by Dr. Stephen “Skinz” Kinzey, Devils Disciples Motorcycle Club

FOR THE PAST FIFTEEN YEARS, I’ve been wearing a motorcycle club patch. To the average outsider, this may seem more like a badge of dishonor than one of honor.

Because of my choice to wear this badge, I have endured prejudice on many levels. Integrating this choice into my daily life—including my position as a university professor—presents great challenges. However, the relationships among brothers, solidified by bonds based upon honesty, commitment, pride, and a passion for motorcycling, are what make my motorcycle club—and every motorcycle club—special.

And worth it.

Bill Hayes and I have been friends for ten years. In his prior works dealing with the subject, Bill has done a wonderful job chronicling the mindset of those choosing to join a motorcycle club. In this book, Bill provides a tremendous amount of information based upon real knowledge. He has assimilated interviews, factual research, and his own personal experiences as a member of a motorcycle club, dealing with clubs literally from A to Z.

Without a doubt, this work will not be totally inclusive of all motorcycle clubs. The sheer number makes that impossible. And the fact that so many clubs exist should be no surprise; man has been tribal since the beginning of time.

Tribes of men, including motorcycle clubs, do their best to become totally self-reliant. They have their own rules. They enforce those rules with their own punishments. They require members to make contributions on emotional, physical, and financial levels. This requires members to have complete trust and commitment to the organization.

Commitment like this can be very demanding for all members, including the leaders. Leaders in the motorcycle club community are devoted, trustworthy, passionate, and sympathetic.

They have to be.

The best clubs are the ones that are wise enough to accentuate each member’s positive strengths and overcome his weaknesses through the strengths of others. The club is an incredible model of valuable teamwork.

I hope that after reading this book, people outside the motorcycle club culture will realize that the scary part about motorcycle clubs is that they’re an in-your-face representation of characteristics that everybody talks about but that no one else lives up to. Because when you are a member of an outlaw motorcycle club—whether you call yourself an outlaw, or a one percenter, or just a member—you are a living, breathing embodiment of those values.