Former Hells Angels Chicago president Mel Chancey described on the Shawn Ryan Show how a decision by his former club to align with the Hells Angels helped ignite a violent conflict with the Outlaws, beginning with the killing of Rockford, Illinois, club president Lamont “Monte” Mathias.
Speaking with former Navy SEAL and podcaster Shawn Ryan, Chancey said the killing of Mathias marked the first major act of violence in what he described as a six-year war between the rival motorcycle clubs. His account was not casual or distant; it came across as the memory of a younger man who believed he was ready for what was coming, only to later understand how dangerous the decision really was.
Chancey explained that he had been part of the Hell’s Henchmen before the group began discussions about patching over to the Hells Angels, which at the time had no real presence in the Midwest. The Outlaws, by contrast, were deeply established across the region, and Chancey said everyone involved understood that the move would be seen as a direct challenge.
A Decision That Changed Everything
Ryan asked Chancey about the process of the Hell’s Henchmen becoming Hells Angels, noting that he would have expected some members to feel offended by the idea of folding into a larger organization rather than keeping their own club identity.
Chancey said there was resistance from some members, but the club put the matter to a vote, and a two-thirds majority carried the decision. Those who did not want to continue simply left the Hell’s Henchmen rather than prospect for the Hells Angels.
According to Chancey, the younger members were drawn to the size, reputation, and structure of the Hells Angels. They saw the Hells Angels as “the premier motorcycle gang in the world,” and they believed the affiliation would place them inside the most powerful club network in that world.
Still, the decision came with an obvious risk. Chancey told Ryan that the Hells Angels members they were speaking with made it clear the Outlaws were not going to simply accept a rival club entering the Midwest.
“They knew what we were getting ready to go through,” Chancey said, explaining that the Hells Angels understood the Outlaws would not “roll over” and welcome them into Chicago, Rockford, or Indiana.
Looking back, Chancey admitted they did not truly grasp what was coming. At the time, he said, they believed they understood the danger, but that belief was shaped by youth, pride, and the momentum of the decision they had already made.
“See You When We See Us”
Chancey recalled a meeting with members of the Outlaws after word spread that the Hell’s Henchmen were prospecting for the Hells Angels.
He said several members from each side sat down at a restaurant, where the Outlaws asked whether the rumor was true. Chancey, who was sergeant-at-arms at the time rather than president, said the Hell’s Henchmen president answered directly that it was not a rumor and that they were, in fact, prospecting for the Hells Angels.
According to Chancey, the Outlaws did not scream, threaten, or start a fight in the restaurant. Instead, they pushed back their chairs, stood up, and one of them said, “See you when we see us.”
That line stayed with him.
Chancey told Ryan he remembered looking into the eyes of one Outlaws member from Janesville, Wisconsin, and realizing the situation had shifted. He described thinking they needed to “tie our shoes up” because things were about to become real.
It is one of the more revealing parts of the interview because it shows how quickly symbolism and territory could become deadly in that world. The patch was not just clothing, and the club affiliation was not just a social choice; to those involved, it represented control, loyalty, reputation, and territory.
Monte Mathias Became The First Target
As the Hell’s Henchmen were still prospecting for the Hells Angels, Chancey said the Outlaws struck first by killing Lamont “Monte” Mathias, the longtime Rockford president.
Chancey described Mathias as a blue-collar man, a motorcycle shop owner, a drag racer, and someone he had been close to when he was younger. He said Mathias had taken him under his wing and helped show him what brotherhood meant inside that club world.
Because Mathias ran a bike shop, Chancey said, he was easier to find than some of the other members who were not tied to a workplace every day. That made him vulnerable in a way that others were not.
Chancey said the attackers first confirmed Mathias was inside the shop and alone. He described one man going in, buying spark plugs, leaving, and telling the others Mathias was there by himself.
Then, according to Chancey’s account, the man went back inside.
