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[GUIDE] How to hang around & eventually join a Motorcycle Club


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  1. Find out when their clubhouse bar is open. This is something that I've never heard IC before either, but I can tell you from personal experience in my own real life, this happens regularly. Any club that has the funds to sustain a clubhouse full-time will have a bar inside. It will vary from club to club, but generally speaking these bars are actually open to the public some nights of the week. Similarly to buying supporter gear, it's a relatively easy and harmless way to score that first interaction, because at the end of the day it means that the club can make some money off you buying beer from their private bar in their clubhouse. FYI, the general vibe about drinking at a clubhouse is that public bars and night clubs are usually full of assholes and you have to deal with random people throughout the community. It is widely recognized that most people who drink at a MC's clubhouse prefer to do so because it's generally safer than drinking at a public bar, and you will usually have less fights, problems, and the biggest reason of all - beer will always be far cheaper. I will admit, not many clubs in GTAW will have "open nights" at their clubhouse, because you can't really advertise it like a bar, it's more of a word-of-mouth kind of speakeasy vibe rather than an actual "bar" as you might think of it.

this isnt very accurate. modernday MCs very rarely invite "outsiders" to their clubhouses (however it depends on the club). in most cases they separate their clubhouses (place reserved strictly for club affiliates) from social clubs (run by the club as their public hangout). it's 2021, all major OMGs are heavily targeted by law enforcement so roleplaying even the smallest aspects like this makes way more sense.
 

Edited by i dont wanna od in LA
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Guest Cabbage
20 hours ago, Psychedelic said:

Hi all,

 

First of all I wanted to credit a few people before I really begin, because it was out of a discussion with @honey., @The Chief, @stubby, and @Knooflook where this guide was actually born. We came to the conclusion that there were alot of common misconceptions around how to actually introduce yourself to a Motorcycle Club member, and how to initiate what's commonly known as the "hang around" phase of joining. There's a number of very very good guides around on these forums such as (note, I will link them for transparency and ease of access) Modern Guide on MC's by GallMC Pop Culture & Inner Workings by sk8MC's and Prospects by sk8Females Roles around MC's by Moonlight.Shawty, and I'm sure there's probably a couple of others out there which can be very helpful to newcomers. The only problem is though, that none of these actually explain in great detail how to make that first introduction and how to get yourself invited to parties and invite-only events. Let's start off with the basics, then the rest is up to your character's own development and how far you want to take it from there.

 

 

How to make your first introductions:

I get this question a lot in my inbox and Discord DM's. "Hey man, I really want to get involved, but I have no idea where to find you or how to meet you guys IC". Don't worry, you're not alone, because I get asked this at least once a week. The problem with this question though, is do you want me to tell you how people do it on GTAW? Or would you like me to explain a few different ways for you to choose from that are far more realistic. Currently, the vibe seems to be that you somehow stumble across a motorcycle club IC, you'll try to awkwardly force your first couple of interactions and come up with some bullshit story about how the bike you ride was your dad's, then he died, now it's yours and you're trying to fix it up in memory of him. Then you might ask for a job at one of their businesses like a bar or a tattoo shop or something. Then you start to ask for more work on the side, you might get invited to a party or two, and eventually your name gets brought up for becoming a prospect. Sure, let's face it, this is definitely something you can do, and it's not like it's THAT unrealistic. This example could legitimately happen in real life, but the fact of the matter is that this avenue is very very uncommon, and the majority of people get involved in far simpler ways than that. It's at the point now where this style of introduction is just a boring cliché, and it really rubs clubs up the wrong way and it gets old - FAST.

 

So, you've decided that you want to join a club, but you want to stand out from the other boring booger-pickers who haven't read this guide. You want to shine and impress the faction that you're interested in joining. What do you have to do? Let's go through a few things - keeping in mind that this list is not exhaustive, and it shouldn't even be seen as a strict how-to. These are merely suggestions to help you think about the different ways you want to introduce yourself and develop your character.

