During her young adulthood, she attended Chico State College (California) studying Archaeology during the day, and performed strip tease burlesque shows at night. But besides all that, she was an avid motorcyclist. Her show business savvy, undoubtedly passed on from her mother and father’s time performing Adagio dances in vaudeville, paid for her education. Patti’s ballet training combined with her love for two wheels made her a very interesting act indeed, earning her the title “the doll with sex-oomph” through the early 1950s.
When asked what she wanted for her future, she said, “four kids- and lots of motorcycles”.
Taking the name Patti Brownell, her second marriage was to a well known and loved motorcycle racer Bill Brownell. Bill was inducted into the Indian Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Massachusetts in 1999.
She strips and roars! “Patti Brownell is a night-club stripper by night and a keen motor-cyclist by day.” Not a whole lot of information on Patti’s motorcycle racing history is available, besides tidbits on a few random magazine scans from back in the day. The page below elaborates on her motorcycling experience saying that she’s been “winning trophies for motorcycle riding since she was 14.”
“Bumps are nothing new to luscious Patti- either on a motorcycle or in the strip tease profession.”
Patti with Larry Hedrich, motorcycle racer
Pop by pattiwaggin.com for more details on this dancin’ and ridin’ lass.
I’m so excited to announce the project that I’ve been working on for two years… a book all about badass motorcycling women! In the MotoLady’s Book of Women Who Ride you’ll meet 74 of the most influencial motorcyclists of the last century. Motorcycle heroes, trailblazers, and record-breakers like Jessi Combs, Shayna Texter, Laia Sanz, Gloria Tramontin-Struck, the Van Buren sisters, and more can be found inside the 184 pages of this hard cover book celebrating motorcycling women!
Posted on November 20, 2014 in MotoLadies, News & Features by Alicia Mariah Elfving