ISSUE 01 | JANUARY 2020
BC: Are you a part of any riding clubs?
AH: No, I am not a part of any riding club.
BC: If not riding, then which other sport or field you
would have taken up?
AH: I Honestly don't know
BC: What's your high and low phase in life?
AH: Life is never so easy. We keep going through a
lot of high & low phases in life in terms of riding,
personal life, family, etc. There's nothing specific
that I can mention since my life has always been a
struggle, but I enjoy it a lot because I get to learn a
lot from it.
BC: What's your point of view about riders and
riders community in India? Especially Riding
Clubs?
AH: I am not a fan of riding club or community
culture. It's chaos for me, so I stay as far as
possible from riding clubs.
a bike doesn't know
your gender
ANAM HASHIM
BC: How different is racing & stunt community than
a tourer bike community?
AH: Since I am not touring motorcyclists so I don't
know much about it, but the racing community has
a lot of support. They have an organization to take
care of things and keep it running, whereas the
stunt community stands weak in terms of unity and
having an organization. Understand riding
community is quiet and professional in our country
because there is no athlete; I know in the country
who doesn't do a wheelie on the road.
BC: Do you think because of social media, many
people have started riding, just for instant fame? Or
you believe riding a motorcycle is becoming a
passion nowadays? Do you think to ride a bike
brings fame?
AH: When I started riding, I just wanted to post what
I am doing so the world can see, but nowadays
motorcycling has become instant fame, especially
for women because of the number of
BIKERS CLUB ® | MAGAZINE | PAGE 16
Female riders on the bike are increasing, which is a
good thing, but I guess we are misusing that as well.
On the other side, riding is becoming a passion
nowadays because a lot of people enjoy riding a
motorcycle. Still, there is a thin line to differentiate in
people who ride a bike for love and who ride a
motorcycle for social media fame. For men, it doesn't
bring fame until and unless they are doing
something unique, but for women in just women face
with a motorcycling brings fame which we all women
cannot deny. But it is also up to women how they
use the motorcycling for what purpose.
BC: We have noticed that there are bikers who are
very famous in social media with fewer rides
whereas, there are many other bikers who have
roamed the entire world on a motorcycle. Still,
nobody knows them (less famous in social media)?
What do you have to say about this?
AH: Some people just ride and do things for social
media, but on the other side, some people do what
they want to do without having thoughts of social
media in the head. So passionate genuine riders
know how to ride on the road, track or stunts. For
them knowing the real skills are more important than
being famous on social media. Even if you talk about
me, I am not very prominent on social media, more
women motorcyclists have ten times more followers
than I have, but I think I don't care about my social
engagement because I know what I am doing, and I
am best at it. I also have the right kind of audience,
people are not following me for my looks or face
only, or because I am a girl, they are following me
because I am the woman who can do stunts or ride a
motorcycle well.
BC: What you have to say about wanna-be riders?
Have you come across any?
AH: I keep crossing paths with wanna-be riders every
time I am on the road. It's quite annoying because
they don't ride safe on the road, and then they put
you and other people around in danger as they try
hanging around you, behind you, ahead of you, to
gain attention. So I try slowing down and let them
pass, or I stop if I see they don't stop.
BC: When you had decided that you want to take
riding as your career, then what was your family's
reaction? We heard that your father was very
supportive!
AH: My family's reaction was not very supportive,
even though my father was the one who taught me
how to ride! Doing stunts was a completely different
ball game. Practically also my father couldn't afford
all these things for me as he is a taxi driver in
Lucknow. At least now, he has grown his business,
and he has more people driving for him, but back in
the time, even if he wanted, my mother didn't let him
support me.