Rufio Vasquez our favorite biker comes from a Chicano background of tough love.
His mother, Sylvia Vasquez was diagnosed with Cancer when Rufio was only 6 years old.
“I lived my entire life not knowing if I would have a mother” he said.
According to Rufio he grew up in an environment where he had to be a strong young man. Growing up without a father and a mother who was battling cancer, Rufio as well as his brother and sisters had to become tougher than your average kids.
Silvia is a 6 time cancer survivor.
“Strong as coffin nails” Rufio calls her.
“She wasn’t necessarily there to pick me up off the ground, she taught me how to pick myself up.”
Sylvia is the kind of mother that always encourages her children to be who they want to be. According to Rufio she taught them that if they wanted to be different they had to deal with the consequences. Rufio knows the consequences very well as he is perceived as a dangerous biker by most.
“I always went my own path, with that comes being perceived as wrong or different.”
The combination of a tough exterior and a passionate open-minded individual comes from a healthy relationship with his mother Sylvia. Growing up, Rufio tells us that he kept no secrets from his mother some of them being, his first fight in school and the first time he had sex. He lived in a home where he didn’t have to hide who he was.
Tears were pouring down Sylvia’s face when Rufio graduated from bootcamp and became a United States Marine. After so many years of not knowing wether his mother would survive her battle with cancer Rufio tells us that he accomplished what he wanted the most in life, to make his mother proud.
“I know I made her proud.” He says.
But the journey is not over yet.
“I have to continue to be the man she wants me to be.”
