An up close and personal look at all biker clubs in Thailand including the Hells Angels, Burapa Club, Diablos and why they’re at peace. When we met Richy Rhodes a couple years ago in Thailand we never would have guessed the road he was going to lead us down and the stories we would hear from the most unlikely people. You’ve read about biker criminal activity and deadly turf wars in your own countries. Now picture this, you’ve got every major bike club in one small city, and there is ZERO violence. They have come together to shift the idea of what bikers and brotherhood means. They are working to stamp out child trafficking in a nation rife with it. Now they want to tell their side of the story and explain how being a biker in 2018 is much different than it was 20 years ago.
BURAPA Bike Week in Pattaya, Thailand’s ‘Sin City’, is the place to be for bike enthusiasts. For 21 years, thousands of bikers and bike lovers have converged on the city for this annual event. It’s a week long party in one of Asia’s craziest cities, culminating in a 2 day music festival. There are bikes…many, many bikes there are also significant numbers of members of the bike clubs known as ‘1 percenters.’ The title implies that they are true outlaws, outside the 99% of law-abiding bike owners. During the festival, rivals such as the Hells Angels, Headhunters, Bandidos and Thailand’s true outlaw clubs the Rebels and Mongols all convene on the Thai coast. They come here every year to hold talks with rival gangs, set up club houses in the ‘land of smiles’ but most of all to come together with Burapa to raise money for charities in Thailand.
You might wonder how this many bike clubs in such close proximity are at peace with one another? We knew we had to share the stories of these biker clubs and of Richy’s move to Thailand where he became a full-fledged member of the Jesters. The experience we aim to take you on contradicts many long held perceptions of the biker scene. The lives these people lead are not for the faint-hearted: they have been there, seen it and done it. Yet there is another side to them. We’ve witnessed the devastating impact of human trafficking in Thailand but have also seen how the bike clubs pull together to try and stamp out this immoral trade. Pattaya charities directly benefit, providing much needed money to children in need of protection. This is the surprising human face of biker culture, showing the true meaning of brotherhood.
This documentary is going to be unlike anything you’ve ever seen before: the most intriguing people, in the craziest city, all coming together in Burapa: Bikers of the East.
Website: https://www.facebook.com/BURAPAbikersoftheeast/
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