We Are Easyriders… where the road never ends!

Known as “the biker’s bible” Easyriders has been sharing the motorcycle culture with the world for over 52 years. Looking back to its humble beginnings, the 1970s were labeled as the flower power years of sex, drugs, rock n' roll, custom choppers, hot rods, disillusioned youth, and righteous rebellion. In 1971, the two-wheeled world was primed and ready for Easyriders magazine.

Gearheads Mil Blair and Joe Teresi teamed up with magazine editor Lou Kimzey to produce a lifestyle-driven magazine that would appeal to bikers. Lou had been an editor of drag racing and men's magazines, creating such titles as Drag Racing, Drag Strip, and Big Bike. The two-wheeled-trio wanted their new magazine to be completely different than any other motorcycle magazine and succeeded with the irreverent and madcap format which became Easyriders magazine.

In the early '70's, Joe Teresi had already logged over 100,000 miles on choppers and was known as a custom bike builder in his own right. Joe was the technical editor on Big Bike and along with bike builder and parts fabricator Mil Blair, designed many aftermarket parts at Jammer Cycle Products for people who wanted to build a chopper of their own. Mil was also into cameras and acted as Easyriders first photo editor.

Motorcycle magazines of that time showcased bikes but not the people who built or rode them. The idea with Easyriders was to create a magazine that captured the people behind the custom bikes as well as the wild lifestyle that surrounded them. In June of 1971, the first issue of Easyriders magazine jumped off the shelves and soon, the magazine had a life of its own.

The magazine dreamed up an image of hard partyin' bikers and a life where beautiful women were plentiful and begging to go for a ride on a chopped Hog. The first issues were published bi-monthly with the very first David Mann centerspread appearing in issue three. Mann soon became known as the Norman Rockwell of the biker lifestyle. We went monthly with the November 1976 issue.

The magazine was and is a sounding board for readers who keep the biker lifestyle alive. Easyriders readers have always been very vocal. There's never been any guess work in finding out what they want, and so Easyriders success has been the success of the American Biker, independent, loyal, and proud.

As the custom bike scene changed and evolved over the years, so has Easyriders magazine. By 1980 the rag was already going through refinements, adding more tech tips and legislative news, offering more color photography, more bike events, runs and parties, more gorgeous gals and wilder art. Cool products produced by bikers for bikers began to appear beginning with Easyriders T-shirts, belt buckles, boots and more. This would soon mutate into an entire products division including everything a biker might need, from leathers and riding gear to tools and bike lifts.

We continued to grow, adding In The Wind, Biker and Tattoo and foreign editions helped to spread the biker lifestyle to Germany, France, England, Australia, and Japan. New riders on bulletproof Evolution motor-powered Harleys couldn't help but notice Easyriders' coverage of such traditional biker parties as the Sturgis Black Hills Classic, Daytona Bike Week, and the Laconia Rally and Races. These new riders joined the old school bikers at rallies in droves and attendance tripled at the major rallies.

As it turned 20 years old, Easyriders became the largest-selling motorcycle magazine in the world while still offering a wacked-out point of view to scooter tramps worldwide. With over 200 issues under our belts 1990 was a banner year and we were ready to do something big. On July 14th, with the sponsorship of American bikers everywhere, Easyriders went to the salt flats of Bonneville with our twin Harley Shovehead-powered streamliner and took the absolute Land Speed Record away from Kawasaki. The 322.150 mile per hour world record held for 16 years.

Then Joe asked me to get the Easyriders brand involved with television which led me to work with TV producer Hugh King, resulting in a show called Motorcycle Mania for The Discovery Channel starring a southern California bike builder named Jesse James. Motorcycle sales were on an upward climb by 2005, factory custom choppers were selling like hot cakes and The Discovery Channel had a hit on its hands. Once Discovery realized that Americans had a love affair with custom motorcycles, yet another TV series appeared on the scene. Hugh King went on to produce the popular Biker Build-Off series for The Discovery Channel.

