Conway bike shop owner talks Atlantic Beach Bike Fest, what the event means to Black Americans

CONWAY, S.C. (WBTW) — We are only a few days away from Atlantic Beach Bike Fest, and News13’s Maya Lockett spoke with a local woman whose personal ties to the event inspired her to open her own motorcycle shop in Conway.

Kelli Williams has been going to Atlantic Beach Bike Fest since she was 13.

“I have family who actually owns a beach house on Atlantic Beach,” Williams said.

The city has a long history as a hub for Black Americans. During segregation, it was the only beach in the South where Blacks were allowed.

In 1980, the Flaming Knight Riders Motorcycle Club found the Atlantic Beach Bike Fest. The first rally drew only around 100 participants, but 40 years later the event attracts hundreds of thousands of people.

“It’s very important, the town of Atlantic Beach, they really strive on that every year and that place is rich in history,” said Charles Hemingway, co-owner of Kreative Designz.

Now, Williams is making history of her own as the only Black female motorcycle shop owner in Horry County.

“We’re making history and number two, we’ve given Black bikers just an opportunity to, you know, that they have a shot they can come to and they can you know, just be able to support their own when it comes to Spring rally as we enjoyed it last weekend,” Williams said. “We, you know, be able to service all backgrounds, all colors, all people, so we’re not biased towards anything. If you’re a biker, you’re a biker.”

Williams said there was no better location for her and her co-owner, Hemingway, to open Kreative Designz than Horry County.

“A lot of retirees here, a lot of young individuals that’s here that just love motorcycles and a motorcycle enthusiast,” she said. “So this is the perfect place to actually have a shop, I mean, we have the bike industry in our own backyard.”

Industry experts say around 20% of motorcycle owners are women.

“We’re starting to make our mark and being recognized, and we also [have] been accepted and appreciated, so times definitely have changed and it’s for the better,” Williams said.