How a Motorcycle Club Built Me for Success As a Professional and as a Differently-Abled Warrior

It began shortly after scoring my first real office job following college graduation. I met a guy… but if you want to learn how the Beauty met the Biker, you’ll have to hang on for a different story. If you guessed that the biker became my husband, you’d win a prize – but this story takes place long before the “I do’s”. For the sake of identities, we’ll change his club name to Bolt.

I wasn’t a very sheltered kid. With three older brothers, I figured things out on my own pretty well. My mom was my best friend and shared her stories with me and my Dad warned me about things like this, but like any young adult, I tested my limits and fell in love.

Running with the club was a game-changer for me. When I first started coming around I was, terrified, insecure, extremely shy, and filled with social anxiety. My self-doubt was almost contagious and I stuck out like a sore thumb. There’s no way I’d ever fit in.

But the club wasn’t going to change just because a millennial walked through the door. I had to toughen up and adapt if I wanted to fit in and it became ever so clear to me after the first few months, that we were all just a bunch of misfits who’ve never really fit in, in the real world.

I realized, over this past year reflecting on my health obstacles and advocacy in the differently-abled community along with a recent patch of professional success, just how much this chapter meant to me.

Here’s how the MC built me for success and a little history lesson on MC's…

Motorcycle Clubs 101

According to BikerDomain.com, motorcyclists started organizing clubs in 1903 when the New York Motorcycle Club merged with the Alpha Motorcycle Club of Brooklyn to form the Federation of American Motorcyclists (FAM), focused on improving driving conditions for motorcyclists. As many of its members were sent overseas to fight in World War I, FAM collapsed in 1919.

The end of World War II saw the rise of a number of "outlaw motorcycle clubs" - outlaws in the sense that they were not sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and didn't follow the AMA's rules. The end of the war saw servicemen returning home, many of them afflicted with what is now known as PTSD. Their condition and their wartime experiences made them a poor fit for conventional civilian life. They needed an outlet, and joining an outlaw motorcycle club was one such outlet.

To boil things down, MC's were either a place where you went to ride (like a HOG chapter) - or a place where you went to fit in in a world where you felt like an outcast.

ONE. The Importance of Community

The biggest cultural impact I experienced was the bond this community had.

Brotherhood. The original motorcycle clubs were built on military foundations of brotherhood, respect, and dependability. This group of outcasts was family regardless of how different you were.

If you were in a pinch at 3am on a Tuesday morning, you could call anyone in the family and they’d answer. You’d reciprocate the respect and dedication if anyone else had a need.

Broken down on the side of the road, 5 hours from home? Don’t worry… there’s a club in the area that’ll treat you like family too.

You listen when someone talks, and they’ll share the same respect with you. You answer when someone calls, and they’ll answer any call of yours. You stand up for them, and they’ll stand up for you. You respect them, they’ll respect you.

Respect. Dependable. Honest. These are three characteristics that were branded into my soul and I refuse to let go of.

Lesson: Never burn bridges. The people in your community know you for who you are and there’s so much power and opportunity in these relationships. Always treat others how you want to be treated. Want to have fun, be loved and valued? Love and value your community and it’ll dish it all right back to you in return. Respect others no matter how different they may be, stay honest, and commit to your word.

TWO. Build & Protect Your Reputation (or Personal Brand)

Yes… you’re personal brand matters. Even in a motorcycle club.

When I met Bolt, I knew him as just that. Not his real name.

I thought “why?” but again, that’s another story… all their names sounded like Snow White’s dwarfs… talk about building a personal brand!

In the club, reputation was everything.

Reputations started as early as hang-arounds (the people that were regulars at club events and rides) through prospecting in their denim “rags” or “colors” (the vest with club patches/rockers), when you earn your club name.

Impressions last. Yes, even I earned a reputation and nicname - but if you want that story, you'll have to ask ??

Lesson: Build your reputation. Be who you want to be and represent the best version of yourself in all aspects of life. If you stand for civil rights, stand up for something. If you’re a hungry entrepreneur, serve as an active mentor to your community. Staying active in your community with networking, speaking engagements, volunteering, and mentorships will help you protect and maintain that personal brand.

THREE. "Let ‘Em"

I had a painfully small amount of confidence. Every time I left the house, I walked on eggshells – afraid to disappoint anyone around me or draw attention.

No matter who I met or where I’d go, the following thoughts always flooded my mind:

“Are they talking about me?”

