33 Hells Angels Photos That Put You Inside The Notorious Biker Gang
Hans G. Lehmann/ullstein bild via Getty ImagesCalifornia Hells Angels and old ladies hanging out outside their clubhouse sometime in the mid-1960s.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the most notorious motorcycle club the world has ever known: the Hells Angels.
Decades later, the infamous biker gang still makes regular headlines for its counterculture lifestyle and criminal activities.
The roots of the Hells Angels trace back to Fontana and San Bernardino, Calif. just after the end of World War II. Upon returning from the war, many G.I.s felt bored with the return to civilian life and longed for the brotherhood and excitement that they’d had within the military.
Various loosely organized motorcycle-riding clubs sprang up, and among these was one that took its name from a wartime flying squadron, which itself was named after the fighting aviators of a famous 1930 film: Hells Angels. However, contrary to popular belief, none of the founding members of the first Hells Angels were part of the World War II flying squadron, though squadron member Arvid Olsen did suggest the name to the club’s founding members.
The group’s reputation and membership grew during the 1950s, but it was during the turbulent 1960s that the Hells Angels bikers truly made a name for themselves. During this time, members of the club could often be seen sporting their “death’s head” insignia on highways, in bars, and at rock concerts.
Despite the group’s worldwide proliferation, becoming a patch-wearing member of the group requires more than simply riding a Harley. Interested members must be invited by a “fully-patched” member and must not be a police officer, a former police officer, or anyone who even applied to be a police officer.
There are also questions as to how race affects membership eligibility. While the overwhelmingly white club doesn’t claim to be racially segregated as a whole, Sonny Barger stated in an interview, “We probably have enough racist members that no black guy is going to get in.”
Whether it’s a matter of race, drugs, or violence, the Hells Angels’ way of life has long been one of controversy and conflict, both with the law and the norms of society as a whole. It’s that commitment to living by their own rules though, for better or worse, that has captivated the public’s interest in them for decades. See for yourself in this incredible Hells Angels gallery.
