The Real Chopper Read: Part 1 - Man or Myth

The notorious Mark Brandon "Chopper" Read is a name we associate with crime and violence in Australian society. While Chopper himself has confessed to a number of horrific crimes, how much of it was true?
In this two-part Crime Insiders special, we meet his first manager, Andrew Roper, who explains the beginning of Chopper's rise to fame.
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00:00 - Intro
00:53 - Aaron Jeffrey on portraying Chopper Read
03:57 - Chopper Read gets a manager
11:01 - Branding Chopper Read
17:25 - Problems at home
24:15 - Outro

[@surechautauqua1296]

Prefer Chopper to Roger Rogerson any day. Listening to Rogerson in those Pub tours would’ve just shit me. At least Chopper was making the best of his abilities and hand that was dealt him in life. Rogerson was a disgrace.

[@JamesDio-yu5yd]

How did he punk us he said, "Don't let the truth get in the way of a good story "

[@rumplestiltzkin5451]

Havin a beer with chopper & a mate - I didn't hardly utter a word. His reputation preceded him. He was really a character with the gift of the gob. I was shittin meself for no reason! Power perceived is power achieved

[@steviejhall8721]

Legend

[@paddyc9653]

From Scotland. Chopper, Ned and then whoever. Only Aussie crims most of us know off. Well done mark,, you’re on the list ya mad bstrd yea.

[@garyrigby21]

i'm from Liverpool UK so i'm hardly gonna be impressed by Chopper when i grew up knowing blokes like this

[@Trailhiker1]

Yep. You's have Purple Aki instead

[@dollyG1968]

Chopper was an absolute legend- he was a beauty

[@jase4270]

He was also Australia's biggest nark

[@stoneworx09]

​@@jase4270and big on telling his cell mates stories as his own

[@willmoore7582]

What a guy. Of all the criminals in the world, I would love to have met and bought this guy a beer (VB probably) 😉

[@Dan_themaestro]

I did meet him and did in fact buy him a VB 😂 Funny guy for sure

[@popcornshiner3937]

Yeah the brain washed

[@FeralVG]

Heath Franklin packed Bendigo’s Capital Theatre in April 2012 with his Chopper show but Chopper Reid’s show was refused at a Bendigo pub because of the potential backlash. Chopper wasn’t pleased.

[@cameronheidelauf9623]

I am glad that I have met the real mark chopper read himself and I gotten a picture taken with me and himself standing together it was at sexpo in Melbourne

[@paddyc9653]

What was he like proper. Av seen his books and few others, seems a decent guy just lost looking for a pal.

[@geoffhipwell2198]

​@@paddyc9653 In those books he mentions being mates some 'heavy' people. Most were buddies of mine here in Sydney. Chopper was a Melbourne boy. Most of them say that they've never met him!! Make your own conclusion.

[@user-pq2no9uh8d]

Heavies..? My ass.. My uncle..(My mum's middle brother).. 2 tours of duty in Vietnam '66..'67.. A true fucking mad man in his day,even approached by Dennis Allen to be one of soldiers.. Gave Fuckwit Flannery a warning he would never forget either..

[@jamesmoran5192]

Chopper Read is a hero to millions of people.

[@mikeoz4803]

Thats because millions of people are dumb! Read was a psychotic liar & thug! end of story!

[@shawn93564]

He Survived and had a giggle of a shit life and made the best of it , as you do if you want to live 😂😂👍🇦🇺🤘🏼🤘🏼🍺🍺🍺💯

[@vinrin9735]

Yes Wright ON

[@ChucklesMcGurk]

A violent father and a strict schizophrenic mother, what do you expect is going to turn out?

[@user-vg5rv5xf4u]

Do one on Dennis Allen mate!

[@Evileyeboris]

I did some tine with chopper back in pentridge in the 80s..not much but some. Lets just say that he was different, had a few links missing. He only targeted the ones who highlighted themselves..

[@Nugzz187]

The russian roulette with the reporter was classic TV through

[@Phillip-tw8qe]

Chopper," bigger than Ned Kelly"? Seriously??

