Meet Ashlee Haeri, founder of Pozer Magazine

MEET ASHLEE Haeri

FOUNDER OF POZER MAGAZINE

Some things don’t start with a master plan. They start with a spark, a call-out, or someone underestimating you. That’s how Pozer Magazine was born. What began with one woman being talked down to about her own bike turned into a full-on rejection of gatekeeping, performative “support,” and the tired idea that there’s only room for a few women in the chopper world.

In this edition of Highway Diaries, we talk with founder Ashlee Haeri about why Pozer had to exist, what it means to stand your ground in a space that often tries to push you out, and how she’s rewriting what community should actually look like– without compromise.

And in case you need one more reason to snag Volume 3: this issue features Litas from across the collective. Keep reading for a peek at the badass babes coming to you in print in the next edition of Pozer.

ORIGIN STORY:

6 years ago, I was in the process of planning my 1988 Evo Sportster 1200 build that already had a hardtailed frame, front end, handle bars, springer seat and p-pad. When I had posted a photo of it online, a guy (who shall not be named) messaged me and asked what I was planning on doing with my bike (and on a date that I kindly said “no” to). I listed a few parts I was thinking of putting on, one being a springer front end. He then said “do you mean a sprinter front end?” and I replied “no, I mean a springer front end.” He then continued to tell me I was wrong. As someone who was new to the names of particular parts, I questioned my knowledge and believed him.

When it came time to start building my chopper, I mentioned to Jake (who owns Highwayman Co. in Oceanside, CA) and my good friend Andy that I wanted “a… sprinter front end?” I hesitated to say it. The boys laughed and corrected me, saying “it’s called a springer front end.” Even I knew how obvious that was, because it’s in the damn name! It has a spring. (If you’re curious, I didn't end up putting a springer front end on my bike.)

It was at that moment I realized two things: one being that men took women as a joke; and the second, that there weren't women to turn to for help. There were a few well-known women at the time, but they had no interest in helping. So, I thought it would be great if there were women interested in helping other women. I did a lot of research and found that there wasn’t an all-women choppers publication, let alone images of real women in print who ride the bike they’re posing with. That was when Pozer was born.

The Litas Humboldt founder Erin Taylor, photographed by @ryanchardsmithphoto

THE NAME:

Contrary to what many people think, the name Pozer has absolutely nothing to do with posing in front of a camera. Pozer is a play on the word “poser.” Everyone is so quick to call someone a poser for being new to any scene, when they were at one point, by definition, a poser. Now, everyone who has been featured or a part of the company proudly calls themselves “a Pozer.” I was able to turn a word that was made to be an insult, to a word of endearment.

IN PRINT:

Something to note is our magazines are meant to be limited-edition coffee table books. Volume 3 is 161 pages. The other two volumes also have well over 100 pages. We use premium paper, not standard magazine stock paper, so Pozer has its own identity and look.

One of the main reasons Pozer is print-only is to keep print alive by keeping it old school. When I launched this magazine, there were only a handful of print-only chopper publications, and none of them had a digital version. Over the past year and a half, I’ve seen a big rise in online-only magazines, or digizines.

The other reason it’s important for me to stay print-only is so that women who ride, or want to ride in the future, can see these incredible riders and have someone to look up to. We’re creating history here at Pozer Magazine, and I’m honored to be living it.

“**If Pozer was a person, she would be sassy, understanding, loud, genuine, humorous, and patient.**”

THE HIGHS:

It’s so hard to say what my all-time favorite feature would be. They all have such unique stories and bring different things to the table that we need in this community.

There are two moments that instantly come to mind. The very first moment was producing and directing the big shoots in Volume 1. There were two major productions we had planned, and I was on set for them both. All of the women had custom made clothes that I helped design for them. The production was huge and took 2 days to photograph each shoot. It’s definitely one of my favorite productions of all time.

The second memory that comes to mind is the Volume 1 launch party event in Austin, Texas. Pretty much all the girls from Volume 1 and our friends flew out to be there. It does give me chills when I talk about it. I still get slightly emotional, because I saw everything I was hoping to accomplish come to life. Here was a community that showed up and supported everything Pozer stands for.

ON COMMUNITY:

I’m going to be very candid here. I have been completely turned off by that word. When I first launched Pozer Magazine, I knew it would be a challenge. What I didn’t expect was how much Volume 3 would challenge me. With this volume in particular, I had to make some tough business decisions to make sure everyone involved was truly aligned with Pozer’s values. Not everyone did, and that’s okay. When I made the tough decision to terminate a feature, the word community was used to weaponize against me. I was targeted, and it was apparently in the name of “community.” So, I now have a hard time with that word. Community doesn’t tear each other apart and down. It’s supposed to uplift and empower. Community isn’t self-serving.

Knowing me and how I do things, I’ll probably come up with a new word for community, but for now, I call it Pozer.

MAKING OF:

[Something people might not realize about making an indie mag] is just how much sheer manpower it takes to actually sustain a publication. Another would be just learning how print even works. You need to sit down and teach yourself the verbiage to communicate with printers so they can print your content properly and how to even create a magazine using InDesign, which is the official professional software used to create a book or magazine. These are things that people go to a 4-year college to learn.

There are definitely shortcuts you can take to make a magazine. But those are ways anyone could do, it doesn’t take specific skill. There’s pre-designed magazine templates you can buy; you can use Chat GPT/AI operated magazine apps (which I am very against); you can use printing companies that provide you generic sizes of a magazine with limited options of paper. However, that won’t set you apart from all the people who are now starting to print within the community. It really depends on your goal with the magazine and company.

The Litas Colorado Springs founder Whitney Sixx, photographed by @35mm.moto

ON THE ROAD:

So far, my favorite place I've ridden to was Arizona. Those red rocks are breathtaking and unreal. It’s definitely the furthest I've ridden so far.

Things changed a lot when I went down on my bike and tore my meniscus. But my dream still is to ride to North Carolina and back. I didn’t get to ride in North Carolina when I lived there, because I was still in the process of shipping my bike. But once I have the manpower to be able to take that kind of time away from Pozer, it’s on baby.

NEXT UP:

Volume 3 is going to launch in about 2 months or less. However, there are two more projects I'm really excited about that both involve Whintey, who founded The Litas Colorado Springs.

In production right now is the new Pozer Zone digizine series. What makes it different from Pozer Magazine is that it’s coed. The reason being is there’s a lot of women that work with men– shop owners, for example. There’s a lot of couples that run it together. Another reason is people in bands, which is usually a mix of women and men. I’m trying to have a little more diversity without compromising the integrity of the magazine.

Kande Wharf, photographed by @rencreativphoto

A LITTLE ADVICE:

Just do it. The worst that can happen is that you fail. However, I truly believe that there is no success without failure. So might as well do it!