Rebels MC (Motorcycle Club – Australia)
Rebels MC is a one percenter motorcycle club founded in Brisbane, Australia in 1969. They are the largest outlaw motorcycle club in Australia, have a presence in several other countries and are one of the fastest growing outlaw motorcycle clubs in the USA.
This article relates only to the Rebels Motorcycle Club founded in Australia. View our article on the Rebels Motorcycle Club founded in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada.
Rebels MC History
The Rebels Motorcycle Club was founded in Brisbane, Australia in 1969.
A group of friends who loved to ride their Harley Davidson motorcycles met up at a pub in Indooroopilly, Brisbane. At this first meeting they decided to use the club name “Confederates Motorcycle Club”, which would later be changed to the “Rebels Motorcycle Club”. The first Rebels President was Clint Jacks.
The motorcycle club then went on to open Rebels Dubbo chapter, Rebels Rockhampton chapter, Rebels Sydney chapter and the Rebels Canberra chapter.
Throughout the second half of 2014 a war erupted between the Rebels MC and Lone Wolf MC.
Rebels MC Patch / Motto / Colors
The Rebels Motorcycle Club patch consists of a confederate flag with a skull wearing a cap.
Some of the Rebels Motorcycle Club mottos which are used are “Outlaws Elite” and “Rebel to the Death”.
“RFFR” is also used by the Rebels, which stands for “Rebels Forever, Forever Rebels”. This style of abbreviation is very common amongst outlaw motorcycle clubs.
Rebels MC Chapters
The Rebels Motorcycle Club have somewhere in the vicinity of 70 chapters in Australia, as well as chapters spread throughout the world.
- Rebels Australia
- Rebels Cambodia
- Rebels Canada
- Rebels Costa Rica
- Rebels Croatia
- Rebels England
- Rebels Fiji
- Rebels Germany
- Rebels Greece
- Rebels Indonesia
- Rebels Italy
- Rebels Laos
- Rebels Lebanon
- Rebels Malta
- Rebels New Zealand
- Rebels Philippines
- Rebels Singapore
- Rebels Spain
- Rebels Thailand
- Rebels USA
Famous Rebels MC Members
Alex Vella – Former National President
Alex Vella, who is also known as the “Maltese Falcon”, was born in Malta, but lived in Australia from the 1960s, where his family started a strawberry farm. He was a boxer and became the Maltese light-heavyweight champion in 1978.
He joined the Rebels Motorcycle Club in 1972, joining the Rebels Dubbo chapter at age 19 and then went on to start the Rebels Sydney chapter.
After a serious accident he was awarded compensation and used this money to begin a motorcycle import business.
He had amassed as many as 70 motorcycles, 2 Rolls Royce and other cars and several properties. All of this was said to have been gained from good investments, but much of this was seized by police in raids in 1995 as they believed that they were the proceeds of crime. He later went on to win a court case to get the assets back.
In 2007 the Australian government attempted to prevent Alex Vella coming back from a holiday to Japan. As he never became an Australian citizen the government were not going to issue him a visa. After appeal the visa was granted.
In June of 2014 his visa was cancelled while he was overseas. In October 2015 the courts denied any rights for further appeal.
Read our full article on Alex Vella.
Damien Vella – National President
Damien Vella is the nephew of Alex Vella and became the Rebels National President after Alex Vella had his visa cancelled and could not return to Australia from Malta.
Mark Judge – Rebels Associate
Mark Judge has met media attention several times. In 2009 he was found with television actress Jodi Gordon, who has starred on Home and Away, hiding from intruders. It is believed that they were experiencing drug induced hallucinations at the time, as they had called the police themselves to attend the property.
Rebels MC Crime / In The Media
1997 – November, 1997. Three Bandidos Motorcycle Club members, including the Bandidos National President Michael Kulakowski and National Sergeant-At-Arms Sasha Milenkovic, are shot dead in the Blackmarket nightclub in Chippendale, Sydney. Bruce Malcolm Harrison and Constantine Georgiou were charged with the murder, they both had strong connections with the Rebels and were sentenced to 28 years jail for the murder.
1999 – October, 1999. Three Rebels are killed and two others seriously injured in a shootout in central Adelaide. It is believed that the shooting was linked to an ongoing turf war with the Hells Angels.
2000 – November, 2000. Police raid Rebels clubhouses in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. As part of the raids they find drugs, weapons and a crocodile. Several arrests are made.
2001 – Rebels MC were named as one of the targets of the Police Operation Avatar, a law enforcement task force formed in 2001 and made permanent in 2002 which aimed to take down one percenter motorcycle clubs including the Descendants MC, Finks MC, Hells Angels MC, Gypsy Jokers MC, Mobshitters MC and Red Devils MC. This investigation was focused on the state of South Australia.
2007 – April, 2007. The Rebels Geelong clubhouse is set on fire.
2007 – 5 July, 2007. The Rebels Clubhouse in North Geelong is raided by police as part of a weapons investigation.
2008 – October, 2008. Bandidos member Ross Brand is killed in a drive-by shooting of the Bandidos Geelong clubhouse. John Bedson, who was connected to the Rebels affiliate club Death Before Dishonour, along with his half brother, are charged with the murder.
