Silver Stars M.C.

The Silver Stars Motorcycle/Leather Club was founded in Milwaukee in June 1973 as a gay motorcycle and leather club. The organization was closely associated with the Wreck Room, one of Milwaukee’s best-known leather bars and an important gathering place for the city’s gay motorcycle and leather community.

In September 1975, a subsidiary of Silver Star M.C. Inc. published the first issue of G Milwaukee, a local publication created to provide news, social information, and community activities for Milwaukee’s gay community. The publication welcomed contributions on “anything of interest” to local gay readers and offered a glimpse into the social world of Milwaukee’s LGBTQ community in the mid-1970s.

The inaugural issue covered a wide range of topics. It included information about venereal diseases, advice on relationships and leather culture, a Children’s Christmas Drive, a letter from a newer Silver Stars member, and a local directory listing 12 bars and two bathhouses. G Milwaukee reflected the growing need for community-based publications at a time when mainstream media rarely covered Milwaukee’s gay community.

By the late 1970s, divisions had developed within the Silver Stars. In 1981, some members left the organization to establish a rival motorcycle club, Castaways M.C. The split eventually created a clear division between the two organizations. Silver Stars later prohibited dual membership, meaning members of Castaways could no longer simultaneously belong to Silver Stars.

The Silver Stars Motorcycle/Leather Club ceased to exist as an organization by the early 1980s. Despite its relatively short history, the club was part of Milwaukee’s emerging gay motorcycle and leather community during the 1970s and contributed to the development of the city's broader LGBTQ social network.