Listen Here!

The Garage Vlog!

Consistency is key, in life, work or whatever you’re passionate about. For brothers Ben and Russ Perry their journey to become YouTube sensations has been littered in awesome content, in depth insights and a wild project that has pushed them to the top of the charts. But this wasn’t over night and consistent posting for 5+ years has honed their skills on how to properly shoot and edit content that piques the interest of all ages.

The 2 brothers both grew up in Western PA, Russ Perry is a flight paramedic and training to become a nurse. He’s the comedic portion of the YouTube channel and the one you’ll hear laughing throughout the entire podcast. He is really big into photography and is the guy who shoots and edits all of the YouTube and social media content. Ben Perry, owns a company that builds all terrain tracked robots. He got into machining right out of high school and quickly learned that college was not for him. His began his journey with a full blown machine shop he was running in his 2nd floor apartment and quickly got kicked out. With a machinist background in mind he wants all of his builds to be as perfect as they can possibly be.

The now internet famous mini bikes idea started when Ben saw a few guys on the internet riding around 3 wheelers which took him back to his childhood when they used to rip around in a 1970 Honda ATC. Ben decided he would like to build a mini version and built a rough frame and bolted some wheels on. He posted it up on Instagram and immediately started raking in the likes. Flashback to each of the guys having their own YouTube channel for almost 5 years. Each had content about specific interest, Russ with a VW build and Ben with his machining tips and tricks. Neither channel was wildly successful however after seeing the response to the mini bike frame build Russ knew they had something. With his photography background they knew they needed to take some quality shots of the bike and put them on social media platforms. They decided to make Ben’s YouTube, “TheGarageVlog,” their joint account and wanted this to be their brand for the mini bike build. As the build progressed and additional photos and videos were being made it blew up into where the boys sit at today. With hundreds of thousands of followers and gaining momentum every day they have caught lightning in a bottle.

Check any of their Instagram or YouTube posts and you’ll see troves of people have messaged them asking when they can build one. They have been vague about the details of the bikes because they aren’t sure if they want to go into manufacturing these. Right now they are content with making cool YouTube videos and riding them around. The last thing the guys want is another job on top of the busy schedule that they already have. With that in mind, they continue to upgrade both bikes in search of perfection, like Ben said on the podcast, “it has to be the best or I’ll beat myself up for it.” Their mindset when they started the builds were to have it good enough for a SEMA build. The frames have been fully tightened welded and powder coated, no marks or scratches where everything has been built with a purpose of being as precision and useful as possible. Right now they are the only guys in the mini bike game that are taking the builds to this high of quality. And they have been noticed…their Instagram has ballooned to 1000 people a day following them, their YouTube has grown exponentially as fast. With Ben’s background in electrification for his day job it was only fitting that both bikes be fitted with some of the best electric brushless motors on the market. As Ben puts it, “we are not electric because its green, we are electric because of the power,” and after riding one of these let me tell you, its a torque monster. 100% torque at 0 rpms means instant power on demand and some of the easiest wheelies you can ever pull.

Before the mini bikes both of the guys started with cars and trucks. We talked in depth about Russ’ 2001 S2000 was purchased as a vehicle to do a YouTube video. After some looking around for some time and multiple test drives (listen to the podcast) he bought the cheapest S2000 on the internet (also listen to the podcast). The car was promptly taken to a drift event where the boys found out really quick that an S2000 isnt the best car for drifting. They decided a week later to completely tear the car down and do a full motor build. Apprehensive, Russ made Ben promise that he would buy him a new motor of the motor blew up. The F20c had a Precision turbo charger 58/58 bolted to it with full custom stainless piping that allowed for them to keep the A/C, fuse box and VTEC sensor in the stock location. Ben then fully tuned in with a Haltech unit and the boys promptly took it out to rip on it for Russ’ YouTube. What they didn’t know is the 2 tuning maps needed for the car when it was in VTEC and out of VTEC mode…remember that. On 12 psi the boys could roast the rear tires in gears 1-4, and as Ben puts it, Russ was “boost drunk,” and ended up roasting the motor on the first long drive.

With a month old paper weight, they decided to tear down the motor and found all of the rings blown out. Luckily the block is sleeved from the factory and was not harmed during the boost drunk run. The block was sent out to Inline Pro and freshened up for a ground up build. Stuffed with the best parts the boys documented the build on YouTube and ended up building an absolute monster. Its dyno’d at 490hp at the rear wheels on pump gas at 18psi and is one of the most reliable cars in the fleet.

Ben’s build is a 1950 3600 3/4 ton Chevy Truck that has been bagged and is tucking 22” wheels. When Ben bought the truck off of a guy in Pittsburgh he had no clue how he was going to build it. Of course Ben being the guy he is built the truck up and knocked it out of the park. Starting with the suspension it has a Mustang II front crossmember, Thunderbird power steering rack and a host modern upgrades that make it handle like a new truck. The rear has a 4 link, backed up with a Ford 9”. The original frame has been boxed and c-notched to get the truck laying on the running boards. The Airlift Performance bags work perfectly with the suspension upgrades that allow for a comfortable ride with giving Ben the adjustability he is looking for.

The powertrain is a Tremec T56 6-speed transmission mated to a 383 stroker motor that was rebuilt after it was sitting in his uncles closet for 10 years. Everything under the body is brand new but still retains the patina paint to let you know its an old truck. Both of the brothers report that the truck is a handful but an absolute dream to drive.

Where do they sit now? Well with 1000s of people clamoring to purchase one of their mini bike creations they are contemplating how to mass manufacture these. They’re building a larger frame to make the bike more comfortable as well as a little more stable. During the podcast you’ll see the two are not in any hurry to mass manufacture these but are starting to entertain the idea.

I cannot thank both Ben and Russ enough, for allowing me to come up and check out the shop and the current projects they are working on. If you’re looking for a great YouTube channel with a lot of entertaining content please check them out at The Garage Vlog or on instagram @thegaragevlog . I really appreciate the time Ben and Russ took to walk through their incredible operation and share the knowledge and stories behind the YouTube channel and the mini bikes. I look forward to catching back up with them once they are the next Paul brothers of the internet!