 

  1. Keep an eye out for flyers and notifications for public parties, runs, and other events. This might be something like a bike show or a poker run - just as a couple of arbitrary examples. These events are actually a really really good way to find the club that you're looking for. Generally speaking, if there's a bike show, most (if not all) clubs will probably attend. Once there, you can usually spot the club easily because they'll be wearing their colors, and then it's just up to you to how to go about sparking up that first conversation - you might want to compliment one of their bikes and ask a few questions about the customization they've done to it, then let the conversation flow on from there. Don't forget though, too many questions will make you seem suspicious and may very well backfire on you, so think about what you're going to say before you say it.
  2. You could simply buy a member a beer. I don't think I've ever seen this done IC before, however it happens pretty regularly in real life. Let's say you're out at your favorite dive bar in the city and a couple of ugly 1%ers walk in the door and make their way for the bar. It's entirely possible that you might want to head over to the bar and offer to buy their drink for them, and you might explain that you've always admired the club so it's a small way for you to show a bit of support for them. Again, I'm sure this will spark up some pretty cool conversation IC.
  3. Ask about buying merchandise and stickers. Again, this is something else that happens sometimes, but nowhere near enough. All clubs will have some sort of supporter gear available for regular members of the public to buy. Hell, you can even jump onto some of these club's websites and buy supporter gear online and get it shipped worldwide - it really is that easy. Owning club supporter gear (most of the time) isn't that big of a deal, and usually clubs will be more than happy to sell you a T-Shirt or a hoodie and take a few dead presidents from your wallet. Money talks, at the end of the day. Supporter gear is just clothing items or other merchandise which will usually say something along the lines of "support your local <insert club name here>", and is just a way for you to publicly support a particular club. There's (usually) no restrictions on who can buy and wear supporter gear.
  4. Find out when their clubhouse bar is open. This is something that I've never heard IC before either, but I can tell you from personal experience in my own real life, this happens regularly. Any club that has the funds to sustain a clubhouse full-time will have a bar inside. It will vary from club to club, but generally speaking these bars are actually open to the public some nights of the week. Similarly to buying supporter gear, it's a relatively easy and harmless way to score that first interaction, because at the end of the day it means that the club can make some money off you buying beer from their private bar in their clubhouse. FYI, the general vibe about drinking at a clubhouse is that public bars and night clubs are usually full of assholes and you have to deal with random people throughout the community. It is widely recognized that most people who drink at a MC's clubhouse prefer to do so because it's generally safer than drinking at a public bar, and you will usually have less fights, problems, and the biggest reason of all - beer will always be far cheaper. I will admit, not many clubs in GTAW will have "open nights" at their clubhouse, because you can't really advertise it like a bar, it's more of a word-of-mouth kind of speakeasy vibe rather than an actual "bar" as you might think of it.
  5. Ask about any events or parties that are coming up. Usually this will be after you've had that first interaction, because let's face it, it'll be a little weird for you to walk up to a random member for the first time and say "Hey I just met you but do you have any parties coming up that I could come to?". That's a sure-fire way to get your jaw broken and you probably won't have much luck after that. BUT, nonetheless, it remains a solid talking point in a potential conversation that you could get into.
  6. You could ask the member if they have any recommendations about where to get your bike serviced or find tools and parts etc. This one's a little more uncommon but it could happen. Again, you might need to slip this in somewhere in the latter part of your introduction, but something like this will be sure to direct the conversation in a positive way.
  7. Find public accounts on social media and send them an inbox. Again, like much of what I've explained above, I don't think I've ever come across this IC but it happen wayyy more than you realize in real life. Some clubs here on GTA:W have FaceBrowser pages for their chapters/clubs. If you're not overly confident with making a random first introduction, you could always reach out and send them an inbox on their FB page and see what sort of conversation you could spark up that way.

 

 

Do's and Don'ts after you've made your introduction:

Alright, so you've somehow managed to get through that awkward first conversation. Chances are, you might have picked up a name or even a phone number (unlikely, but possible) of a member. You may have even been given some kind of direction to head in when it comes to meeting up with them again - whether that be at another event, or a party or something along those lines. I just want to go through a few things to make sure that you don't fuck up the hard work you've already gone through to get to this point, because believe me, there's some crazily easy ways to just piss your plans down the toilet by making some super easy mistakes. I'll run through a few more common misconceptions that I will hopefully clear up.

 

