Hells Angels MC
(Hell's Angels) is one of the world's largest motorcycle clubs, with chapters all over the world. Formed on March 17, 1948 in San Bernardino (California). The Hells Angels became widely known thanks to Ralph Hubert Barger Jr., also known as Sonny Barger.
The famous American writer Hunter Thomson wrote a book of the same name about the club. Under itself, Hells Angels MC has organizations such as the “Big Red Machine,” which unites individuals who support the activities of the club and the “Big House Crew.”
Now the club heads the so-called “Big Four” (the Four largest motorcycle clubs in the world), being currently the largest motorcycle club in the world.
Hells Angels and the police
Such races brought not only joy and entertainment, but also problems. After all, due to constant complaints, the police paid attention to them. They were arrested for drunk driving, fighting, smashing stores, and so on.
The Hells Angels gang often got into scandals with the police / photo Getty Images
The Motorcycle Association always came to the defense. They convinced law enforcement officers that 99% of motorcyclists are law-abiding American citizens who were just a little carried away. But the 1% are already those who are outside the law. This is how the “1%” tattoo appeared, which symbolizes, to put it mildly, not very law-abiding bikers.
Hunter Thompson and the Hells Angels
In 1966, Hunter Thompson published the novel Hell's Angels. The main “highlight” of the creation was that the writer was familiar with bikers and was well versed in the topic. Another interesting thing is that representatives of the motorcycle club themselves have repeatedly stated that Thompson’s creation is “the only true thing ever written about them.”
Before the release of Hell's Angels, Thompson was involved in journalism. And in 1964, he decided to do a big piece about bikers for The Nation. Hunter met the bikers and became part of their “natural habitat.” It took the journalist about a year to collect the material and write the text. The article, entitled "Motorcycle Gangs: Underdogs and Underdogs," was published in May 1965. Thompson's creation had the effect of an exploding bomb. And after a short time, representatives of six book publishing houses contacted the journalist. This is how the famous book appeared.
Thompson himself recalled that the article opened up the previously forbidden world of bikers for him. The “angels” were impressed by the journalist’s work, and while collecting material for the book, they tried to share with him interesting, and most importantly, confidential information.
Stephen King didn’t pass by Hell’s Angels either . He mentioned them in his novel The Black House. King compared the heroes of the work—the motorcyclists from the Thundering Five—to the “Angels.”
And of course, cinema. Thanks to the films “Hells Angels on Wheels”, “Angels From Hell”, “Hell's Angels'69”, “The Wild Angels” and many others, it was with the “Hells Angels” that all biker clubs were associated from the mid-60s of the last century until until the beginning of the twenty-first century. And their name became a household name.
Most famous member of the Hells Angels
Until the '50s, the Hells Angels were just motorcycle enthusiasts. They had neither structure nor official name. They just got together and drove around California. However, a man named Sonny Barger came into their lives. Today he is the most famous member of the Hells Angels.
The most famous member of the Hells Angels gang
He managed to create a management system, and thanks to membership fees, funding, regular races and, most importantly, his own symbols appeared. He was usually considered the leader of all Hells Angels, but in fact he was only the head of his branch in Oakland. True, absolutely all Hells Angels know and respect him.
In 1956, I bought my first bike and was already thinking about starting a motorcycle club. That's how it all started. We got together with friends and started thinking about how to arrange everything. We were 18-21 years old at the time,” recalled Sonny Barger, ex-president of the Hells Angels in Oakland.
Biker Clubs: HELL'S ANGELS.
Today, Hell's Angels is the largest bike club not only in the USA, but throughout the World. And although the list of countries in which its branches can be found is huge, we will still list it so that you can imagine the real size of this MC - a motorcycle club. And so: Australia, Austria, England, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Hungary, Germany, Holland, Greece, Denmark, Ireland, Iceland, Spain, Italy, Canada, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Northern Ireland, USA, Turkey, Wales. Finland, France, Croatia, Czech Republic (Czech Republic), Chile, Switzerland, Sweden, South Africa. Next in line is the creation of branches in Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Japan.
