Mikey was always in the middle of the fighting between his dad and his brother, and he felt that he always needed to be the peacemaker between the two. It was his job to be the mediator between the family in childhood, and that role in the family carried over into adulthood.
He said that growing up he would feel guilty when he was unable to make the two sides come to an agreement, feeling that he had failed in his mission. By the time the last season of American Chopper rolled around, Mikey had had enough of trying to be the peacemaker in the family. He realized that his father and his brother were grown up adults, and that they would have to deal with their problems on their own. That is why Mikey walked out early at the end of the last season of the show — he simply did not want to be involved in the fighting anymore.
Mickey was making a pretty good chunk of change from American Chopper when he decided to leave due to how much his brother and his father were fighting with each other, even despite the fact that he was making so much money. Years later however, Mickey laughs about it and cynically says that he wishes he could have just stuck it out a little bit longer in order to make a bit more cash. As with any reality television show, the producers on American Chopper absolutely loved the fact that Paul Jr.
This is because they knew that this fighting and screaming would lead to better ratings. Additionally, as Paul Sr. While he does admit that he did wrong some of the time, not all was as it seemed. While Paul Teutul Sr. He says that it does not matter how much money he will get paid or how hard anyone tries to get them to work together, the relationship is too important for him to break ever again.
Due to his young age, the little Teutul is not yet able to ride around on any of the choppers his father and grandfather make. Therefore, for Christmas in , Paul Teutul Sr. In fact, it was a bike which Paul Jr. The American Choppers brand was so well received during its first several seasons that the show was spun off into not one but two video games!
The second game, created by video game company Creat, was titled , American Chopper 2: Full Throttle, and was released on Xbox, Gamecube, and Playstation 2 as well. Orange County Choppers is no longer doing only luxury choppers, and is now in the market for all different kinds of motor vehicles. They will customize quad bikes, snowmobiles, and at this point, even cars. While they do indeed get some corporate clients, they are not selling them like they used to.
One of the big reasons why Orange County Choppers is in such financial distress is due to the fact that they moved to an enormous garage which had huge overhead fees.
The show was big before the financial crash of , but once that hit, a lot of people tried to keep their money close, and customers were simply unwilling to spend close to a million dollars on a chopper anymore.
Despite originally being put to work as what essentially amounted to a janitor with secretary duties, Mikey quickly became a fan favorite. However, the final Shaq episode was broadcasted on Discovery. Back in the beginning of the show, Discovery Channel sponsored a competition to win custom built chopper from Paul Sr. The show itself had a pretty long run time, with new episodes being pumped into living rooms across the United States and around the world for nearly a decade.
In fact, re-runs of the show are still popular, being viewed by tons of people both online and internationally every single day! The show itself had episodes, and each episode was approximately 45 minutes long.
Paul Tetul Sr. He served as a merchant marine, assisting the United States Navy in its various logistics operations. The United States Merchant Marines are trade vessels owned by private operators but which the government can commandeer any time there is a war. As part of his tough guy persona, Paul Sr. An entire episode of his show was focused on him getting a tattoo, while he has also appeared on episodes of the show Miami Ink.
It seems that as long as he has blank space on his body, Paul Sr. Unfortunately, it seems like at the moment, the reality star owes more than he has. He has a substantial loan from the bank that he has not been able to afford.
Currently, they are trying to start the process of foreclosing on his home — a mansion in Montgomery, New York.
Currently, the process is stalled because of the bankruptcy file. Standing on the sandy shore, and listening to the D-Day is considered to be one of the biggest military operations ever undertaken in human history. Despite the show accurately portraying the family and shop dynamics, there is still a lot that went on behind the scenes, such as… It set the stage for future reality shows.
History of drinking. Father-son feud. Contract issues. Leaving dad. A tragic accident. Case of stolen idea. Mikey goes rogue. Cody sues OCC. OCC closes its doors?
Shaq got a chopper made. That shut up the old man and his finagling. Hey David, The new show Jr. I really hope Paul, Jr. Every family I know has problems just like this. What you argue is disturbing. It just goes to show how much of a fantastic job the producers did to evoke such pointed and emotional judgement of a family that other than a the thick TV facade of an understanding u have, you really have no right to make. I agree with Dan, most families have their share if issues, the only mistake the these guys made was letting their business become irreversibly linked to the success of their show, which eventually was only watched for the drama.
