POWER OF THE PATCH
The mass shooting in Waco, Texas, at a meeting of motorcycle clubs — apparently from a dispute over a club’s patch or “colours” — shows how important the ghoulish branding is. The patches make outlaw bikers “organized crime that advertises. They wear a neon sign on their back advertising who they are,” says Det.-Sta Sgt. Len Isnor of Ontario’s Biker Enforcement Unit. “Their bread and butter is the patch on their backs. A lot of guys make a lot of money just from their patch,” says Sgt. Randy Mortensen of B.C.’s Outlaw Motorcycle Gang Unit. A National Post survey by Adrian Humphreys o ers a rundown on what the regalia means and where the outlaw clubs are in Canada.
IDENTIFYING A CLUB
Both the front and back of a motorcycle club member’s jacket or vest — called their “colours” — is important, to the club, rivals and police. Colours are given only to members and remain the property of the club and are often copyrighted. Jackets or vests on which the patches are sewn are sometimes called “cuts.”
The top strip, called the top rocker, declares the club’s name, usually denoting rebelliousness, darkness or strength.
The middle is the club’s logo, typically a nightmarish symbol reinforcing an aggressive theme; skulls are popular, as are demons.
A distinguishing mark between a riding club and an outlaw biker club is a “1%” inside a diamond patch. It stems from a statement when biker clubs were forming that 99% of motorcyclists were law-abiding citizens. The outlaw clubs proudly declared they were the 1% who weren’t.
Biker club patches usually include the letters MC, for “motorcycle club” under their name. They dislike being called a “gang.”
A member’s rank or title in the club often is on the left breast. Title may include president, vice-president, sergeant-at-arms, among others. The specific chapter the member belongs to is often on the right breast.
Curved strips on the front, called “side rockers,” are often adornments with personal meaning to the biker, sometimes an area or chapter where he has a special connection.
The bottom rocker is the location of the member’s chapter within the club. Sometimes these are neighbourhoods and sometimes whole countries. The geographic component is important. Hells Angels claim the exclusive right to having a province as their bottom rocker so rival clubs usually put “Canada” on theirs, to avoid conflict with the larger club.
Numbers are frequently on jackets, usually an open code for corresponding letters of the alphabet, such as 81 = HA = “Hells Angels” or 13 =M = “marijuana” or “motorcycle” or “methamphetamine” or whatever a club wants it to stand for.