A 7-year-old girl was simply trying to ride her bike when things took a turn, leaving her upset. A pack of bikers quickly stormed her neighborhood, pulling up with a bold message. The little girl never saw this coming.
Alexandria Reynolds of Toledo, Ohio, wasn’t exactly sure why her daughter Audrianna was struggling at school, but she had a good idea. The 7-year-old loved bikes. Specifically, she wanted to ride her dirt bike whenever she could — something not many girls her age are known to do.
After simply riding her bike in her neighborhood, Audrianna started getting a hard time from her peers. Things only got worse as the torment intensified. For over a year, the first grader at Marshall Elementary School was bullied. “It could be part of it that she is a tomboy, but who knows,” her mother told ABC13. Whatever the reason, Alexandria knew she needed help to stop the bullying Audrianna was experiencing.
Her daughter’s love for dirt bikes and motorcycles inspired Alexandria to enlist the help of “The Punishers,” a law enforcement motorcycle club in Toledo. “The Punishers” gladly accepted, storming into the neighborhood with a bold message: Bullying wouldn’t be tolerated.
While the members of this biker club might look dark and dangerous — which is good for deterring bullies — they are actually far from it. Instead, these rough and tumble guys have big hearts, especially for little kids who are being mercilessly harassed at school. Make no mistake, though, these guys are tough — but only on bullying.
“[Her mom] asked if we would send a birthday card. Just so [Audrianna] knew there were still good people out there. I told her we would do much better than that,” recalled Daniel Bushey, president of “The Punishers.” The motorcycle club decked Audrianna out with a vest and pink helmet, but that’s not all.
“The first thing we thought of was trying to help her in any way we could,” Bushey said. “We got her a vest and told her to think of us like her uncles and she is part of our family now and if she needs anything, let us know,” he added.
The group, which is made up of service members and first responders, formed a special bond with Audrianna the moment they met her. And, words of encouragement weren’t the only message these guys were there to send. The bikers all banded together to surprise Audrianna with a ride to school on a motorcycle. “We hung out for about an hour, and then, we gave her a ride to school,” Bushey said.
Seeing the 7-year-old pull up with bikers flanking her on all sides was certainly a great way to let her peers know this girl was far from lame for loving bikes. Her hobby was actually pretty cool. I highly doubt any of Audrianna’s bullies were eager to look these bikers in the face and poke fun at them over their pastime. Hopefully, it strummed up their own curiosity about bikes — something they too can bond with their classmate over.
“I want parents to know that if your child is being bullied, just do any and everything possible to make them feel special. Every child is beautiful,” said Alexandria Reynolds. “We were just trying to uplift her spirits and let her know that not everybody is mean and there are plenty of nice people in the world,” she explained. “The guys have really done a wonderful job at helping us.” And, they don’t seem to mind one bit.
According to Bushey, “Any chance we get, we help kids out. We do it in a heartbeat.” Having a biker gang called “The Punishers” show up to say no to bullying at your school is definitely a great help for those kids like Audrianna who often quietly suffer through it. All Audrianna wants is for people to learn to be nice and not bully others. Hopefully, that message was heard loud and clear with the rumble of those motorcycle engines.