I started watching this show for the motorbike design and stayed for the drama, no doubt, but I def not pretend to understand or be able to analyse what actually goes on behind the scenes. Maybe you are worse than American Chopper. Perpetuating the drama through your blog to try and gain traffic and get a good search ranking. Are you suggesting viewers are now allowed to judge the behavior of people who are paid to be on television? Or are you saying that American Chopper is filled with actors and none of the emotional drama is actually real?
I have nothing to do with search rankings. What searchers decide to click-through to read is what gets moved up the results list. Dan, do you belong to the group of people who believe others should keep their mouths shut out of respect to your own personal beliefs?
Thank you for the interesting analysis of American Chopper. I record most of the newer episodes and find myself fast forwarding through the sections of the show where Sr.
Nearly every time he opens his mouth he comes off as being unreasonable and tyrannical. Entertaining even though much of it is probably scripted, but painful to watch due to the displays of Sr. He wants his sons to fail, and he wants to be the fulcrum of their demise. It is depressing to watch Sr.
I wish Paul, Jr. Are you all crazy? Senior built that business in the beginning, and he built it all by himself. Good Luck! He painted himself that way during each episode. Thanks for the reply, Dave. I must say, I was surprised at your thoughts.
I expected to get some serious hate-mail in response to my blunt words in support of Senior. And… while I am still surprised to see the majority of guys here showing sympathy for Junior, I can understand your points about Senior losing control of his emotions on camera. Probably a bad move. I can even see how some people might view that as unkind or rage-filled, possibly even close to abusive.
What I noticed was that pretty much every single last serious fight that Senior and Junior engaged in was based on the subject of work ethic. Secondly, in every last one of the fights, there were TWO wild men screaming at the tops of their lungs. Junior was never the silent victim, following the rules and keeping his opinions to himself.
Now, like I said, I am not saying Senior is totally right in everything he did, BUT I would like to say this about my perspective on his personality as a father:. I grew up in a family atmosphere VERY similar to this in many ways.
My parents were demanding and opinionated, to the point of perceived constant verbal abuse, when observing the family-dynamic from the outside. I rarely stood up to my parents, although I disagreed with them often. BUT now, at 30 years old, I look back at my childhood from a different perspective. Sometimes, I hate to say it, but that is needed.
I can say for sure that I have save the lives of more than a few troops on the ground when they were in need. I am proud of what I have become. Had my parents not been so overbearing or demanding, I would have never cared to try to make something more out of myself. If anybody I work closely with these days, including myself, would stand up to and resist the orders of a superior or boss in a manner the likes of that which Junior displayed on the show, we would be CRUSHED in a heartbeat.
That never seemed to be the case with Junior. He was so determined to resist his father and do things his way that he screamed back at every turn and exited violently, throwing stuff and destroying stuff on his way out the door.
If I had a serious fight with my supervisor at work and I exited out combat squadron slamming doors and throwing equipment, I would be arrested my military police before I even made it to the parking lot. I think Senior only had the best interest of his family and his business in mind. Does he have an extreme personality? Did my parents? Did I ever have the problems that Junior seems to be having?
We appreciate your calm and rational commentary. In the early shows, Senior was always screaming at his sons and employees for no good reason. You lead through the power of your own public example. None of his sons currently speak to him. Senior rules through intimidation, not shared cooperation. We all have a breaking point, and Senior force Junior into being broken. You can fire a man without yelling at him, and you can certainly raise a powerful son by demonstrating love and not condescension.
Bravo to this. I grew up with an extremely abusive father. This show brings back horrible memories for me. I am now a father myself, I never raise a hand in anger, I treat my son with the respect a father should. He knows his place, but also know he is cherished. There is no belittlement, I encourage him, and give him the gift of confidence….
I just saw the show after not having viewed it for some 4 or 5 years. Oh the drama … I guess it was never about building motorcycles after all. In watching American Chopper there was always an uncomfortable tone. Was it a tv act or was it real? Now we know after all this time that it was real. At the end of the day I always knew that the family would be in tact. I think the beauty of the show was the knowledge that the family, though dysfuntional, was working together.
A good situation gone terribly bad. His sons will forgive him — but only on his deathbed when it will be too late for any real reconciliation and moving on together as a family. I live a few miles from OCC. Here are my observations:. In addition to all of the aforementioned crtiticisms of Paul Sr.
He demonstrates a pattern of abuse and neglect of his children that started long before motorcycles and TV cameras. I am fascinated by people who are allowed to go through life like the elephants in the circus parade, who defecate wherever they go and expect their loved ones to sweep up behind them to make there shortcomings less obvious.
