Kenny Price, the undisputed Godfather of Pipes, Founder and CEO of Samson Exhaust, has come out of retirement and is once again pumping out more innovative products into the aftermarket exhaust industry.
In 1991 Kenny founded Samson Motorcycle Products with the dream of making performance motorcycle exhaust that looked good, sounded good and wouldn’t break. Many of the standard exhaust designs we see today, such as True-Dual Crossovers, rear “S” pipes, long shots, Big Guns and the modern Fishtail, were all invented by the Godfather of Pipes. Kenny handmade all his own products for 3 years before his designs really started to catch on, and once they did, Samson grew into a manufacturing powerhouse. Under Kenny’s leadership the company grew out of 10 different manufacturing facilities until finally moving to Sturgis, South Dakota, the “City of Riders”, where Kenny had a custom building constructed specifically for Samson’s needs.
Soon after the move to Sturgis, Kenny decided to retire and hand over business operations to the team. In doing so production suffered, and in turn, deliverability, innovation, and new products also suffered. But now the Godfather is back. In the time Kenny has been at the helm once again, shipping times have decreased dramatically and production is again booming. Kenny is a true lifelong motorcyclist who brings over 40 years of manufacturing, business experience and leadership to the team at Samson.
“Since getting my first bike in 1964, a 1956 Vespa, and graduating to my first Harley, a 1965 Panhead, I have been intrigued by the sense of freedom riding provides. Making pipes for customers bikes at Cheatah Choppers back in ‘69 sparked the passion to fabricate some of the best styles available today. I’ve always had a very simple philosophy, make what the rider wants and deliver it to them. And that’s what we are continuing with today.” – The Godfather of Pipes