Born in Vernon, B.C., Hilton moved with his family to Kitimat and then to North Vancouver. He’s lived there ever since, and it’s where he raised his own family. As a young man, when Hilton got involved fixing a friend’s motorcycle in 1969, he found himself at Honda Centre on Robson Street in Vancouver buying parts.
“There was a sea of motorcycles there, and I said ‘Wow, you’ve got a lot of repair work here’.” Hilton recalls. “He asked if I was a mechanic, and I soon found myself with a job. I had a steep learning curve, but I was curious and persistent.”