Photographer M. Sharkey Captures the Men of NY's Oldest Gay Motorcycle Club
By Michael Luong
Photography by M. Sharkey
When 67-year-old Mark Wind joined the ECMC in 1975 “the stereotype for being a gay man was being effeminate. It was important for me to break that stereotype, just as becoming a gay professional was important to me at a time when being gay was linked to very fringy-type people.”
Favorite part of being in the club: “It's the comradeship we have together. We are more like a family… we talk about things in our lives, experiences, etc.”
Dream ride: “Riding from New York to California, taking in all the sights."
Ed "Evil Ed" Caraballo (b. 1968)
2007 Harley Davidson Dyna Wide Glide
Favorite part of being in the club: “The camaraderie and brotherhood from my club brothers. There is a bond among us that makes you feel right at home whenever we’re together.”
Eddie Murphy (b. 1949)
2013 Harley Davidson Fatboy Lo
Favorite part of being in the club: “Riding, Events, Brotherhood. To me brotherhood is difficult to describe. It’s a deep love and feeling you get when you know you're with a group of guys that always have your back. They will be there when you fall to pick you up both physically and emotionally. Other clubs feel it when they are with us. It’s like being a teenager hanging out on a park bench sharing stories, laughter, memories. It’s an amazing feeling being with all my brothers in ECMC.”
Chaz Antonelli (b. 1966)
2004 Yamaha Road Star, 1700 V-Twin with custom work
Favorite part of being in the club: “The close camaraderie and brotherhood — essentially they're my family.”
Dream ride: “A European tour.”
“We kept a low profile,” says 81-year-old Emil Solis (not pictured), who joined ECMC with his partner, Bill, in June 1965. “It was a very dangerous time. People had jobs and apartments. There was no protection. You could be fired or evicted if your boss or landlord decided so.”
Scot Michael Laney (b. 1958)
2003 Harley Davidson Dyna Superglide (100th year anniversary model)
Favorite part of being in the club: “Being on the road, the camaraderie with other riders and being with a group of men I know will have my back.”
Mark Wind (b. 1947)
1996 Harley Davidson, Road King (FLHRI)
Favorite part of being in the club: “Camaraderie.”
Dream ride: “Renting a Harley in Maui, Hawaii and touring the island.”
Gary Papouschek (b. 1963)
2005 Kawasaki z750s
Favorite part of being in the club: “The brotherhood, the riding, the fun destinations and events at the other end of our ride.”
Dream ride: “One: to rent a motorcycle in Berlin and travel to Prague. Two: Travel north to Maine, catch a ferry to Nova Scotia."
Will Cordero (b. 1984)
1994 Kawasaki Vulcan
Favorite part of being in the club: “Brotherhood and riding.”
Dream ride: “A Harley Wide Glide would be my dream motorcycle. My dream ride would be San Diego to San Francisco on the coast.”
Top row, left to right: Eddie Murphy,
Michael Conley, Ed Caraballo, Joe Mitchell, Chaz
Antonelli, Giorgio DeAlmeida, Earl Driscoll, Mark Wind
and Scot Michael Laney. Bottom row: Darryl Smith, Gary
Papouschek, Will Cordero and Gene Knox
Giorgio DeAlmeida (b. 1963)
2009 Harley Davidson Rocker C
Favorite part of being in the club: “Riding with my brothers, feeling of freedom and attending charitable events.”
Dream ride: “Definitely Trail of Mountain Spirits Byway, New Mexico.”
Joe Mitchell (b. 1975)
2011 Suzuki M109R
Favorite part of being in the club: “Brotherhood and rides.”
Dream ride: “Along Pacific Coast Highway into the North West.”
Ed Caraballo
Dream ride: “To take a month off from work and go on a road trip across the U.S., making several stops along the way (i.e. Route 66, Yellowstone Park, Grand Canyon & Mount Rushmore).
Eddie Murphy
Dream ride: “NYC to Chicago: pick-up the beginning of Route 66. Ride it to San Francisco then ride the coastal roads of Russian River and Napa Valley.”
Scot Michael Laney
Dream ride: “A month-long road trip circling the U.S.”
Eddie Murphy, a retired New York City police detective and a member of the ECMC for nearly two decades, says, “If any one of us is in trouble or needs something, we’re there. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it.”
Ed Caraballo, 46, the current president of the club, likes to think of it as a celebration of masculinity. “It’s being who I am, being comfortable with who I am. In order to be sexy, you have to feel sexy. You have to be confident. You have to feel sure of yourself. People are attracted to that.”
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