I can give Paul Sr. His power addiction needs to be fed like a steam locomotive. In addition to the ego, we have also been witness to another crack in his psyche… Paranoia! Paul Sr. He needs a mirror, because every one of his problems will be found right there in his reflection. The money is there. The success is there.
Come down off the high horse and let the healing begin. When that happens there can be true success and happiness. You make a fine point about Danny. Senior did start two great businesses — yet a good businessman knows how to separate the personal from the professional — and to honor his legacy in the end, and to keep his business dreams alive, Senior needed to turn over what he started to his sons.
Senior could have left them to continue what he started and he would have lived on forever through them. Some legacy. This is a kindergarden lesson in sharing. If we share the money and the spotlight, everyone will be happy. I truly believe that this sad situation can be salvaged, but it will take a lightbulb moment for Senior to start the healing.
In the end, none of the players in this tragedy want it to stay this way. Proof positive was Paul Jr. That was a chance that was missed, because Sr. Once Senior realizes that his life is not a chess game with his sons, he can take a breath and live his life at face value.
Normally everyone is fighting for the whole. Here, a small piece is enough for most normal people to be content for a lifetime. You really want to solve this… Right now Sr. This is simple. Paul Jr. Now they are both lashed to the mast together and it is in their best interest to make both businesses succeed.
Run the companies separately, but be responsible to each other financially. Help each other at every opportunity. Everybody wins and you build two profitable organizations.
That would work, but the lawyers would hate it, because the money train would stop. If the two of them split just the legal fees to date between Dan, Mikey and their sister, everyone would be way better off than they are now. I think he only wanted four that he designed and built himself. One of them was the Black Window bike. Oh, and by the way… Tomorrow is Christmas. Another opportunity rears its ugly head!
Healing can start with a simple phone call if you want it to. Put away the pride and loathing and just start living again. Bury the past and build a brite future. There is no trust. Bring in the lawyers on both sides to witness the following: Senior tells Junior that he wants Paul Jr.
Designs housed in the OCC building. Both companies will be run separately, but all under the same roof, and Paul Jr. Designs will be hired to work for OCC as needed. Senior also says that, over that seven year transition, he will resolve any and all outstanding tax and loan problems so the transfer will occur without any encumbered debt or legal issues. Everybody wins.
Reconciliation happens. The family unit has seven years to heal and forgive and work together — if they wish — before Senior retires and turns away from the empire he so rightly built and then bequeathed to his sons.
Junior and doing some web research, which is how I encountered your blog. Here are my observations. While I agree that Senior is mostly in the wrong and has definately crossed the line when it comes to his treatment of Junior, I disagree wholeheartedly on your assertion of what needs to happen next.
There is plenty of evidence from the show to prove that Junior was not pulling his weight when working for OCC and allowed others to take up his slack. From my view, this is the best thing that could happen to him. No, Paulie needs to feel the pressure that comes with the responsibility. Paul Junior is a different man. Staring at the beautiful secretaries working at OCC, getting yelled at and being forced into actually doing something Bio from Discovery Channel: Like his brother, Mikey went to work for Orange County Ironworks at age 12, working on and off until he graduated from high school.
From there he went on to community college, but after a series of zeroes he realized it wasn't quite his scene.
It was back to his dad's company. Mikey toiled at Ironworks until he turned 20 and moved to Tempe, Arizona, where he had six different jobs in five months: Bouncer at a bar , which didn't work out because it interfered with his night life Busboy , which didn't work out because he was "treated like crap" Telemarketer , selling cell phones and cell-phone service, which didn't work out because he hates being bothered at home by telemarketers Valet-parking attendant , which didn't work out because they made him run and shave Movie-theater guy , which was enjoyable because he didn't really do anything but see free movies But overall, Arizona wasn't quite Mikey's pace either, so Rock Tavern beckoned once his money ran out.
Back at home Mikey did carpentry with a friend for a year before again returning to Orange County Ironworks and working with his brother Daniel. However, that series was short-lived and canceled in In the ensuing years, the men rarely spoke and Junior, 44, went on to write a memoir , where he called his dad "somewhat of a monster.
It wasn't until that they were finally put their difference aside and work on their relationship. Listen, stuff happens: People have their own way, what they believe and how they perceive it, and he perceived it one way and I [perceived it] another way.
While they may team up for the occasional project — like the Buick mentioned above — they learned their lesson when it comes to working in the same garage. If somebody needs some help, we can help each other. We want to have fun.
The most important thing to our fans, I believe, is the family," Paul Sr. The family is back together. On what level?
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