It's quite easy to explain the popularity of the Hells Angels. First of all, there is no club more hyped than the Angels. And if we compare all the films and books (not to mention newspaper and magazine articles) that talked about him with all the films and articles that talk about all the other clubs, we get a ratio of 90 to 10.
Secondly, and this, in our opinion, is the most important thing - the Hells Angels, despite their belonging to the notorious 1 percent, are seen as the ideal embodiment of the American dream. According to the official legend**, the founders of the club were retired pilots from the heavy bomber squadron 330, which was called the “Hells Angels”.
** – But this is only a legend, despite the fact that almost half of the official website of the Angels themselves (hells-angels.com, section “History”) is devoted to its retelling. But this is considered a legend because the first real veteran from this squadron appeared in the club only 3 years after its founding. And besides, the club's coat of arms - a winged skull - never adorned the aircraft of the 330th squadron, although it was found among the symbols of the US Air Force. So we find it on the aircraft of the 85th fighter squadron, or among the symbols of the 552nd bomber squadron.
HELL'S ANGELS However, since we are not interested in the background, but in the history of the Hells Angels, we will say that the club arose in 1953 from the unification of several disparate clubs, and this happened in San Francisco, California. At first, bikers got together to spend time in fun and often drunken rides, often accompanied by fights with representatives of other clubs. The rest of the time, they worked hard in offices or factories to earn the money needed to keep their bikes running and to buy beer.
In 1960, Ralph Hubert Barger, known among bikers as Sonny Barger), who was then the head of the Oakland (California) branch, and later became the head of the entire club, called “Hells Angels MC World”, created the club’s charter, according to which: - for basic membership in the club you must go through 4 different levels; — being a member or candidate, you need to pay fees; — you need to be friends with the authorities and not break the law (if possible); - and all mass races should be carried out not only with the official permission of the club management, but also with the permission of local authorities.
And now I will disappoint all fans of the “pure biker spirit” - being a great manager (and the fame of the Hells Angels confirms this), Ralph Hubert initially treated the club **** as a highly profitable enterprise. It was his efforts and the crazy, but perfectly planned antics of the gang that journalists and filmmakers became interested in the club, thanks to which, since the 70s of the last century, the name Hell's Angels has not left the pages of magazines and TV and movie screens.
**** – He even registered the name of the club and its symbols as an official trademark. The main source of income for the Hells Angels corporation for almost 15 years was biker paraphernalia and motorcycles, which were sold for tens of millions of dollars a year. However, it soon became clear to the new leaders of the club that the really big money was paid not for souvenirs or for filming, but for selling drugs. After which the club, which was a gang of hooligans of the 1st percent, began to methodically turn into a gang, the basis of which was hardened criminals.
The result of this was that already in 4 US cities, including Chicago, it was the Hells Angels who became the main suppliers and sellers of drugs, displacing not only single sellers and other biker clans, but also the mafia, which had traditionally been involved in this trade, from local streets.
True, for every 100 members of the club there is only one drug dealer, but this is the great cynicism of the Angels, who accept almost everyone and pose as inveterate patriots. So, at the beginning of the Vietnam War, the president of the club wrote a letter to the President of the United States, declaring the readiness of his bikers to form a separate military unit and go to war. No less famous are the obligatory patriotic parades of bikers on June 4th - Independence Day, and on the occasion of other national holidays.
HELL'S ANGELS But such behavior not only does not save the Hells Angels from persecution by the authorities, but also serves as a reason (if we leave aside many years of drug wars) sincere hatred on the part of other large clubs in the USA, who believe that by their very existence the Angels desecrate the very concept of “biker” and the "biker movement".
Afterword. Sad story, isn't it? But there are many sad stories and a lot of lies in the world. One of them is the romantic aura surrounding true bikers. The only good thing is that today you can still meet real “lonely riders” who managed to escape from the gray world of everyday life. But all of them, and you will see this over time, do not belong to any clubs or gangs, preferring to remain solitary nomads, traveling for no one knows why and no one knows where, but remaining truly honest bearers of the true biker spirit.
