George Christie Jr

George Christie Jr. was born in 1947 in Ventura, California to a family of Greek immigrants and grew up an only child. From an early age, he was fascinated by motorcycles and outlaw culture, and by the time he started school his intelligence and rebellious attitude set him apart from his peers.

As a teenager, he became an avid surfer. When one of his surfing buddies showed up at the beach one day on a Harley-Davidson, George knew what he had to do. In 1966, despite the objections of his father, he bought his first bike, a 1957 Panhead, for $200. He was soon hanging around with Ventura outlaw bike club The Question Marks and famous motorcycle customisers Von Dutch and Dick Woods. As George puts it, “some people run away and join the circus. I ran away and joined the Hells Angels.”

He became a full-patch Hells Angel in the Los Angeles charter in 1976 and, six months later, became its president, before founding the Ventura charter in 1978. As Ventura leader, George became one of the most powerful voices in the national Hells Angels organisation, and spent three decades battling the law, rival gangs and members of his own club, while building the club’s business operations. He famously carried the Olympic torch in the 1984 Los Angeles Games and spent a year in solitary confinement in prison on numerous charges in 2001.

In 2011, Christie resigned his presidency of the Ventura charter and left the club. He was immediately excommunicated by his former brothers. George spent another 18 months in prison from 2013-2014 for conspiring to firebomb two Ventura tattoo shops. George currently serves as a consultant on organised crime for CNN. He lives with his wife and son in Southern California and has three adult children.

He has no regrets.