Bosozoku: Japanese Biker Gangs

Estevan Oriol is a Mexican-American photographer made legendary by his work featuring brilliant black and white photos of Los Angeles urban, low-rider and gang culture. His new book, Bosozoku, collects both color and black and white photos featuring the Japanese youth motorcycle subculture known as ‘Bosozoku’. Devotees ride insanely customized motorcycles, mainly Japanese road bikes, embellished with extravagant paint jobs and super-modified, often illegal mufflers. Bosozoku motorcycles offer an aesthetic nod to American chopper culture, but with a highly unique look found only in Japan. This collection is a culmination of Oriol’s photographs captured during many trips to Japan over the past 20 years. This celebrated photographer’s oeuvre also includes portraits of celebrities such as Eminem, Kim Kardashian, Blink 182, Rancid, Cypress Hill and many others.