Hell's Angels Photos That Show The Reality Behind The Notorious Biker Gang

When we say rare, we mean it. Because the Hells Angels are tight-lipped when it comes to revealing their secrets. Ask any one of their active members about, say, the club’s history or their members, and you’ll probably be met with stone-cold silence. A regular joe just wouldn’t understand their lifestyle, it seems.

Luckily for us, though, a handful of former Hells Angels have willingly opened up about their past lives. And while some of their revelations will confirm your worst fears, others may completely upend everything you thought you knew about these infamous bikers.

So, what do you think you know about bikers? Probably what you’ve seen on TV, right? That iconic image of Marlon Brando in The Wild One. All ten seasons of Sons of Anarchy and Mayans M.C. But there’s more to the Hells Angels than just pretty leading men in leather doing questionable things.

And it’s partly because of these striking pop culture images that people have gotten the wrong impression about the Hells Angels. The gang was actually started way back in 1948 by a WWII veteran named Otto Friedli. That’s not the only link the group – and its way of life – has to conflict, either.

If you think you’ve heard the name “Hell’s Angels” elsewhere, you’d be right. That was what people called bomber squads during WWI and WWII. There was also a 1930 movie by Howard Hughes called Hell’s Angels. And the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club? That appropriately started with a battle as well.

Friedli formed the Hells Angels after a bust-up between other biker gangs in California. He’d previously been part of a club with a name too rude to print here, but he eventually decided to split from the group after things got a little too dicey. And altogether, it’s not surprising that life in the Hells Angels is kind of militaristic. 

Just look at the clothes members have to wear. It’s really a uniform, isn’t it? The leather jackets – or denim, in some cases – have that famous logo on them. They also feature the HAMC tag and the code “81,” which stands for where “H” and “A” appear in the alphabet. Oh, and let’s not forget about the patches.

You can tell how important a member of the gang is by their clothes. All the different patches have mysterious meanings, and successful recruits are called full-patch. But despite those military-esque emblems, Angels don’t necessarily live regimented lives.

Being soldiers of a sort wasn’t the original plan, either. “It all started with the idea of having a simple good time,” former Hells Angel president George Christie wrote on Narratively in 2016. “Partying with brothers, hanging out, building and riding bikes, and living our own version of the American dream.” It looks like something went wrong somewhere down the line...

Mind you, the Angels are actually proud of being seen as troublemakers. They’ve even given themselves a nickname: the “one-percenters.” Basically, the Angels are the small minority of bikers who give all the others a bad rep. And given what life is like inside the gang, that’s hardly a surprise.

“It was a really esoteric lifestyle,” Christie told KQED in 2017. “Either you fit in or you didn’t.” But what did it mean to fit in? Well, the former member wrote for Narratively, “Belonging to the Hells Angels means doing dangerous things.” And if you didn’t do these “dangerous things,” there were serious consequences.

“Your participation becomes your credentials,” Christie explained. “Waver in any way, and you become suspect. A lot of times in the outlaw culture, saying no just isn’t an option.” So you’re either part of the Angels – and whatever they’re up to – or you’re not to be trusted at all.

Because if you’re not down to play with the outlaws, you must be a cop. Right? Or you’re a snitch, acting undercover. Or – and this could be the ultimate disrespect – you just haven’t got what it takes. Bear in mind, too, that we’re not talking about doing little things like wearing patches.

“The easiest thing in the club was to make accusations. ‘Oh, this guy doesn’t want a bomb to go off in downtown Los Angeles? He must be an informant. Or a cop,’” Christie wrote on Narratively. And while this may seem like an extreme example, bombing things was actually a big thing for the Angels.

Christie even claimed that explosives were “a favorite weapon” of the bikers. It helped, of course, that there were veterans among the ranks who could make them effectively. But why would a motorcycle gang need bombs? Well, that brings us to another part of the outlaw lifestyle – one that you’ve no doubt seen in the news.

Do you remember the Nevada brawl from 2002? On that occasion, a guy from the Mongols Motorcycle Club found himself among a bunch of Hells Angels – and all hell broke loose. The savage gunfight that ensued ended with three dead men and more than a dozen injured. And that seems almost ordinary compared to other Hells Angels conflicts.

Back in the ’90s, a war between Scandanavian Hells Angels and the Bandidos Motorcycle Club caused death and destruction for years. These two groups used grenades, guns, and even rocket launchers to slay their rivals. So, you can understand why the police like to keep the Angels under close watch.

Even when the Angels are not trying to outright murder other bikers, the authorities have been known to crack down on them. “You don't poke a hornets’ nest with a stick, but you sure do like to know where the hornets’ nest is at,” one officer explained to a local paper. Is that really fair, though?

After all, the Hells Angels lifestyle can’t all be just bullets and brawls, can it? This is a gang with worldwide membership, remember. It may have started as just a California thing, but these days there are Hells Angels on almost every continent. And they can’t all lead criminal lifestyles.

Even a former Angel has admitted as much. In 2020 Joshua O’Bryan talked to police about what really goes on inside the gang. And while he admitted that “guns and drugs” are a major part of life for some Angels charters, it’s not the same for all of them. “If you want ‘loves and hugs,’ you go to the… Rocky Mountain chapter,” O’Bryan told the cops.