[@willmachado1]

Ned was only 71kgs, Chopper was 100kg +

[@mickeysmiths]

Chopper.. a jewel amongst gravel 👍

[@jasonstewart6192]

He's no where near as big as Ned Kelly, about a %

[@Nugzz187]

Never let the truth get in the way of a good yarn 😂😂😂

[@cjod33]

Chopper never persuaded the nation that he was a criminal genius, he was always straight up about his history. "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story " M B Reid. Fact is , some of it was true, some not, some exaggerated. He was a character with knack for spining a yarn. Do you honestly believe that all underbelly series are 100% accurate? Hope not.

[@robertbenz2581]

Maybe he knew Wolfe Blass… or something 😮

[@michaelwaters69]

He never let the truth get in the way of a good story,….

[@undefinedfirstnameundefine7820]

Loved shand's book!

[@LiSTNRCrime]

So did we!

[@undefinedfirstnameundefine7820]

@@LiSTNRCrime He kinda ruined the Chopper myth for me which was a bit sad but I still loved it! lol

[@vinrin9735]

If your looking for chopper only tape of him talking it all been said before from the loneRanger bang bang

[@billyshane3804]

Copper Read

[@MediaMAC871]

Always the story teller . . . Maybe that’s better ?

[@leedsutd-pq6kh]

His dogs call Ron and Reg.

[@luanzeka9846]

I knew Mark he was 1 of many guys in the old Nik in Coburg I nor liked, or disliked, I treat ppl how they treat me the guy if you knew Prison Culture in the 90s or earlier he was just another bloke indeed. I met alot ego Binse, Maladanich, even phat Carl Williams, Mark was no different, infact took the idea of the English Crooks have been writing Biography for decades & Mark took Aussie Based approach, before his book I didn't no who he was. Someone had his book in Torana YTC that's it.

[@davechristian7543]

R u sure about that 'that hes more famous than Ned kelly n just so u no he didnt even write the book lol but he did tell on ppl we all no that one my friend #pmsl. ( him or wat he portrays in his book isnt anything like a modern day ned kelly, u might think so but no one els does lol

[@Aussie-des420]

True 😂

[@broderickwallis25]

'ear taday, the uva one hone tomorrow

[@roycooper8735]

Of course he was a fake

[@Sloppyjoe7390]

Pfft get real buddy about as fake as you

[@Auty1973]

Wot about Neville Facking Bartoss

[@popcornshiner3937]

He is nothing more than a showman, He just thought he would make a persosona of a crazy guy, He was just full of himself and that is all that mattered to him, he never killed anyone and is all a show. but He did make me laugh

[@David-xx4xq]

I've knocked more than 40 why ain't I famous 🤔

[@David-xx4xq]

Man or myth 🤣😂 more like, Muppet or Puppet 🤣😂

[@chrisclark010266]

You milked Uncle Chop Chop and drank waine

[@broderickwallis25]

.

[@anthonysinclair154]

Funny how nobody talked smack about him when he was still alive hey. And the so called gangsters he talked smack about just smiled and hid under their rocks until they got put under granite headstones. The Chopper I met on a few occasions was a great bloke and a gentleman to my mother. God bless him I say.

[@baabaabaa-yp2jh]

That's not 100% true mate, there's a few gd reasons why he got outa Dodge (Melb) and went to Tassie... They just didn't write it down and whack it in a book.

[@s.morrison2126]

Reid was given evening therapy on a daily basis...kick ups, doors banging, screaming. Along with Mr Stinky, Paul Haigh and Peter Allan Reid, Mark Reid got revved up more often than not. He sided with the enemy and was called out for it. Oh and hid in the laundry!

[@Sloppyjoe7390]

How fucking dare you talk down on uncle chop chop!

[@pkune5158]

Chopper was a absolute clown, Nothing more then that.

[@666dualsport]

how boring

[@grahamchilds821]

A fake

[@Take_NotesSuperHooverweight]

Of course he wasn't a fake!!!! Who's speaking this rubbish??

[@dds94]

He was

[@geoffhipwell2198]

He was 'full of it'.

[@user-lu6kw5bb6z]

And an extra shovel full beyond that....

[@user-ee7fi7pv5t]

Come From Possilpark Glasgow, If CHOPPER Went There, He, Would Be A Minnow, Amongst Sharks, They Pushed People Like CHOPPER Out Of The Way, To Get Into The Fight.❤😂

[@SHEEPFETTISH]

www.youtube.com/@JamesDio-yu5yd Was that Mark Twain?