Selwyn_Times: July 26, 2023
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Wednesday <strong>July</strong> <strong>26</strong> <strong>2023</strong> <strong>Selwyn</strong> <strong>Times</strong><br />
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz<br />
NEWS 9<br />
– and the ultimate man cave<br />
He sold the cardboard replica<br />
for $2025 and donated the<br />
money to Mike King’s mental<br />
health charity I Am Hope.<br />
Graham often pays for people’s<br />
groceries at the supermarket<br />
checkout when he sees the need.<br />
“It’s not about them going oh<br />
look, thank you to me. It’s just<br />
making them think, hey, we’re<br />
all on the planet, we’ve all got<br />
different channels we’re going<br />
down, but we’re all here and we<br />
all care.”<br />
Outside the man cave, a number<br />
of incredible items can also<br />
be found in his backyard.<br />
He owns a flying 3/4 replica<br />
P51 Mustang single-seat<br />
fighter plane built in Loburn.<br />
It’s mounted on<br />
a steel post<br />
and has been<br />
painted<br />
blue and<br />
red to<br />
look<br />
like<br />
actor Tom<br />
Cruise’s<br />
P51. Inside<br />
the<br />
cockpit,<br />
there is a<br />
mannequin<br />
dressed<br />
like Cruise’s<br />
character<br />
Pete Mitchell,<br />
known as ‘Maverick’, from the<br />
film Top Gun.<br />
Also on his lawn is a Land<br />
Rover on a stump and a Mil<br />
34C Hermit light helicopter<br />
once used by the Nigerian Air<br />
Force. Graham also has a High<br />
Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled<br />
Vehicle, known as a Humvee,<br />
which was used by the United<br />
States Army during the<br />
Iraq War.<br />
ON SHOW: Motorcycles and film props, including a life-sized Deadpool<br />
mannequin from the Marvel movie, adorn Dean Graham’s man cave, while<br />
a former US Army Humvee and a replica Mustang fighter plane, similar to<br />
the one owned by Tom Cruise, are on display in the backyard.<br />
As you enter his man cave<br />
there is a workshop for his bikes,<br />
a helmet room, and a wall full of<br />
old skateboards, many of which<br />
were Graham’s when he was<br />
growing up.<br />
Moving through the cave, it<br />
becomes much more homely –<br />
with a bar, sunken lounge and a<br />
Volkswagen Kombi van, which<br />
has been converted into a DJ<br />
booth.<br />
On either side of the lounge<br />
area, there are display cases<br />
with more motorcycles, one<br />
of which is a bike designed<br />
by New Zealand freestyle motocross<br />
rider Levi Sherwood.<br />
It was made for a specific<br />
trick – a double forward flip –<br />
and was the first bike Sherwood<br />
ever built.<br />
Said Graham: “The fuel tank<br />
is only big enough for a specific<br />
run time.”<br />
Going through the rest of<br />
the cave there are a number of<br />
cars, including a rare replica<br />
1965 Shelby Daytona American<br />
sports-coupé and a Holden A9X<br />
Torana.<br />
He also has many motorcycles<br />
mounted on the wall, some of<br />
which he has raced or used on<br />
the farm.<br />
“I’m glad I kept them all<br />
because they are important to<br />
me.”<br />
Graham said he can look at<br />
them and remember his past.<br />
“Some people have photo<br />
albums I just keep the bikes<br />
and know what each one<br />
means.<br />
“This cave is just<br />
a whole lot of<br />
photographs<br />
of my life and<br />
how much fun<br />
I’ve had and<br />
it’s only just<br />
begun.”<br />
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