The East Bay Rats formed in 1994 with a bunch of bikes mostly zip-tied and safety-wired together. The make of the bike was never important, it only mattered that you could keep up. Over 20 years later, we still call Oakland our home and regularly open our clubhouse to host fight parties and other refined social events.

Oakland in the 1990s

Weekly rides and barbecues turned into bigger events and rides. Flaming beer bottle bowling, car smash parties always ensured a good time. Before there was a clubhouse events would happen wherever we could get away with it. Oakland was a very different place back then.

Eventually, we had a clubhouse. Set up in a former barbershop, the club could host the sort of events we’d always dreamed of: flaming scooter jumping, TV smashing and of course, black tie cocktail parties. The clubhouse is also a place where we can meet up and where the public can join us for the occasional whiskey wrestling or syrup chugging contest.

And finally, we built a permanent boxing ring.