Hell's Angels find piece of heaven in Gulf Coast

CALLAWAY — Traditionally conjuring up images of lawless, leather-clad horsemen rumbling their Harley-Davidsons on the fringes of society, the Hells Angels apparently has softened around the edges. A new, local chapter would rather sell you officially licensed merchandise than start any trouble.

Riding for more than half a century on its outlaw image, the infamous Hells Angels motorcycle club has arrived in Florida, and an ad featuring the club’s winged-skull logo has appeared in this newspaper calling for new members.

“We just wanted to let people know we’re here; it’s no big deal,” said Paul Stevens, who is organizing the Florida chapter.

Stevens stressed members no longer are the stereotypical bikers terrorizing the paved landscape.

“We are a political club; we are not a drug club. We’re not interested in the Hollywood persona,” Stevens said. “The time of the biker being a biker is long gone. We no longer have the drunk, drugged-up, crazy biker. It’s a totally different world.”

Standing in his den Wednesday morning, Stevens talked of how the Gulf Chapter, the Hells Angels’ first sanctioned chapter in the state, will focus on riding their motorcycles, selling T-shirts and raising money for charities. Eventually, he would like to see the chapter grow to cover any state touching the Gulf of Mexico, possibly even stretching over the border and into Mexico.

Bay County was strategically picked as the launching ground for the chapter. The area, with its heavy military influence and relaxed, beach feel, was viewed as a prime locale, Stevens said.

“Panama City, the Bay (County) area, is perfect for what we’re doing here,” Stevens said, adding he eventually would like to see international gatherings of the club here. “We’ve got the Gulf of Mexico out there to go play; we’ve got the new airport. It’s a perfect spot.”

Sales

Rather than criminal activity, the new chapter will be making money by selling Hells Angels merchandise. More than a motorcycle club, the Angels also is a corporation with a variety of products emblazoned with the winged-skull.

“It’s an engine to create money,” Stevens said of the Hells Angels’ name recognition.

Stevens hopes to open a storefront. Pinned up on his wall is a mosaic of biker-motif artwork. Some of it is destined for T-shirts. A couple of photos showing women up against a wall and wearing the club patch are the beginnings of a wall calendar.

“This is the start of girls wearing my patch, in their underwear, local girls,” he said. His wife also is looking into making Hells Angels swimsuits, he added.

Also on the wall is a Congressional Medal of Honor and a couple of dinner invitations from President George W. Bush. The biker is a longtime

Republican and said he encounters a lot of politicians that respect the Hells Angels.

“Everyone else is playing games, while people high up are saying, ‘Keep going, buddy,’” Stevens said.

Heyday

While he concedes the biker club has had its darker moments, Stevens said a lot has changed over the years. He should know; he’s been around awhile.

“The woman we all called Nana was the woman who sowed the patches for the Oakland Hells Angels,” Stevens said, describing growing up amidst the club’s Northern California heyday of the 1970s.

In the years since, the Hells Angels have evolved and now count “doctors and lawyers” among their members. The Gulf Chapter is taking this new-day thinking a step further, opening its ranks to women. Since running an ad proclaiming “all races & sexes welcome,” Stevens estimates roughly half of the two dozen respondents have been female.

“We’re kind of like a pilot program,” he said of the chapter’s inclusion of women, adding that other races are not common in Hells Angels’ circles, but also not unheard of. “There are some black patch-holders. I know two of ’em.”

Bikers interested in joining the Gulf Chapter will need to stick it out for seven years before they are eligible for the skull logo aback their jackets. During that time, prospects will be sized up.

“The seven years is important because it helps us weed out people,” Stevens explained. “It helps people weed themselves out.”

The first Gulf Chapter patches, or rockers, are sewn onto the back of Stevens’ cut-off jacket. He points to the Hells Angels rocker riding across the shoulders. There is no apostrophe in Hells; it’s plural, not possessive.

“The reason there’s no apostrophe here is that there’s many hells,” Stevens said, explaining the intended contrast between dark and light, between hell and an angel. “It’s a balance. We’re representing a balance.”