Chris Collins rebuilt a motorcycle engine in his mom's kitchen as a teenager, teaching himself mechanical skills nobody expected from him. His parents' support gave him confidence to pursue unconventional interests like surfing and remote-control cars, even after their divorce. He credits grace and forgiveness for the peace he found.
Did you feel like people underestimated you? Oh. Oh, God, yes. Absolutely. You know, many of the kids of color weren't doing the things that I was doing, so I became an outcast. Many of them were getting into some bad stuff. Some of them were doing some great things, but they stuck to their circles. I just loved surfing. I loved remote control cars. I loved motorcycles. So I got into those things, and it helped help me with my creativity. It helped build my confidence as a young man to be able to take a motorcycle apart. I changed a motorcycle engine in my mother's kitchen in Dayton's. Took it up on a skateboard. It was an 1100 Katana. Got the schematic, broke it open, changed the cylinder heads. Wow. Did you get. Did you get that talent from your dad? My dad, electronics, he used to take things apart. And I'd watch, and I know how to read. So when you read the schematic and go step by step, it's amazing what you can learn. And a couple of my friends, by friend George, he helped me out, and I couldn't believe. My mother to this day says, you actually changed cylinder heads in our kitchen. And I did. Rolled it back downstairs. Took me about an hour and a half, two hours to put it back in the motorcycle, and I was off. I had an 1100 Katana while I was 17 years old in high school. I rolled up to school, they were like, it's a big bike and I'm 17. That's when I knew I was just different. There's nothing wrong with being different. And part of that's good parenting, right? My mother, incredible. My father, incredible. I'm blessed to have had good parents that they got divorced after 16 years of marriage, but they maintained having a great friendship. And that was so important for me to see, to have a father that I knew loved me. Nobody's perfect. Everyone has their shortcomings, but they did the best they could with what they had. And I always reflect that there are people out there that don't have parents that have died at early ages. They didn't have any type of experiences. So when I look at certain people who blame their father or their mother for this and that, at least you had a mother and a father. And I've just learned to give people grace, forgiveness for the things that they may not be strong in areas that they weren't supportive in. Just give them grace and forgive. Because then it gives you peace. Because when you hold on to anger and animosity, it pulls you down. It sucks the soul out of you. And I've learned let go and let God forgive. It makes life a lot easier.