2009 – January, 2009. Rebels member Edin “Boz” Smajovic is shot in the heart after entering Macarthur Auto Centre in Campbelltown with another person. Over 300 members of the Rebels attended his funeral at Auburn Gallipoli Mosque, located in Sydney.
2009 – 23 April, 2009. Several raids occur across Australia as part of a police operation. Drugs, weapons, cash and stolen goods are found in the raids. 27 Rebels Motorcycle Club members are arrested.
2012 – In 2012 legislation was passed in Australia to ban entry to anyone showing patches, jewellery or any other items representing the following outlaw motorcycle clubs:
- Bandidos MC
- Black Uhlans MC
- Coffin Cheaters MC
- Comanchero MC
- Finks MC
- Fourth Reich MC
- Gladiators MC
- Gypsy Jokers MC
- Hells Angels MC
- Highway 61 MC
- Life and Death MC
- Lone Wolf MC
- Mobshitters MC
- Mongols MC
- Muslim Brotherhood Movement MC
- Nomads MC
- Notorious MC
- Odins Warriors MC
- Outcasts MC
- Phoenix MC
- Rebels MC
- Scorpions MC
2014 – 23 April, 2014. There is a brawl between the Lone Wolf MC and Rebels MC at a cafe on Burwood Road, located in Burwood, Sydney. Up to 30 men are involved in the fight. A bystander waiting at a bus stop is unintentionally injured after being hit in the head by a flying bottle. It is suspected that the fight began as the result of the Rebels MC recently moving into a clubhouse on Burwood Road and decided to be seen openly at the cafe in traditional Lone Wolf territory. Lone Wolf member Yusef Zazlioglu was charged with affray. Rebels Liverpool chapter Sergeant At Arms Khaldoun Al Majid was charged with two counts of affray. Also arrested were Rebels Liverpool member Tyson Akosfalvi and Rebels members Antonio Kutlesa and Lyheng Mario Mel.
2014 – 15 June, 2014. Rebels MC National Sergeant-At-Arms Simon Rasic dies of a heart attack. National President Alex Vella has had his visa cancelled so can’t return to the country for the funeral. This creates a significant gap at the leadership level of the Rebels Motorcycle Club.
2014 – 7 July, 2014. Rebels Mt Druitt chapter President Troy Cusens effectively hands over Mt Druitt member Rishaad Christian to the Rebels Penrith chapter members at the Mt Druitt clubhouse. Members of the Penrith chapter shot Rishaad Christian three times in the hip and leg and beat him severely with a baseball bat. Troy Cusens later had his colors taken from him by the National President Damien Vella for his involvement in this incident.
2014 – 24 August, 2014. At approximately 5:30am members of Rebels MC stab three members of the Lone Wolf MC at a brothel in Tweed Heads, a town located near the border where New South Wales meets Queensland.
2014 – 29 August, 2014. Two members of Rebels MC are arrested in Byron Bay, New South Wales after they are found during a vehicle search to be armed with machetes. The pair were believed to be armed in response to the fight with Lone Wolf MC that had occurred the previous weekend.
2015 – April, 2015. Lone Wolf MC member Benjamin Skey Black is arrested on the Sunshine Coast, located in Queensland, on charges relating to the possession of 350 methamphetamine pills, as well as a gun, knife, ice pick, knuckledusters and cable ties which were located during a search of a vehicle that he was travelling in. Also located in the search were the photos of two members of the Rebels MC. He is alleged to identify himself as a “Rebels Hunter”, referring to Rebels MC, a known enemy of the Lone Wolf. Although he had Lone Wolf tattoos, he denied being a member of the club.
2015 – 16 June, 2015. Police Taskforce Maxima perform raids on 30 properties, including 10 on the Gold Coast, Queensland and 20 in Mackay, Queensland targeting the trafficking of drugs by the Black Uhlans Motorcycle Club and the Rebels Motorcycle Club. Police seized a quantity of methylamphetamine, MDMA pills, cannabis and synthetic cannabis during the raids. A 56 year old man from the Gold Coast, believed to be a local chapter President of the Black Uhlans is one of those arrested on the charge of trafficking of dangerous drugs. In the Mackay raids a 53 year old man, who had been in the Rebels MC for 20 years, along with 42 year old woman were also charged with the trafficking of dangerous drugs.
Rebels MC Books / Movies / TV
YouTube – Rebels Australia
Book – The Brotherhoods: Inside The Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs by Arthur Veno. This book takes a look at all of the outlaw motorcycle clubs in Australia, including the Rebels MC. If you are after a book that solely focuses on the Rebels MC then this is not the book that you are after, but for an excellent insight into the bigger picture of outlaw motorcycle clubs in Australia then this is a recommended read. View this book on Amazon (link opens in a new tab).
Rebels MC Enemies and Allies
Rebels MC enemies:
- Bandidos MC are enemies.
- Lone Wolf MC are enemies.
- Nomads MC are enemies.
Rebels MC allies:
- Rebels MC allies are to be confirmed.
Read More:
- List of One Percenters Motorcycle Clubs
- Mobshitters MC
- Rebels MC (Canada)
- Outlaw Motorcycle Club Books
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