ANGELS FROM HELL ANGELS
The Hells Angels Motorcycle club (HAMC) has a bad reputation in both the eyes of the law and the general population. For the cops, it’s their actions and involvement in illegal activities, and for people, it’s their fugitive behavior that makes them bad guys.
Like any other club, the Hells Angels also have some secrets and rules that its unapproachable member will not let out in public, but fortunately, we have got our hands on a few of their rules. So if you intend to become one of the Hells Angels, do read this article; it will help you understand the club rules.
1. They will not tell you how to join
The Hell Angel club does not have a clear-cut procedure for new members. Even if you visit the FAQs section on the Hells Angels website, they have not mentioned the process, and it leaves the visitors confused
We will tell you how you can get the membership. It all starts with a hang-around. You get an invitation from Hell Angels to hang around with the existing members, and then they decide if you will fit in the crowd or not.
2. Respect is mutual
The Hells Angels stick to this golden rule for the people both inside and outside the charter. They firmly believe in treat others as you want o to be treated.
The Hells members always give respect to others as long as they receive it in return. The reporters and the neighbors have found the Hells Angels friendly and welcoming most of the time.
3. Protect your brand image
All the Hells Angels members feel honored by wearing the Hells Angels logo, and they go the extra mile to protect this brand image.
They do not allow the outsider to wear their logo, and they are also concerned about how media portrays them. The Hells Angels even sued Disney because it showed the skewed image of the club in its movie “Wild Hogs.”
4. Angels have to do charity
Yes, you read it, write! The Hells Angels are not all about controlling and riding, but they also motivate their members to do charity. In some charters, they have made charity a prerequisite to get the membership.
The Hells Angels give back to their communities in which they live and ride. Some members even run their own charities.
5. Every Hells Angels charter has its territory
In this brotherhood, respect is the most important thing both within the charter and outside the charter. If one charter declares one area as their territory, then another charter must respect it and not intervene in that territory.
It is not a hard and fast rule; there is freedom for some club members who can ride in other’s territory, but if they have permission to do so.
6. Angels will never miss any event
Another rule that the members have to abide by strictly is that they have to show up once they accept an invitation to any event. All senior or newbie members take the club seriously and intentionally do not miss the motorcycle family event.
The Hells Angels is all about brotherhood and respect, and if any member tried to be off-beat, the other members get offended.
7. Only members can wear Hells Angels merchandise
The Hells Angels have this strict policy that no one except its members can wear the Hells Angels merchandise. If anyone tries to overstep this rule, the Hells Angels do not hesitate in dishing out the unruly.
If you want to secure the membership of the Hells Angels, don’t be over-smart and wear the Hells Angels vest to impress them, you may lose your chance to become a member with a couple of teeth.
8. You cannot discuss Angels with the outsiders
The Angels share a strong bond, and they always get their members back no matter what. It is the angels rule that you cannot discuss its members with anyone outside the club.
The Hells Angels keep their silence on the members who disappeared because they want to keep their brother away from the law.
9. No other gangs allowed in their territory
Hells Angels is not the only motorcycle gang on earth; there are many other motorcycle gangs such as Bandidos. We know that Angels have massive respect for their brother fellows, but this rule does not apply to other gangs.
The Hells Angels have a policy that they do not allow other gang riders in their territory, and if the rival biker shows up in their area, they can even start a fight with them.
10. Always ready for a ride
THE LOVELESS US 1982 PHILLIP KIMBOROUGH AND TINA LHOTSKY HELLS ANGELS A PIONEER FILM
Another rule of the Hells Angels is you have to be ready for a lot of rides. This rule should not be a problem because what else a motorcycle club rider will do, right!
According to the Hells Angels website, a charter rides more than 12,000 miles together pr year that makes it 33 miles per day. But if you love bike riding, then this rule won’t be a problem for you.
11. Only Harley is allowed:
If you want to get the membership of Hells Angels, you should know that the club only allows Harley Davidson bikes. So before planning to hang out with the Angels, you should first buy the right motorcycle.
Some charter does allow riding another cycle, and the funny thing is that you will only choose an American brand and the other acceptable brand Buell.
12. You can start your own charter
Although it is tough but possible to start your own Hells Angels charter. According to the Hells Angels website, you can own a charter if “you have ridden with your brother for years, all brothers living in the same area, have attended all the events, and everyone is in brotherhood.”
All these terms cannot be fulfilled fortnight; it takes years to create the bond with brother.
13. Don’t mention the grammatical error
Many people have noticed that there should be an apostrophe before the first “s” of Hells Angels. But the Angels do not care about it and only accept one spelling for its name that doesn’t have any punctuation.
It is not that the Angels do not know about this mistake but do not intend to correct it.
14. Follow the dress code
All the Hells Angels members have to follow the dress code strictly. The main dress code is a vest inscribed with the club logo and name on the back. The dress code helps in identifying which motorcycle club you belong to.
Every charter has its dress code to distinguish it from other charters. For instance, some charter only allows black while others do allow denim.