  • You don't actually need to own a motorcycle to start hanging around with a club and getting yourself invited to parties. Yeah, I said it. And what? Contrary to popular belief, it's actually one of the worst things you can do when you create a new character, sit around AFK farming paychecks so you can afford to buy a bike before you actually start interacting with the club you want to join. Please don't do this unless your character's back story actually entails them owning a motorcycle beforehand. Trust me when I say that more wholesome and deeper roleplay comes from someone who starts out without a motorcycle, because then you actually focus your roleplay more around building a relationship up to get your foot in the door rather than just being invited along to club runs and functions for the sole reason that you ride a bike and would be a cool +1 to add to the size of the pack. You actually need to work on your relationships with club members, and trust me when I say that it pays off ten-fold if you can pull it off successfully. Your friendships will be deeper, and you will be more respected if you can show people that you have quality roleplaying skill, and that you're more than just another random guy with a bike who shows up to events and stands in the corner quietly with your dick in your hands all night, awkwardly trying to figure out a way to get involved. I can tell you from personal experience in my real life that when I started hanging out with clubs, I used to drive my car to club events because I didn't have a bike in the beginning. It really isn't that big of a deal, guys. YES, obviously you'll actually need to own a motorcycle before you can begin your prospecting phase to formally join the club, but there's literally nothing wrong with starting out without one.
  • Build up a strong relationship with at least 1 member (preferably with a similar irl timezone). This is just common sense, as in real life, the person you have a close relationship is more likely to accept bringing you in as a prospect - and they - your sponsor. You can read more about prospects and sponsors >HERE<. Ideally you want to be on a first-name basis with somebody, to the point where they're comfortable with you just randomly calling them up for a chat on the phone. You might invite them around to your place to help you wrench on your bike because you need help with something. I don't know the specifics because it'll be up to your individual circumstances, but you catch my drift. You want this particular person to know and agree that you're actually ready to take the next step in joining the club - which leads me on to my next point;
  • You actually have to ask to join a motorcycle club. This is another one of those misconceptions, and I don't know where people get it from. You literally need to ask a member if they'll allow you to join, and what you need to do to take that next step. In real life, clubs will not approach you and ask you to join - you have to explicitly and voluntarily show your interest to them. Keep in mind though, that if you ask too early, this could backfire, so make sure you are close enough with a current member. Have a chat with them - see what they think, ask for their opinion on it. A good thing to do is to literally ask "Hey man, I'm really enjoying being around the club. I wanna know what I need to do to show you guys that I'm ready for the next step". Some people stay as a hangaround for years because they're too bashful to ask. Regardless, after that? They'll decide whether or not they want to take you on as a prospect - but that's all In-Character.
  • It's okay to be a little ignorant of club protocols IC, just don't be shocked or butthurt OOCly when your character gets checked. Believe it or not, many people actually DON'T understand what it's like to be a part of a club and there's a plethora of unwritten rules that most people don't actually know. I strongly encourage that you research, research, and research OOCly to help you with your portrayal, but don't be afraid to have your character make IC mistakes. Just because you OOCly know that something is going to get you punched in the face doesn't mean that your character knows all the rules too. Don't be some kind of superhero who comes into this with a brand new character knowing exactly how a 1%er moves, because this will also rub people up the wrong way. So be creative and break the unwritten MC rules a little, but be prepared to be taught ICly by members who catch you lacking. Overall, it improves the culture and the atmosphere if people are making mistakes and it's forcing the other patched members to actually interact with you in order to educate you on what you need to fix for next time. If you're doing that, and reacting positively and having a good interaction with the member, they'll want to keep interacting with you and involving you because you've shown depth, and you're not just some random know-it-all who watched a few episodes of Sons of Anarchy or some documentaries on Gangland (by the way, anyone who knows me knows how much I hate both SoA and Gangland. If you use these as resources for your portrayal, you will most definitely fail. Please educate yourselves properly, there's a gigantic pool of information out there - just ask if you need help).
  • Believe it or not, but we don't actually care about your cringe backstory of childhood abuse by your step-father. This isn't the LSPD or SASD where you have to give some kind of a bullshit story about why you want to be a biker. Development and background stories are great, they're actually essential, but don't over-think it, because it's actually possible for people to have a relatively boring and normal childhood and still wind up in the motorcycle club world. If you come to us with a sob story about why you're nicknamed "Samurai" because as a child you watched your mother get beat by your step-dad so one day you snapped and killed him with a katana, you're going to get the flick pretty quickly. Just don't do this, please. We aren't therapists. Another important side-note for this is that if you aren't a breadwinner and you're just some random dropkick, chances are, the club won't even take you on. I'll use the Mongols as an example here (it may be biased, but whatever, fuck you). If you don't have a job and you aren't taking in some kind of consistent paycheck every week to put a roof over your head? You aren't going to get looked at. You might get invited to a few parties here and there, but good luck actually getting a bottom rocker. This is something critically important to consider.
  • Don't come flying in and poking your nose around, asking about club business and politics. This shit will get you dragged out into the alley and beaten, and probably ruin your chances of ever joining as that character. This is a pretty obvious one, but with the caliber of some people these days, I feel it's probably worth at least mentioning.
  • You'll need to (even if it's only briefly) consider your character's fashion sense. It feels a little bit weird to discuss because we're supposed to be hardcore outlaw bikerz right? Wrong. This is southern San Andreas, and is a replica of southern California. You need to understand that there's a certain image upheld in motorcycle clubs throughout the SoCal scene, and it's no different here. Not just this, but you need to understand that it's 2021/22 now, it's not the summer of 1970 hanging out of your cousin's split-windscreen Kombi van with your tits out in the breeze yelling to end the Vietnam war, peace signs, mung beans and smoking dope. And for the love of god, if you rock up to any club event wearing double leathers, leather pants or leather chaps, you will just be mocked and probably thrown out. Jesus Christ, I don't know anyone who's worn double leathers this side of 1989. Bikers these days in the SoCal scene look like regular people. Please look into this, and I promise that once you start to pay attention to the small things like fashion, you'll understand the point that I'm trying to make here. There's a certain image. Let me put it to you like this, and this is critical for you to understand: If I can look at you and tell that you're a biker just by looking at what you're wearing? You're probably over-doing it. Don't be that one biker ped from GTA San Andreas "LEEEATHER CHAPS!".
  • Understand that outlaw bikers are no longer what they used to be. The sentences are longer and harsher. Bikers value brain over brawns in this new world. Moving smart is better for you than just being some stone-cold killer. Riding cross-country with a gun in one pocket and a prison sentences worth of meth in your other pocket is no longer acceptable in the culture. This is a new day, and bikers get pulled over and searched just for a training exercise by LEO's these days. Being an Outlaw nowadays isn't so much about showing open rebellion and fucking with every cop you see, it's about moving tactically. Think Mafia on wheels. Not gang members on motorcycles. SoA and Mayans portray it like bikers are in shootouts every week and just dropping opps. They aren't. A bar fight and a stabbing are a lot more likely than a full blown western shootout. You might be surprised to learn that a majority of the time, most members will drive in their cars Monday to Friday to attract less attention, and only throw on their vests when they ride their bike once a week - it's little things like this. If you ride your bike everywhere every day of the week, you're going to look like a moron. Get a car.
  • Be prepared to at least learn about how a motorcycle works and maybe some basic parts. Let's be real here for a minute. At the end of the day, this is a motorcycle club that you're trying to join. You'll need to have at least some level of understanding of what a clutch is, how a carburetor works, and a basic understanding of how a motorcycle throttle works. Just the little things like this make a big difference when it comes to developing roleplay and creating conversation.