Symbolism of motorcyclists
Over time and under the leadership of Sonny Barger, the Hells Angels developed their own symbolism. Two colors - red lettering on a white background. Hence the pseudonym “Red and White”.
The symbolic colors of the Hells Angels are red and white.
Additionally, members have patches on their backs that consist of three parts: an upper and lower rocker, and a skull with wings in the center. And also stripes with the name of the club, location, initials of the participant and his position. All of this portrays the honor and dignity of the Hells Angels. Bikers are ready to give their lives to protect them. Therefore, only full members of Hells have the right to wear emblems.
Patches on the backs of club members
Since no one other than the Hells Angels has the right to use the club’s symbols, fans use the inscription “81” as a sign of respect and support - this is the serial number of the letters “H” and “A” in the alphabet.
Fans of the club use the inscription "81" on their clothes
There are also various additional symbols in the arsenal, such as the inscription Filthy Few with two lightning bolts, which means that the participant killed for the club. In addition, the members have many more tattoos that cannot be worn by anyone other than full-fledged members. In the worst case, you will have to remove them with a knife or burn them with a gas lamp.
Hells Angels tattoos
Hells Angels Charters
After Sonny Barger founded the first club in the 50s, a clear structure took root on the West Coast of the United States. Six Hells Angels charters then opened, maintaining autonomy but operating as a single organization.
What is a charter? This is the regional chapter of the Hells Angels. As of 2021, 466 charters are registered in the world - these are 5 continents and 58 countries.
Who is included in Hells Angels charters:
• “President” – the leader of the charter, who is the face of the club; • “Officers” – deputy leaders; • “Soldiers” are ordinary members of the club, each of whom has their own responsibilities: someone is involved in social networks, someone organizes parties, and so on. • Prospects are persons on probation. • Hanging around – new people who want to join in.
There are 466 Hells Angels charters in the world / photo Getty Images
When Hells Angels participate in races, their column is formed exclusively in this hierarchical order.
How to join the Hells Angels
Unlike other gangs, joining the Hells Angels club is very difficult. Candidates for membership are called Hanging around. Next, you need to earn trust and move on to the Prospect title.
To become a full-fledged participant, you need to prove that you are worthy to be called that and wear their symbols. To do this it is necessary: – to carry out any orders both day and night; – help and support the charter you want to join; – meet the selection criteria. For example, women and black people are not accepted into the club.
For dangerous ways to make money Hells Angels - see the program.
Relations with authorities
USA, EU
In 2014, there was an attempt to ban the motorcycle club, but the court recognized it as a legal association.[27]
In 2013, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice issued a dissenting opinion that the Hells Angels are not a criminal organization. In Australia, a similar decision was made in 2015.
In Russia
On June 7, 2015, the Federation Council published a “patriotic stop list” - a list of NGOs that should be recognized as “undesirable organizations” and included the Soros Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Freedom House, National Endowment for Democracy, etc. Parliamentarians called on citizens to send their proposals, and Senator Viktor Ozerov mentioned the receipt of two requests from the Night Wolves biker club, with a request to include the Hells Angels MC and Bandidos MC biker clubs there. The appeal, signed by the leader of the Night Wolves and member of the Anti-Maidan movement Alexander Zaldostanov, together with the Union of Paratroopers and the Combat Brotherhood, states that these “foreign organizations headquartered in the USA” do not comply with the laws of the Russian Federation and participated in the events on the Maidan and can be used as the main fighting force during the “color revolution” in Russia[28]. On August 13, the chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation, Andrei Klishas, approached Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika with a proposal to add the Hells Angels and Bandidos to the list of undesirable organizations.
A representative of the motorcycle club, Ivan (Hippo), described such letters as “ungentlemanly behavior” and denied a number of allegations. According to him, patriots of their country participate in his motorcycle club.
In turn, the Union of Paratroopers of Siberia appealed to the leadership of the Union of Paratroopers of Russia, in which they indicated that the information contained in the letter to the Federation Council was unreliable.
