Hayden Tahau, a former patched member of the Aotearoa Natives gang, died following an accident in the Manawatu town of Bulls on Thursday night.
The Aotearoa Natives are a newer gang who lack a reputation in comparison to more established gangs like the Head Hunters, sociologist and gang expert Dr Jarrod Gilbert told Newshub.
Mr Tahau decided to upgrade his gang membership by joining the Australian Rebels MC club - the largest gang in Australia, which is trying to establish a foothold in NZ by patching over our smaller gangs.
However Mr Tahau's time in the Australian gang would be short-lived.
On March 24th the 26-year-old decided to flee police on his motorcycle after failing to stop, but police called off the pursuit because of the high speed he was travelling just north of Bulls.
Mr Tahau then lost control of his bike and collided with a car on Bridge Street.
He was airlifted to Palmerston North Hospital in a critical condition where he died on Friday.
The Facebook site Gangs of New Zealand posted a photo of his funeral, showing patched members of the Aotearoa Natives gang and the Rebels MC gang standing side by side as Mr Tahau's body was lowered to his final resting place.
The last photo Mr Tahau posted on his own Facebook page was an update of his profile picture showing him riding his motorcycle.
"Hearty my cuz. Bike must have too much power, hahahah [sic]," one person commented, prophetically.
There is also a photo showing Mr Tahau standing in his Aotearoa Natives jacket alongside a patched member of the Rebels MC gang.