Now, surely, “loves and hugs” is not a phrase anybody would ever associate with the Hells Angels. But here it was, direct from a former member of the gang. And, you have to admit, this kind of makes sense. We’ve already heard how the Hells Angels were originally supposed to be just a way for buddies to hang out.

And to be an Angel, you really do need to love biking. A passion for the open road is key, as a member will probably ride at least 20,000 miles every year on their chosen steed. That bike will likely be a Harley-Davidson, too.

Members also need biker names. That means Joshua O’Bryan wasn’t known as “Josh” to his biker buddies. Instead, he would’ve been referred to by a road name. And even in death, Angels are memorialized in this way. You may not know who “Crazywheels” or “Mother Miles” are, but their friends definitely do.

And you have to take the road life seriously. Just ask O’Bryan. He told the cops that he left his marriage and an $85,000-a-year job to throw in with the Hells Angels. He also said that his former friends were more like brothers to him than anything else. That kind of attitude fits with a favorite saying of these notorious bikers.

On the Hells Angels website, the question “How do I join the club?” is followed by the words, “If you have to ask, you probably will not understand the answer.” Basically, if you’re not serious about biking and the biker lifestyle, they’re not going to take you seriously, either. But that doesn’t mean you have to know how to make bombs to join. 

As the Angels say, “When we do right, nobody remembers. When we do wrong, nobody forgets.” And they have done more than a few things right in their time. All you have to do is look at the work the club has done for charity or our veterans. That includes getting toys to kids in need!

Yep, in 2019, Long Island Hells Angels stepped in when a local charity was struggling to provide Christmas presents for children. And in the end, the gang corralled eight trucks’ worth of gifts to help out. “Love us or hate us, the Hells Angels are here to help,” said one member. That holds true elsewhere as well.

There are countless other stories just like that one. In 2012 in Cardiff, Wales, the local charter organized a huge drop-off of food to help feed the city’s homeless people. In 2008 the Las Vegas Hells Angels sponsored a ride for Jerry’s Kids. And even when the group sue people, they sometimes end up doing good deeds as a consequence.

Take the time in 1992 when Marvel Comics tried to sell a character called “Hell’s Angel.” Well, one of the biker gang’s lawyers stepped in and took the company to court. And the result? Marvel made the character “Dark Angel” – and promised to give a children’s charity $35,000. Hardly what you’d expect from an organized crime outfit!

Journalist Hunter S. Thompson first gave the most in-depth account of the Angels lifestyle. This was back in 1965, and Thompson noted even then that gang members “try not to do anything halfway.” And it seems this applies to all aspects of their behavior – including giving to charities. It’s also a trait that can see them land on the wrong side of the law.

Thompson wrote of the “hair-trigger readiness to retaliate” he found with the Angels. “A fellow Angel is always right when dealing with outsiders,” Thompson explained in The Nation. “And this sort of reasoning makes a group of ‘offended’ Hells Angels nearly impossible to deal with.” Kerri Krysko – the ex-wife of an Angel – had a similar take.

Krysko wrote a memoir about life inside the biker gang and how a full-patch Angel had made her life hell. Even after she told her side of the story, she reportedly had to go “into hiding” for fear of retaliation from the club. And as Thompson found out, that retaliation can be vicious.

Apparently, Thompson saw an Angel physically abusing his wife and dog at a get-together. But when the writer tried to step in, the rest of the group reportedly rounded on him – and beat him to a pulp. And stories like these make the biker lifestyle difficult to pin down.

On the one hand, you’ve got the Angels making bombs or running organized crime rackets. But on the other, you’ve got tales of members on charity drives and helping the homeless. So, which is it? Are the Hells Angels a force for good or a major menace?

For some, they will never be anything but criminals. In 2017 Ventura’s then-police chief, Ken Corney, told KQED, “They were certainly, in my opinion, a criminal street gang, but also branched a little bit more into organized crime.” And some of the bikers are still in trouble with the law today.

In July 2021 alone, the Hells Angels made headlines for all the wrong reasons. There was a mass brawl involving Angels in Cranbrook, Canada, that saw five people stabbed. Meanwhile, in Modesto, California, there was a high-ranking member in court, and he was looking 40 years behind bars and a $5 million fine square in the face. But we know that’s not the whole story.

Remember the club members who helped the Long Island charity out with toys? They got their dues. “I feel like it’s a blessing that when times are hard, there are people out there who want to help others,” one grateful mom said to a local newspaper. And the people behind the charity in Cardiff felt the same way.

“From what you see on the TV, they’re supposed to be all hard men,” said an executive from the charity. “So, when you see them caring for other people, it does touch you.” You’d probably hear similar remarks from the many folks the Angels have helped out. There’s clearly more to these bikers than meets the eye.

So, perhaps we’ll never get to the absolute truth – or maybe there is no absolute truth. If Joshua O’Bryan is to be believed, the Angels’ behavior can vary wildly from location to location. But at least there are two things we know for certain: the Angels love their bikes, and they love one another.