 

 

In closing:

If you're still following along right now, thanks a ton, I really appreciate it. There's so much more you can do to further develop the hangaround and early prospecting phase. I could go into much more detail around things like familiarizing yourself with popular MC events like drag races, hill climbs, poker runs etc. You should also look at how to ride in formation, although this could be something that you decide you want to learn ICly to help with your character's development for example. There's a ton more that I could go into about supporter gear too.

 

Look, this is starting to drag on a little now, but I really just wanted to emphasize that the hangaround and early prospecting phase doesn't need to be as awkward as y'all are making it out to be. It's actually a super fun and creative time where you literally have zero constraints on what you can create for yourself and those around you. You can shift your character's story and development in whatever way you want to. So please just be mindful of this.

 

I might further develop this guide in the future, or I might not. Depends if I come up with anything else to add - I've tried to keep it as on-topic and specific to actually joining a club as I possibly could. I didn't want to go into too much finer detail about club life and club-specific rules and such, as that's not what this guide is. You'll have to figure that stuff out for yourself in-character depending on the specific faction you want to join.

 

All I'll say as a short closing statement is that if this guide only helps at least one person with developing a new MC character, then I'll consider writing this guide 100% completely worth it.

 

Catch y'all on the next one.

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12 hours ago, i dont wanna od in LA said:

this isnt very accurate. modernday MCs very rarely invite "outsiders" to their clubhouses (however it depends on the club). in most cases they separate their clubhouses (place reserved strictly for club affiliates) from social clubs (run by the club as their public hangout). it's 2021, all major OMGs are heavily targeted by law enforcement so roleplaying even the smallest aspects like this makes way more sense.
 

This is not true at all. 
 

They operate the same as any private members only clubs. if you are invited, you are welcome, and generally these dudes are accepting, love to party, and want to bring in more guys so invites are not hard to come by at all as long as you come with respect (this is why MCs are such easy targets for undercover operations). They also open to the public for public social events.

 

There is no hard and fast rule.

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