch Plaza on Virginia Street) in Reno, Nev. You can stop by these vendor locations to buy your Wheel Women™ items.
For more information about Denise and the Wheel Women™ brand, visit www.iamawheelwoman.com.
Story by: Becky McLaughlin, Gazette Editor
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