Many motorcyclist, and the public, wonder what it takes to be a member of a Real motorcycle club. Well, were not going to tell all here, but, to help educate you a little bit more, read the following Article, the Author is unknown to us, but it holds true to the club lifestyle and will give you a general idea of what becoming a member of any club might require;
Prospecting
101:
First of all, if you are thinking of making the leap from independent biker to club life, think twice and ask yourself, ”Why do I want to be a club member?” Now I‘m not talking about corporate clubs or organizations, I mean old school three-piece patch holders. Be honest, is it to be tough, cool or the envy of all your friends? If so, do everybody a big favor: Stay an independent and enroll in a self-esteem class. Club life is anything but easy and it’s not for everybody. Being a club member means lots of hard work, but aside from that, you lose many personal freedoms, such as where you go, what you wear, and who you talk to_ all things to think about before taking that next step.
Prospecting is much more than a tiring obligation. It’s a proud, time-tested tradition that unfortunately some bikers seem to think it is beneath them. They think they should just become instant members. Yeah, right! Probably the same guys whose parents bought them a brand new car for there 16th birthday. I believe in prospecting. Every member of every club should have paid their dues in this manner. That’s what separates us from the rest, no shortcuts and no free rides. No one should be allowed to beg or buy their way into any club. Patches must be earned. Not handed out like party favors.
From independent, the next step is
being a club guest. A guest is a motorcyclist who starts coming around the
club, showing a positive interest in being around and comes to activities, runs,
rides, parties and gets to know Club members well enough that you start getting
invited to other activities.
From "Guest", the next
step is club hang-around. Hang-arounds have to be invited to a club meeting
usually by someone who will sponsor them in the future. A sponsor is someone who
will accept full responsibility for instructing his prospect on club courtesies,
rules and obligations. Also the sponsor will be held fully responsible for their
prospect’s actions. That’s why finding someone to possibly sponsor you and
invite you to your fist club meeting might not be the easiest thing you’ve
ever done. The older and more respected clubs you’ll almost have to be born
into. As a hang-around, club meetings give you the opportunity to try on the
club for size, so to speak –you know, hang with the guys and get to know a
little bit more about the club itself. But here is what you have to keep in
mind: All clubs are not the same. If you are dead set on the idea of being in a
club, know its history, meet members. Clubs support themselves in a variety of
different ways. If you get my drift (know what you are getting into)! With a
little luck, in about three to five months you’ll be voted on to become a
prospect. That’s when the fun begins!
Once voted in, for the prospect the rules are simple: Keep your mouth shut, work as hard as you can, and never discuss club business with anyone. In my club, we fondly refer to prospects as whale shit. (Nothing’s lower than whale shit!)
To be a really good prospect, here
are a couple tricks that will help. First get your hands on a club roster,
memorize the names of all the club members so it’s easier to distinguish all
the members and know all their occupations, hobbies, etc. After all, a club is a
brotherhood, so be a brother! Also, volunteer as much as possible. All prospects
will be expected to do what they’re told, that’s a given. But go that extra
mile. It doesn’t matter if an officer needs his back watched at a run or if
it’s jumpin’ in a truck at 2 am. And traveling a hundred miles to pick up a
brother and his broken scooter; do it! Trust me, the more trash you pick up or
scooters you wash, the more you get noticed in all the right ways. It may not
seem like it, but you’re being watched, or shall I say scrutinized,
constantly. Always remember, as a prospect you’ll have no rank or privileges,
and upon introducing yourself to any patch holder you must only introduce
yourself as a prospect of the club you’re prospecting for. All other
conversations after should be kept to a minimum. It’s time to start thinking
about a road name if you don’t already have one. Some clubs don’t require
them, but most do. Some kind of dog, big dog, Bulldog, Road dog, Wild dog…
well you get the idea. A road name could mean something personal to you, or
describe you personality. Whatever, but if you don’t come up with one quick, I
guarantee the guys in the club will be more than happy to name ya. We got a guy
in our club named Asshole, nuff said!
If you don’t get voted in first time around, don’t give up. Talk to your sponsor and try to figure out where you screwed up. Most clubs require 100% of there members to give a yes vote before there prospect can patch out. Out of every 10 hang-arounds, maybe 5 will make prospect and 3 will patch out. If all goes well you can expect to patch out and take the oath in around eight months to a year after becoming a prospect. Believe it or not, some of the most well-known and respected heads of clubs today prospected over five years. That’s why prospecting shouldn’t be looked at as necessary evil, but instead a labor of love! Oh yeah by the way, all the horrific shit you’ve heard about initiation or rite of passage ritual from prospect to member is true. Good luck.
As said earlier, the Author of this piece is unknown, and this piece is out there on the Internet, We have posted it here to give the curious, one persons perspective of what it is like to join a motorcycle club and although all clubs are different with varying degrees of membership requirements, this gives you a basic idea of what may be expected from nay given club.