The Bloody Enterprise: What Motorcycle Clubs Can Teach Us About Corporate Business
2–4 min read
This short post has nothing to do with technology. It’s about the “Bloody Enterprise” — the very real, often brutal business of selling hardware, software, and services developed by one corporation to another.
Sitting on a Starbucks terrace with coffee and a cigarette, I noticed a tall, muscular guy in a vest from the local Black Dogs LE MC (Czech Republic). That instantly took me back to my one-time participation in a Night Wolves event, my last visit to their clubhouse in Moscow’s Mnevniki district, and the best “business manual” series my old friend — a Lead AE at the Russian office of a major American IT vendor — ever recommended: Sons of Anarchy.
It was perfect decompression after a heavy business day. Nothing clears the head like bikes, brotherhood, and controlled chaos.
“Companies don’t do business with companies.
People from one company do business with people from another.”
Despite the surface-level differences — motorcycles, gangs, guns, and drugs in the series versus suits, Excel files, and procurement procedures in real life — the core ideas are strikingly similar:
Ruthless competition
Discipline and hierarchy
Intelligence gathering (OSINT and insiders)
Building deep trusted relationships
Confidential negotiations
Strategy and power struggles for resources and positions
Two Very Different Clubs, Same Code
Black Dogs LE MC (Czech Republic)
Founded in 2002, this is the first Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club in the Czech Republic. Membership is restricted to police officers, soldiers, firefighters, paramedics, and other state servants (99% LE). The club emphasizes discipline, service to the law, and riding together. It is independent and a co-founder of the Czech National LE MC Coalition.
Night Wolves MC (Russia)
Founded in 1989 in Moscow by Alexander “The Surgeon” Zaldastanov. One of the largest and most influential motorcycle clubs in Russia (estimated 5,000–7,000 members across 45+ chapters). Closely tied to the Kremlin, they organize Victory Day runs and large-scale bike shows. The club and its leader are under Western sanctions.
Two clubs on opposite sides of the geopolitical divide, yet living by surprisingly similar principles: loyalty, hierarchy, brotherhood, and a strong code.
The Dark Mirror: Hunter S. Thompson and the Hells Angels
To understand the darker side of this culture, it’s worth remembering the greatest gonzo journalist, Hunter S. Thompson. In 1965 he began with an article for The Nation, then spent over a year fully embedded with the Hells Angels — riding with them, drinking in their bars, and living their life as a participant-observer.
The result was his 1967 classic “Hell’s Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga” — one of the most honest portraits of 1%er outlaw motorcycle culture ever written. Thompson showed the raw mix of brotherhood, violence, freedom, alcohol, and rebellion against society without cheap sensationalism.
At the end of his time with the club, he was severely beaten by members. The relationship ended badly, yet the book remains a landmark.
10 Rules from Traditional 1%er Motorcycle Clubs
Here are ten core rules commonly found in the charters (bylaws) of traditional outlaw motorcycle clubs like the Hells Angels and similar groups:
Loyalty to the club above all else.
Always back your brothers.
No talking to outsiders. No snitching.
Respect the hierarchy and chain of command.
Prospecting period is mandatory — full membership and trust are earned over a long trial.
Club property (Colors, Vest, Brand, reputation) is sacred and untouchable.
Never lie to or steal from your own.
Membership is a lifelong commitment. Leaving the “company” does not cancel past obligations or responsibilities.
Strict selection — new members (or key partners) accepted only by unanimous vote. One “no” is enough.
Discipline for violations is swift and severe.
Now replace the word “motorcycle club” with “corporation” — and you get a surprisingly accurate unofficial bible of corporate business worldwide.
That’s the naked truth. If this was useful, you can BUY ME A COFFEE here: https://ko-fi.com/nakedcybersec
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