Sonny Barger

Ralph Hubert "Sonny" Barger Jr. was an American outlaw biker who was a founding member of the Oakland, California charter of the Hells Angels in 1957. After forming the Oakland charter, Barger was instrumental in unifying various disparate Hells Angels charters and had the club incorporated in 1966. He emerged as the Hells Angels' most prominent member during the counterculture era and was reputed by law enforcement and media to be the club's international president, an allegation he repeatedly denied. The author Hunter S. Thompson called Barger "the Maximum Leader" of the Hells Angels, and Philip Martin of the Phoenix New Times described him as "the archetypical Hells Angel", saying he "didn't found the motorcycle club ... but he constructed the myth". Barger authored five books, and appeared on television and in film.