The Other 1%?

Fortune posted this 1992 article about the Hells Angels. In general it’s a bit of a boring factual account of how the group came to be and how it makes money, but I really liked the fact they used to call them the one-percenters:

What makes the Angels and the lesser outlaws so distinctive among criminal enterprises — and adds to the frustration of law enforcement officials — is that many Americans celebrate them and identify with them. Back in the 1950s, the American Motorcyclist Association, the voice of legitimate riders, pronounced that ”only 1%” of all riders were troublemakers. The outlaws gleefully accepted the label, and many still call themselves one-percenters. (The actual percentage is much smaller — counting the hangers-on police call associates, only about 0.2% of the estimated nine million motorcyclists in the U.S.) And plenty of people — including many who have never even sat on a motorcycle — like their style and applaud them for defying convention and authority.

Can’t imaging they’re still calling themselves that …

businessHells AngelsmotorcyclesDecember 9, 2012