LiveWorld Transcripts

Borders.com presents

Sonny Barger
Author of “Hell’s Angel”

May 22, 2000

NetCafeLive presents renowned Hell’s Angel, Sonny Barger, who discusses his autobiographical book, “Hell’s Angel.” Barger unveils the myth behind the infamous Angels, and divulges the real-life escapades of this notorious club.

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NetCafeLive: Welcome to NetCafeLive! Tonight we are chatting with author Sonny Barger, who will discuss his latest book, "Hell's Angel." NetCafeLive is presented by Borders, Inc. and Talk City, Inc. Welcome!

Sonny Barger: How ya doing today?

HarleyGal: How did you first become involved with Hell's Angels?

Sonny Barger: It was really pretty simple. We started the club and named it the Hell's Angels. We wanted to belong to a club. There was a group of us riding around Oakland, and one of the guys had a patch from a defunct Hell's Angels club from back in the 50s. So we decided to use that for our name. We found out there was another few clubs in California. When we ran into them, we got together and started meeting with each other and making rules, so nobody else could start a club like we had.

Amberwaves: Didn't getting involved with Hell's Angels, with their 'reputation,’ make you at all nervous?

Sonny Barger: You've got to remember that when I got involved, there was no 'reputation'! I'm the guy your mother warned you about! I believe the reputation just sort of happened.

HarleyDude: When you started with the club, did you ever imagine it would grow so big?

Sonny Barger: I had no idea. We were happy when we were just a California club from one end to the other. When it started branching into other states, we were surprised. But when it became worldwide, it was totally unbelievable. I think we're at our height right now. I think there are 190 chartered clubs in the world right now, but I don't know exactly how many members there are. People wonder why you belong to the club--it's really nice to fly into a country like Switzerland and get met at the airport, and go to Austria, Germany, and Italy, and talk to people who love motorcycles.

PumaPaws: Now there are HA chapters everywhere. What is the most interesting chapter you have ever visited?

Sonny Barger: That I really couldn't answer, because everyone will say, "Why didn't you say us?" We have a chapter in Lichtenstein, which is the richest little municipality in the world. They're pretty much the same as the other clubs, though. The clubs in Switzerland and that area remind me of Colorado, but it's too green. I like riding in Arizona where it's dusty and brown. In the book, I mention riding into the Alps so high that I was in the clouds. I'd never done that in my life, and it was so nice. It was like riding into a big fog thing, but it was cloud.

Bikenut: What has been the highlight of your association with the Hell's Angels so far?

Sonny Barger: Probably in November 7th 1992, the day after I got out of prison. The club threw a party for me, and about five thousand people showed up. That was probably the biggest party I ever had in my life!

Amberwaves: What most surprised you about the Hell's Angels ?

Sonny Barger: Nothing surprises me about the Hell's Angels. I was one of the policy makers.

Harleygal: Do you think that today's Angels are different from the Angels of 20 years ago in any way?

Sonny Barger: The people in the world today are different from the people 20 years ago. You change with the times.

Steelreign1: Much Respect To You, Mr. Barger! In the past I have heard Evel Knievel make some nasty remarks about the Angels. What is his major malfunction? Winston-Salem, NC

Sonny Barger: A long, long time ago, in the late 60s, Evel Knievel was doing a jump, and there were a few Hell's Angels there. He made a derogatory remark about the Hell's Angels, and somebody threw a Coke can. There was a big fight with Evel and his crew, and since that time, we haven't gotten along. Every chance that he has to say something bad about the Hell's Angels, he does. And every time we have a chance to say something bad about him, we do. But the reason I believe people like Evel Knievel say things about the Hell's Angels is to bring notoriety to their own names. People would rather hear things about the Hell's Angels than about Evel Knievel, so he says derogatory things about us.

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