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BQ Sports is Happy to Adorn Your Motorcycle Vest

If you live or hang out in North Brooklyn—or anywhere in the city for that matter—you’ll notice the clubs. Motorcycle clubs, that is: gatherings of bikers on hogs and Harleys, Vespas and mo-peds, parked outside of bars and taking over the streets of New York. And if you’re a Greenpointer, chances are you’ll see them in spades outside of BQ Sports Inc., a small family-owned Manhattan Avenue establishment just north of McCarren Park that secretly—and expertly—specializes in adorning New York’s finest motorcycle clubs with their exclusive attire.
Founded by the Ha family, the modestly sized BQ Sports Inc. is now run by George and Kathy Ha, and their trusty employee Woody King, who has worked at the shop since its first opening. Like any other sporting goods store, the Has sell everything from shin guards to baseball bats, goggles to basketballs—but their specialty is embroidery. BQ designs and creates elementary, high school and college sports uniforms for teams across Brooklyn, Queens and beyond. However, a great many of the Has clients are not affiliated with sports teams, and certainly aren’t ordering Letterman jackets: they are members of various motorcycle and social clubs, who visit the Has—some on a regular basis—to have them create intricate patches for their vests, which function like a makeshift uniform of sorts.
“Clubs usually come in with art and tell us the colors they want us to use and we digitize the image and turn it into a patch,” Kathy Ha said. “They tell me their colors, and we make it happen.”
Over the years the Has have embroidered vests and created patches for more than 200 clubs all over New York City and State, and serving even those as far away as Florida, Texas, North and South Carolinas, Georgia, even California.
“It’s fun for us,” Ha continued. “We’re blessed to deal with these people, they are super nice. Many of the clubs we work with do good deeds in the neighborhood, and our customers are loyal. Some we’ve been working with for fifteen years.”
According to Karen and King, George Ha is the master of the craft, and is well-known throughout the motorcycle and social club community as one of the best in the business.

“It’s a good challenge for us, because every design is different,” King said. “Our designs are done to perfection because George is so meticulous and detailed.”
Between outfitting international celebrities and creating costumes for high-profile films and television shows—many of which are filmed in Greenpoint—the Has have their work cut out for them, and though motorcycle clubs have been around as long as any motorcycle-enthusiast can remember there has been a rapid and distinct increase in organized club culture in the last year.
“In difficult times like this, people want to come together and form a group, they want to try and unify,” Ha said. “That’s what the colors are for: to create unity within a club. There are new clubs coming out daily—motorcycle clubs, car clubs, social clubs, even bicycle clubs—and known clubs are getting new members all the time. We’ve got projects piling up!”
“People are starting to notice the trend, and want to be a part of it. I think people like having cliques,” King continued. “They want to belong, to be a part of something bigger.”