15. The Angels ride in an order:
The Hells Angels riders ride in a specific order, although the lot ride together and takes up the whole road.
The president rides in front of the pack along with the captains of the charter. After that comes the senior members, the newbie’ ride near the back, and the potential inductees at the rare.
16. You should better stay with Hells Angels
You should not take Hells Angels lightly because they are very strict about keeping their brotherhood’s pride. The Angels do not approve of its members joining other gangs or clubs.
Angels clearly say on their website that “never combines your support to Hells Angels with other gangs if you are unaware of their relationship.”
17. Stay away from media
The Angels do not share their activities, schedules of events, or cruising with outside people, so this organization is the mysterious club.
One of the terms of Hells Angels secrecy policy is that no Angel will speak to the media to protect the club’s image and safeguard its members. Only the organization members know what the charters are up to, and once they know, they should not give the game away.
18. The sacred vest
When a person is officially inducted into the Hells Angels motorcycle club, he receives a vest emblazoned with the club logo and name. This piece of cloth is not considered an accessory; it is deemed sacred and dealt with great care.
All Angels honor the sacred vest to a great extent, and some even refuse to medics to cut their vest in case of any emergency.
19. You need votes to confirm your membership
The process to join the Hells Angels club is not only tough and takes years. There are several steps that you have to do before you become an official member of the club.
The last step to finally becoming a member is a democratic vote among everyone in the charter. That means your ticket to enter into the club depends upon if existing members like you or not.
20. A prospect is subject to hazing
All the gangs have this ritual of hazing the prospects, and Hells Angels are no different. The hazing in the Hells Angels includes doing things that senior members do not want to do, such as coming earlier to meet and making the arrangements.
The hassling in Hells Angels sometimes gets violent, but the rule is that the prospect cannot fight with the senior if they haze him. If he does so, then his chance of getting the membership becomes zero.
21. You need permission to link to the website
The Hells Angels are in no way coming slow, and they even do not allow outsiders to connect to the website of the Hells Angels Motorcycle club.
Sometimes they give permission, but even that is not permanent. The Angels say on their website, “You may not establish and/or operate links to this website without the prior written consent of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club.” Members can withdraw the permission at any time.
22. Hells Angels before everything else
Once you become a club member, your first priority should be Hells Angels. In simple words, you have to let go of all your other hobbies to become an honored member of the club.
You cannot go to a tennis match or on vacations with your family if any event of the club is scheduled. The member’s wives and families should also accept that the organization is before everything else for Angels.
23. No cops in the Hells Angels
Another very strict rule of the club is that no one from the law informant can join the Hells Angels. The group has a strict no-police policy and does not allow prison guards.
The Angels do not have healthy relations with the cops because of their alleged outlaw activities. Another reason is that the Angels have their own rules, and they religiously follow them.
24. Interrupting a meeting will cost you $100
As the Hells Angels have strict rules for everything, the same goes for the meeting. The Angels follow Robert’s Rule of Order, 1876.
The Robert Rules of Order give the guideline to the business on how to keep their assemblies civilized. The outline of this order is that the group will respect the agenda; no one will interrupt the meeting. If anyone has to say something, they will raise their hand, and if anyone breaks the rule, they will pay a penalty of $100.
25. Never snitch on the fellow angel
Some angels are allegedly involved in the criminal activities, and as the club is all about brotherhood, no one in the charter is allowed to rat out the fellow angel.
One reason to keep their mouth shut is to protect their brother, and another reason is that it might incriminate the whole charter.
26. No tolerance policy for drugs
if you think that the Angels may be involved in substance abuse, you are wrong. The Hells Angels have a strict zero-tolerance policy for substance use. The Toronto-based charter particularly prohibits needle use.
The club gives high regard to its reputation and does not allow any activity that might harm its image. It also has a zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment. If any member is found involved in such activities, their membership gets cancel straight away.
27. When cops pull over one member, they all pullover
The Angels have to follow the rules of the land they live in, no matter they like it or not. So if any Angel breaks any law, the cops have to pull over him. The interesting rule is that when the cop pulls over one member. All the lot sits on the side of the road.
The obvious reason to do so is to show solidarity to the brother and hidden reason to scare the cop who has messed up with the gang.
28. No retirement policy
Once a Hells Angels will always be a Hells Angels because you cannot retire in this motorcycle club. You can lose your membership in case of breaking any rules, but retirement is a big no here.
The lifetime membership of this club has its perks, and the brothers give a proper send-off to the fallen biker.
29. No compromise on rules
This thing is established now that Hells Angels take their club reputation seriously and do not compromise the rules.
Those members who are found involved in the rule-breaking activities had faced serious consequences. Some people have reported that the remaining members have burnt the tattoos of the unruly. The most serious consequence any Angel can face for breaking the rules is removal from the club.
30. No women Policy
The Hells Angels do not give membership to women, and I am sure they will have their own reasons for it. That is why you do not see women riding when the charter cruise on the highway.
That doesn’t mean that the Angels do not have women in their lives. They do have wives and partners who play along with the Angels.