Fiat Abarth 1000, aka the Abarth Monomille Bialbero. Sean Smith photo
Story by Sean Smith
Do the posters we hang on our walls as kids really influence us later in life? A poster featuring the design and beauty of a black Porsche Turbo inspired Mike Pinkus. Over the years, the poster may have disappeared, but the ideas of design and beauty lingered. After graduating from high school Mike was moving aimlessly from job to job. He was a busboy in a restaurant, he worked for a moving company, but he had no real direction. Then Mike discovered the concept of industrial design. It lit a fire in him. With this revelation, Mike immersed himself in a five-year program at Syracuse University and came away with a bachelor’s degree in industrial design in 1984.