How To Recruit Gang Members in GTA San Andreas

Jam-packed with various fan-favorite features, it’s no wonder that GTA San Andreas became the most beloved entry in the open-world crime series. One of the most popular elements is the gang-related feature, where CJ can recruit homies and attack rival gangs’ territories. Once recruited, fellow Grove Street members will protect CJ against Ballas and cops and perform drive-by shootings when in a car. So, how and what does CJ have to do in GTA San Andreas to be able to recruit gang members as his homies?

GTA San Andreas: What Do You Need to Recruit Gang Members?

To recruit Grove Street gang members to your party in GTA San Andreas is easy. All you have to do is aim at a green shirt-wearing thug and press these specific buttons:

• Console: Hold L2/LT to target a gang member, then press Up on the d-pad.
• PC: Hold the right mouse button, then press the G key.
• Mobile: Aim at a gang member by tapping the “Fire” button lightly. Then tap the “Recruit/Fistbump” button that appears on the top of your screen.

For disbanding the gang member recruits in GTA San Andreas, hold Down on the D-pad for a few seconds if playing on a console. PC players can hold H as the default key and mobile users can tap the “Disband/X” button. Simply abandoning them will also disband your crew. Alternatively, tapping the recruit button will make your homies follow CJ while the disband button will make them wait.

At the start of GTA San Andreas, CJ can only recruit two Grove Street gang members into his posse. As you raise your Respect, you’ll be able to invite more people, with a maximum of seven members at any given time:

• Default GTA San Andreas Respect status: Can recruit two gang members.
• 10% Respect bar: Can recruit three gang members
• 20% Respect bar: Can recruit four gang members
• 40% Respect bar: Can recruit five gang members
• 60% Respect bar: Can recruit six gang members
• 80% Respect bar: Can recruit the maximum amount of seven gang members.

Most cars, boats, or aircraft in GTA San Andreas can only carry up to four gang member recruits — even less if you’re riding something like the Comet sports car or the Dodo airplane. However, an Ambulance and Enforcer can carry up to six people, while a Coach and Bus can hold seven. For some reason, the Stretch limousine can only be ridden by four people as well. There are two downsides of high-capacity vehicles, though; your friends cannot do drive-bys and sometimes the AI will have a hard time getting inside.

Gang-related Cheats

Need some backup when you’re planning to claim a territory? Want to recruit normal civilians as honorary Grove Street members? Some GTA San Andreas cheats listed below can help you fulfill any gang recruit-related needs. Do note that recruiting rival gang members like Ballas or Vagos and starting a gang fight will result in recruited members betraying you.