Bill Ray traveled with the San Bernardino Hell’s Angels, the Berdoos, and captured them in all their road glory. Cruising highways, drinking in dive bars, getting frisked and fingerprinted by cops, and shocking the normies. These 1965 photos show a gang that had gained notoriety but were just one year away from incorporating and eventually working its way into North American politics and power (they’re big in Canada) and ending up as Drake’s…bodyguards? Here’s what Bill Ray said about them for the LIFE article:
This was a new breed of rebel. They didn’t have jobs. They absolutely despised everything that most Americans value and strive for — stability, security. They rode their bikes, hung out in bars for days at a time, fought with anyone who messed with them. They were self-contained, with their own set of rules, their own code of behavior. It was extraordinary to be around.
All photos © Bill Ray
