(Perhaps the most interesting and frightening that BangShift stumbled upon in 2014 was Armond Bletcher. His story reads like it is straight out of the script from the Sons of Anarchy television show. This was a guy who dealt out untold levels of punishment before meeting his own violent end…)
The monstrous mountain of a man you see in the lead photo and below was a chap named Armond Bletcher and he was likely one of the largest humanoids to ever claim membership in the Hell’s Angels. For those of you unfamiliar, that’s a motorcycling enthusiasts club you may or may not have heard of. Bletcher was an Angel, a bodyguard to the stars, a chopper enthusiast, a leg breaker, a rumored murderer, and a Bunyanesque figure in the motorcycling world during the 1970s. He met his fate at the wrong end of a gun after reportedly shrugging off repeated blows from a baseball bat.
Look, we’re telling you all of this because of an absolutely flipping awesome story over at TheSelvedgeYard.com. If you do not hit that site up on a frequent basis, you should. We’re not really all that into motorcycle around here but they have such interesting content that touches all across the gearhead landscape that it is 100% worth your time. This is one of the coolest stories we have read over there, mainly because we had no idea that this giant existed and his story is straight out of the movies. We’re not going to completely blow the plot for you here or the insane stats on what he was lifting back in the day because the story will do that. Needless to say, you will be slack jawed like we were.
If you saw that guy heading your way with a scowl or a smile,you’d be like us…running for your life! The story of Armond Bletcher is as large and show stopping as the man himself. Hit the link below and give it a read, it is totally worth the time.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE STORY OF A GUY WHO LIVED THE LIFE (AND DIED) LIKE A REAL LIFE MEMBER OF THE SONS OF ANARCHY – ARMOND BLETCHER
1) Selvedge Yard .. +1 .. a bit too ‘ Hipster ‘ at times but overall well worth the effort of clicking on to
2) Hells Angels – They aint no ‘ enthusiasts … they’re criminals and thugs …
3) SoA … pure unadulterated fiction that tried too hard to romanticize a very ugly reality ..which is to say the likes of Armond and all 1%’ers makes the SoA characters look like Disney on Ice in comparison
4) Motorcycles – So yeah … and just why the ___ is it y’all aren’t more into bikes Brian ? i mean … seriously … Bikes n Cars in light of all the crossover over the years both by builders [ Big Daddy – Cole Foster etc ] painters [ Von Dutch etc ] … and the press ?
Hmmmn .. methinks perhaps a bit more 2 wheeled articles would be in order
We is GearHeads here after all …. aint we … 😉
Have to remember back in the 50’s and early 60’s Car Clubs werent to far different then the early 1%er MC’s that of course changed later in the 60’s and so on but mainly in the 50’s and early 60’s they werent much different.
Bletcher was a complete and utter asshole, a blight on the human race. Wannabe middle class thugs everywhere will use him as a template for failure the more this gets read. I did enjoy reading the part where he died, though the humanitarian element in me would’ve preferred an alternate ending where he realizes the enormous waste of his life and reforms, opening a soup kitchen or etc., – a vanishingly rare twist when you’re a career hooligan.
However I do dig me some vintage motorcycles.
Agreed on all counts ! The only consolation I can offer up on the Middle Class Suburban Urban wanna be’s that’ll be trying to mimic the real 1%ers like Bletcher as well as the fictional ones such as the SoA characters is …
Guaranteed … at some point ‘ real ‘ 1%ers will get their hands on said Yuppie wanna be’s in the wrong place [ most likely a real biker bar ] and at the wrong time , stomping their little pretend Middle Class @$&es into a hospital bed or worse
As Big Daddy Roth so often preached ;
” If you can’t handle the action .. don’t wear the image ” *
A lesson both he and Hunter S. Thompson learned… the hard way 😉
* What Roth meant by that was you can build/ride the bike .. but don’t wear/copy the outfits or try and pretend that you are one
Do you honestly believe that reading an article about this guy will cause more people to become roided up douchebags? People don’t need role models for that. They do just fine on their own.
Is it just me or does he look like ‘Michael Myers’ from the 1st ‘Halloween’ movie come to life? 🙂
I bet the big guy was normal, got too much attention. I come from a tiny town, and several friends shot right up into bunyan…way over 6 feet. my neighbor used to pick up a 327, put it in his truck. 6 foot 6 , 300 pounds. It was not until the real world I realized how lucky a retreat is.
peace.
looking different is a strain… false stories is just some of it.
Seriously ?
Well … in this case … there’s nothing either false or fictitious about the TSY Bletcher article .. in fact if Bletcher’s police record is anything to go by … the TSY article barely tells the half of it . To put it simply …. place your pretense of Politically Correct aside … and face the ugly facts
The man was a bonafide criminal … was a member in good standing of one of the most violent criminal organizations worldwide .. was an absolute asshole to anyone and everyone outside the HA’s … and met and end much kinder than what the SOB deserved
” Looking different is a strain ”
Give it a rest … grow a pair …. and get over it . Bletcher was an ass !
😉
Pot, meet kettle.
Still stupefied at the acceptance of steroid intake, by comments on both sites. I find no respect in the achievements of a mans size when done in conjunction with steroids. However, he was a beast of a man no matter which end of the story you read. He was known as a criminal, and if this was current we would hear nothing but disgust about him and his life, however due to the fact that it is from a long time ago, it is romanticized and thought of as “A misunderstood fellow” and told with lore as if murder and violence was somehow okay so long as it was many many years ago.
People will always have a fascination with outlaws. It’s human nature. Billy the Kid, Jesse James, Bonnie and Clyde, Al Capone, Manson, Iceman… The list is just about endless.
When you have an outlaw that is basically a human wrecking ball, it can be downright fascinating in a horror story kind of way.
Armond knew exactly who he was.
He always treated people who weren’t
(Involved) with respect. That’s more than I can say about our murdering,theiving,(and the list goes on and on)……government officials and President.
Armon liked kids…..I know…..