When Hugh needed expert master bike builders to design and build a custom motorcycle against the clock, he would call me and ask, "Who's hot? Who's next?" So, Easyriders helped to bring such diverse custom bike builders as Billy Lane, Paul Yaffe, Dave Perewitz, Indian Larry, Mitch Bergeron, Chica, Jerry Covington, Mondo Porras, Kendall Johnson, the Detroit Brothers, and others to the small screen.

Cross-promoting both the TV series and our magazine, Easyriders featured all the Build-Off bikes on our covers. At the same time, Easyriders Bike Show promoter John Green agreed to bring several of these builders out to our shows to meet the public, sign autographs, and take photos with fans. The shows were an enormous hit! We even produced our own motorcycle TV series for the SPEED Channel called V-Twin TV, a half-hour weekly series in 2005 that focused on real bike builders building real bikes.

Having enjoyed a long ride in the custom motorcycle world, Easyriders founder Joe Teresi was looking to retire and once again sought out a buyer for Easyriders magazine. A Canadian entrepreneur stepped up to the plate and purchased Paisano Publications in 2019. But this wunderkind’s vision of selling Easyriders branded blue jeans and GQ-inspired magazines failed miserably. He spent and lost millions, and in the end, the brand was back in the trusted hands of Joe Teresi by 2021.

By the time we celebrated 25 years of ridin’ easy, I was hired by former editor Keith Ball to create several new titles for the company. By that time, Easyriders had developed an entire line of Roadware clothing for riders, wild two-wheeled motorcycle rodeos and custom bike shows across the country, plus a chain of Easyriders franchise stores.

Under my guidance, our stable of bike magazines grew with our readers to include the upscale VQ (V-Twin Quarterly), performance-oriented Quick Throttle, Early-Riders for the antique aficionado and WRENCH for rebel rousin’ young guns. Our tattoo magazines branched out to include Tattoo Flash and Tattoo Savage. We even had something for hot rod aficionados, American Rodder and Rebel Rodz.

In 1998, Paisano Publications was purchased by a group of restaurateurs from Arizona with hopes of turning the brand into a grub and pub franchise in the form of Easyriders-themed eateries. It didn’t work and after several rounds of mismanagement, the company was once more owned solely by motorcycle media mastermind Joe Teresi.

Bikers have changed dramatically in the 50+ years since Easyriders first appeared. The public perception of bikers has run the gamut, from post WWII vets with bomber jackets, raising a little hell, to crazed long haired maniacs on loud choppers. It has been about backyard builders who create custom bikes by hand the old-fashioned way, to big name builders that have become super stars thanks to the miracle of television.

Though it all, Easyriders has been a lens through which the riding world has seen itself. It reflects what's going on out there in the world. Sometimes that's good, sometimes not. Through it all, I believe that Easyriders has succeeded because it is not about nuts and bolts, parts and pieces. Rather, the magazine is about the very real people who have an abiding passion for motorcycles. Bikers have motor oil running in their veins and live for the thrill of riding their bikes. Easyriders is dedicated to those guys and gals who truly live to ride and ride to live.

As the brand celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2021, plans were underway to bring the passion for motorcycles and the biker lifestyle to a whole new generation of riders. We rode out the COVID pandemic, and in 2023 I introduced Joe Teresi to Chad Hanson and Paul Weyland; passionate bikers, owners of construction companies in Utah, and men who were ready to help me publish Easyriders magazine. Now Chad, Paul, and his brother Shayne and I are the four horsemen who are bringing the world-renown “Biker’s Bible” known as Easyriders to the world once more. If it’s of interest to bikers, Easyriders will bring it to ya.

The idea here is simple. We showcase the biker lifestyle and bring it to the masses, warts and all. If you love the freedom found on two-wheels, then Easyriders magazine is for you. We hope you’ll join us for the ride of a lifetime. Now, let’s crank ‘em up and get some wind!

                    --Dave Nichols

                    Editor-in-chief, Easyriders