They’re back.
That’s the message from heavily-tatooed Finks members as the feared motorcycle gang moves to re-establish a stronghold in Victoria.
After all but disappearing from the state three years ago, the Finks have bold plans to open four new club houses across Melbourne.
Daily Mail Australia was invited into the club’s inner sanctum at a makeshift suburban quarters in Frankston in Melbourne’s south-east on Wednesday to meet national president, BJ.
High ranking members of the Finks motorcycle club, including national president BJ, centre, Victorian state president, Nugget and Moe, left.
Five members newly-formed Victorian chapters spoke with Daily Mail Australia from their make-shift meeting place on Wednesday
BJ – who says he has no more room on his body for more tattoos also has half of his teeth tapped in gold
With tattoos covering nearly every inch of his body, BJ’s broad chest is draped in a heavy gold chain, which matches his gold-plated teeth, as he stands alongside his ‘brothers’ in a humble backyard shed adorned with bikie paraphernalia.
His message was loud and clear: ‘The Finks have returned to Victoria’.
They have enlisted new members from across the country and plan to open four clubhouses, one for each of their new chapters in Frankston, City, Sunsbury North and Cheltenham.
Under pressure from mounting legal fees and police attention ‘brought on by rogue members’, the infamous club all but disappeared from the state three years ago.
But BJ and his ‘no-nonsense’ offsiders – who like him are dressed head-to toe in Finks gear and covered in body art – say they have ‘thrown out’ the past members and are determined to start anew.
The club sees Victoria as an important place to hold territory as it is one of the few states where bikies are ‘afforded their human rights’ without tough consorting laws to ‘drive them underground’.
The bikies say they have a new vision for the club – and want to steer it away from illegal activities which have caused trouble in the past
Adam, pictured, is a newer member of the club – but looks to his leader’s for advice and says he will follow the new rules set out by BJ and Nugget
AK is pictured here sporting the club’s latest shirt – which includes a cheeky message for rivals on the back
Moe has handguns tattooed on his chest – as well as an intricate right-hand sleeve. Most of the senior bikie’s face and neck is covered
In New South Wales and Queensland, tough anti-bikie laws mean they can’t ride together, or even communicate with each other ‘without risking jail time’.
‘Bikie clubs are the last stand for human rights – in Australia no one is allowed to do anything anymore. We – just like everyone else – just want to hang out with our mates and go for a drink on Friday night without being told we can’t,’ BJ said.
‘Victoria is the last state where there are still basic human rights – police can’t just bash down a door and come into our homes – they can’t tell us we can’t talk to our mates.’
BJ looks every bit the enforcer but his right-hand-man, former Rebel and tattooist ‘Nugget’, is not to be dismissed as they explain their new direction where ‘people who f**k up will be kicked out.’
The club all-but collapsed in 2015 after police raided 20 Finks properties and arrested 17 members, charging them with everything from drugs and weapons offences to extortion attempts and planning a kidnapping.
The club, and particularly the troubled Ringwood chapter, were struggling financially under the weight of mounting legal fees and had a ‘bad boy’ reputation across Melbourne.
‘Nugget’ keeps his own tattoos covered with long sleeves – the tattooist used to be a member of the Rebels club
Close-up photos of Moe’s face tattoos show a spider’s web on his nose and tribal tattoos on his hairline
BJ, pictured, explained how he had to come across from Perth to take the reins when the club started to fail
BJ explained how he had to come across from Perth to take the reins.
‘It took 18 months to get it right – and it was the hardest thing I have ever done – cleaning out the club here,’ he said.
The former Victorian members have been replaced by members from interstate, with new blood and riders from other clubs.
Nugget, who refuses to follow the bold face-tattoo look adopted by many of his colleagues, wears long sleeves over his heavily-inked arms.
He has a neatly styled goatee, and a bald head. But wears the Finks colours with pride – despite once believing he would never join another club after leaving the Rebels.
The former Victorian members have been replaced by members from interstate, with new blood and riders from other clubs
The club all-but collapsed in 2015 after police raided 20 Finks properties and arrested 17 members
The club now has 54 members in Victoria – and 20 men on their way to getting colours
Nugget, who refuses to follow the bold face-tattoo look adopted by many of his colleagues, wears long sleeves over his heavily-inked arms
‘I lost a lot the first time I got into a motorcycle club – but I took a long time looking at what BJ was doing and joined him. I wouldn’t have done that if the change wasn’t real.’
BJ and Nugget say only time will tell if their new approach will work, but they’re hoping their ‘higher standards’ will help keep out criminals ‘attracted to the club for the wrong reason’.
They claim the days of police pulling their members over to allegedly find ‘a boot full of meth, steroids and cash’ are over – ending when the notorious Ringwood Clubhouse was shut down.
The club now has 54 members in Victoria – and 20 men on their way to getting colours.
But they also expect to attract new recruits from other states, particularly NSW and Queensland, where members have been hit hard by anti-bikie legislation.
‘People from Sydney might find it a bit easier to ride with us,’ BJ said.
‘It took 18 months to get it right – and it was the hardest thing I have ever done – cleaning out the club here,’ he said
The tattoo on his hand is ‘a girl in a burka’ or ‘a girl in a balaclava’ depending on how he feels
All Finks members must ride a bike – but they are given a grace period if they fall on hard tomes – or lose their licence
The Finks national run was held in Victoria over the weekend with 246 members taking part. There were no arrests
‘You are not going to be able to stop bike clubs – and if you force them into hiding they will automatically be doing something wrong when they meet – so where does it stop.’
BJ admits ‘the way he looks’ has caught the attention of the police – who ‘followed him’ and the other new senior club members when they first moved into the city.
‘They didn’t trust us because of what had happened before – I got pulled over more than ten times a day – but they have laid off because we haven’t done anything wrong.’
High ranking club members from NSW have recently been hit with drug charges following investigations by police. The Melbourne members said they couldn’t comment on the Sydney man’s arrest and will ‘focus on keeping their own boys out of trouble’.
The Finks national run was held in Victoria over the weekend with 246 members taking part. There were no arrests.
BJ and Nugget say only time will tell if their new approach will work, but they’re hoping their ‘higher standards’ will help keep out criminals ‘attracted to the club for the wrong reason’
‘You are not going to be able to stop bike clubs – and if you force them into hiding they will automatically be doing something wrong when they meet – so where does it stop,’ BJ said (Moe pictured)