“What if they don’t like me?”

“What can I do to fit in?”

When I started coming around the club, people would talk. They’d judge me for dressing hoity toity because that was their go-to defense mechanism. They’d give me a tough time, testing my character.

I learned in the first few weeks how people looked down on us. I was called a “low life”, “worthless”, “biker trash” and worse just for who I associated with.

It’s easy for strangers to make assumptions about a well-dressed blonde in a group of leather-vest wearing, bearded bikers. I’d hear whispers about being a “dancer” or “escort” as soon as I’d enter rooms with them, which wasn’t easy to hear as a professional grad school student working as a marketing coordinator by day and bridal consultant by night.

One day, Bolt and I rode to a jewelry store to check out rings. The manager of the jewelry store watched us for a while and we caught him whispering behind the counter. After a few moments he approached us and said,

“We were just taking bets on how long it’ll take you to grab something and run.”

Uhh… what? Bolt had a very responsible job with stable income and a heart of gold, so why would a manager of a jewelry store say something so offensive? I couldn’t take it anymore and had to ask… “How do you not let that get to you?”

The response I received was your typical biker lingo…

“F*** ‘em. Let 'em judge.”

I laughed like it was a joke… but he didn’t smile in return. He reminded me that we’re all misfits. The MC lifestyle is something people don’t seem to understand and at the end of the day, it’s their loss.

“We’re some of the most reliable, hard-ass working people on the planet. They’ll never know these values. Let ‘em judge. They don’t matter to me, just like I don’t matter to them.”

Was it really that easy to brush off harassment and humiliation? Apparently.

We went on to a connection’s jewelry shop and had a piece custom made. Reliable connections always win the deal.

How did I get through the discrimination and harassment? I built my confidence from nothing… because that’s what I was. A low life, and I was okay with that. It’s easy to build on a new, empty foundation.

Lesson: When receiving negative feedback… first, consider the source. Should they be providing feedback? Second, if it isn’t constructive, let it slide. It’ll serve you no good harboring that negativity. Third, if you feel lost or empty, embrace it. You can build beautiful things on an empty foundation.

“People who mind don’t matter, and people who matter don’t mind.”

FOUR. Loose Lips Sink Relationships

Have you heard that saying, “snitches get stitches?”

How about “loose lips sink ships?”

Well, in this world, those words couldn’t ring more true, except there aren’t any ships to sink, other than relationships.

One common characteristic about traditional MCs is that it’s a boy’s club. A place to relax, be yourself, have fun, ride, and escape drama. It holds true to mind your own business. Don’t stick your nose where it doesn’t belong because that will only bring unnecessary drama.

I’d share a story here… but you know what they say about snitches ??

Lesson: Mind only your own business. This lesson was important in so many of life’s relationships. It helped me to steer clear of office politics and corporate gossip. What isn’t my business, isn’t my business. Why consume your mental bandwidth with troubles that don’t serve you?

Contact me to build your personal brand - don't worry, I'll only give you a "club name" if you want one! ??

Thank You

I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter of my life sprinkled into a mix of valuable lessons learned. At the end of the day, my affiliation with the MC made me a much stronger, wiser, more confident woman than I could have ever imagined.

It wasn’t until I left the club life and battled my debilitating diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis that my newfound strength would really come in to play…

Every challenge is preparing you for what’s next down the road.

“If you want the best, you need to be able to manage the worst.”

Thank you for reading and for your continued support in advocating for the differently-abled community. Together, we can change the world and the perceptions and pre-conceived notions against "disability".

Chantel is a top LinkedIn creator, owner of Stardust Creative, LLC, and host of the (Un)Learn Show on the social networking platform featuring notable guests who have broken bad habits.

 By administering the power of positive thinking, Chantel has overcome severe personal and professional obstacles. Chantel is a wise leader who practices what she preaches, yet her message is always delivered with love, kindness, and generosity. Chantel spends a substantial portion of her time coaching others to accept and believe in themselves, and to treat one another with dignity and value, recognizing we are all brothers and sisters.

You’ll be inspired by her courage, captured by her humble, soft nature, and empowered by her story. Through her storytelling, we are invited to fully accept what we may perceive as our own, personal weaknesses, to embrace challenges as opportunities, and to convert them into strengths. Likewise, we are encouraged to explore and value the diversity of our brothers and sisters in life. Imagine the culture-shifts that would occur in our world, our country, our workplaces, and our homes if we did so.