The Killing Inside The Bike Shop
Ryan asked directly how Mathias was killed, and Chancey answered in detail, saying the account was later documented in court after arrests and cooperation in a broader case.
Chancey said Mathias appeared to sense something was wrong when the man returned to the shop, allegedly claiming the spark plugs would not fit. According to Chancey, the man then pulled a .45-caliber pistol and shot Mathias in the shoulder and chest area.
Mathias was behind the counter when the shooting began, but Chancey said he did not simply collapse. Instead, despite being hit, Mathias fought back, grabbed the attacker, and lifted him off his feet.
Chancey said Mathias managed to turn the gun back toward the attacker, but as he fired, the rounds went past the man rather than into him. Once the gun was empty, the fight continued.
At that point, Chancey said, the attacker grabbed a screwdriver from the counter and stabbed Mathias repeatedly around the neck. Believing Mathias was dying or dead, the attacker tried to flee through the back of the shop, but Chancey said the overhead doors were pinned and he could not get out that way.
The man then had to run back through the shop, where Chancey said Mathias, badly wounded and losing blood, tripped him again. Chancey said the attacker fell into the blood on the floor, grabbed the screwdriver again, and “finished the job.”
It is a brutal account, and even in retelling it years later, Chancey framed the killing as both personal and strategic. Mathias was not just another member; in Chancey’s telling, he was a respected leader, a mentor figure, and one of the people pushing the Rockford chapter toward becoming Hells Angels.
A Call From A Pay Phone
Chancey said he learned about the killing through a 911 page, a reminder of how different the communications world was during that era. He said he stopped at a pay phone, called back, and was told Mathias had been found murdered at his shop.
From there, Chancey said members jumped into vehicles and drove to Rockford, where the scene was already overwhelmed with police. They could not get near the bike shop, but the news moved quickly through the club.
Chancey described Mathias as the first person killed after the decision to move toward the Hells Angels, and he said the murder made clear that the conflict had escalated beyond bar fights or posturing.
In his words, the Outlaws went “right to the heart of it” by targeting a known leader.
The detail that stands out is that Mathias had not yet received the Hells Angels patch in life. Chancey said the Hell’s Henchmen were still prospects at the time, but Mathias was later buried with Hells Angels colors.
To Chancey, that meant Mathias became the first Hells Angel made in that conflict, even though the transition had not formally finished before his death.
The War Begins
Ryan summed up the moment by saying the six-year war began there, and Chancey agreed.
Chancey did not pretend, at least in this interview, that the younger version of himself would have chosen differently if warned by the older version. He told Ryan that his younger self probably would have dismissed the warning and pushed forward anyway, because they had already decided who they were going to be and what they were going to do.
That kind of reflection gives the interview its weight. Chancey was not simply recounting violence for shock value; he was describing how pride, identity, loyalty, and ambition drove men into a conflict they thought they understood until the bodies started falling.
The killing of Lamont “Monte” Mathias, as Chancey told it, was the moment when the threat stopped being theoretical. The restaurant warning, the old rivalry, the territorial tension, and the club politics all turned into something irreversible inside a Rockford bike shop.
Ryan’s interview did not soften the ugliness of that world, and Chancey’s account made clear that the cost of belonging was far higher than the younger men around him first believed. In the years since, Chancey has described leaving that life, returning to faith, and rebuilding himself around family, discipline, and redemption, but this story remains part of the history he carries.
It is also a reminder that behind the mythology of outlaw motorcycle clubs are real people, real deaths, and decisions that can echo for decades.
Ed spent his childhood in the backwoods of Maine, where harsh winters taught him the value of survival skills. With a background in bushcraft and off-grid living, Ed has honed his expertise in fire-making, hunting, and wild foraging. He writes from personal experience, sharing practical tips and hands-on techniques to thrive in any outdoor environment. Whether it’s primitive camping or full-scale survival, Ed’s advice is grounded in real-life challenges.
