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When American Chopper debuted on the TLC Channel six years ago, it was like a breath of fresh B.O. on a reality TV scene that hadn’t yet been over-populated by grease monkeys. I mean, for awhile, it was just them and Jesse James. Now we’ve got shows about freakin’ lumberjacks and fishermen, like anybody really wants any of that nonsense.
But I digress…
Within a few episodes, and seeing the friction between Orange County Choppers founder Paul Teutul Sr. and his son, Paul Jr., even I was starting to wonder who the fuck parked a Mack truck up Sr.’s ass. What he failed to realize mentally – although he sure as hell benefited from it financially – was that Junior’s stylish and innovative designs were OCC’s ticket to the Big Time.
When a company, or celebrity, requested that OCC build them a bike, what they were saying was “Have Junior build us a bike that will make our head explode” and, almost without exception, Junior came through. He did so by putting himself in the place of the client, asking himself what it was that was important to the client, and then found a way to integrate key elements into the design of the bike so as to come up with something that was as far from cookie-cutter as you could get. With a slew of jaw-dropping bikes, many of which are now legendary in the chopper world, and a hit TV show, business at OCC was booming.
So, why was Paul Sr. constantly riding Junior like a punk? If the worst thing he was doing was rolling in an hour late and not putting his tools away, I’d have found a way to let it slide if I were Paul Sr., but, since he alone (to hear him tell it) built OCC from the ground up, he was not going to let some young whipper snapper stroll in any damn time he wanted.
It was like he forgot that Junior was his own flesh and blood, and that things only really started hopping after the kid began designing bikes for the company. Deep down, I can’t help think that Paul Sr.’s rage is a direct result of petty jealousy. He realizes that Paul Jr. can come up with better designs in his sleep than he can and that the company would have never had the luxury of their new (and gluttonously palatial) headquarters if not for Paul Jr. Paul Sr. has benefited immensely from Jr.’s creations, yet that new structure is a sick fucking monument to himself.
Ask Paul Sr. and I am sure he’ll tell you that Paul Jr. would be nothing without him, nor would anyone else employed by the company. Paul Sr. built OCC from nothing and is the sole reason that it is the success that it is.
Of course, these days, you’ve got some technical school computer dilrod by the name of Jason looking like someone who just tripped off the short bus and designing bikes via a CAD program and a sketch tablet hooked up to Illustrator and MotoShop (I kid, I kid). Meanwhile, Paul Sr. continues to estrange himself from every single one of his offspring while continuing to bask in his own greatness.
Yet this is a man brought to tears in front of his own employees when making a company-wide (!) announcement about the health of…his dog. Now, I am a huge dog lover and, most days, prefer their company to that of the human variety, but even that is some fucked up shit. Heaven forbid he be moved to tears when informed of his son Mikey’s alcohol problems and admission into rehab earlier this season.
There just seems to be some wires crossed in that mustachioed head of his.
Thankfully, today is American Chopper’s final episode, bringing a close to the show’s six-year run. We’ll no doubt be treated to one more ridiculous chopper design that is but a shell of what Paul Jr. was capable of creating while Paul Sr. smiles like a walrus high on his own fumes at the unveiling ceremony, oblivious to the fact that he just delivered sub-par goods to a client that deserved better.
Good riddance, Paul Sr. May the rest of your family thrive as you continue to deny the fact that, while you may have laid the foundation, the OCC empire rose to greatness thanks to the blood, sweat and tears of many others besides yourself
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By Darren Robbins
[...] "American Chopper" — an appreciation as the TLC reality show ends tonight [...]
What about Vinnie? Where’d he so? Family man, hard working, dedicated employee. Gone from the show.
Sr. fired him… after that happened, it was the beginning of the end for the show.
Vinnie and Cody have started a new company designing and manufacturing cycles- Vforce choppers
http://www.vforcecustoms.com/
Interesting… apparently they’ve got a new TV show as well ‘Throttle Junkies”…
I wanna see a show with Jr. and Mikey…
paul jr. is a pompous fool who needs to respect elders and THE BOSS. if it wasnt for sr. the company
would never be where it is since jr thinks you start work at the ‘crack of noon’. let jr run his new business
with that attitude and it will be ‘curtains batman’.
mikey is a good guy, but he has to stop being swayed by jr.
Inspired me to get my motorcycle license for my 40th …..thanks for the ride boys… it’s was a good 6 years.
hahaha… Vinnie what a joker.
[...] Adios American Chopper! | THE ZEITGEISTY REPORTThankfully, today is American Chopper’s final episode, bringing a close to the show’s six-year run. We’ll no doubt be treated to one more ridiculous chopper design that is but a sh… [...]
[...] Adios American Chopper! | THE ZEITGEISTY REPORTThankfully, today is American Chopper’s final episode, bringing a close to the show’s six-… [...]
Excellent summary…
Hopefully Paul Sr. will come out of his coma and remember he even has a family…
Like yourself, I LOVE dogs … but I just can’t believe that Paul Sr. cried those alligator tears to show sympathy about his dog when he never even bothered sending a card to Mikey in detox — what garbage this guy is.
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Paul Tuetul Snr did not fire Vinny, Vinny chose to leave and start his own business, sure they had a dissagrement over how much he was getting paid for being on American Chopper i think it was $5.000 Dollars for every episode he was in, while Snr and Jnr were on $100.000 per show and that is the main reason he left because of money and all the traveling he was doing all over america for little pay in comparision to what Snr and Jnr were getting, And now he is his own boss and works along side his friend Cody Connelly also from the same show.
Well said Darren. I have felt the same over the last year as I saw Sr turn nasty towards his 2 sons and almost every episode since the break up he has to say something snideto say about his son. I predicted the end of the reality show soon after the break up because like many fans I was amazed, intrigued and inspired by Jnr and his designs. I could never understand why Snr had an issue with Jnr coming late. Damn it man he was part of the business and not just an employee!!
Snr live in your own sad world, one day you will end up all alone as you deserve to be.
Darren, that was Harsh man.
Without question Paul Snr has major issues which will, without doubt, affect him for the rest of his life.
His ego and attitude may drive away all those that love him and have supported him.
Don’t be so hard on him though how much of this has been proliferated and perpetuated by us?
Does part of the blame for this lie in the fact that WE, the avid watcher (and I count myself as one of those) have been drawn to this show in part because of the friction and ever present conflict.
How much of the early conflict and friction was real and how much was stoked / fuelled / propogated by the TV company and the presence of a camera? Makes for good TV doesn’t it and its partly why we have watched for 6 years.
Without Snr’s overbearing presence, Jr’s opinionated and occasionally arrogant attitude (no mistaking the guy’s artistic genius tho’) and Mikey’s slighlty unhinged / slanted perspective on things, there would not have been a show capable of capturing and maintaining the audience’s attention for 6 years.
In real life (outside of medialand) people in these situations would have had proper councelling, they would have been encouraged by their loved ones to take time out to reflect and they would have had the proper support they needed.
BUT THAT JUST AINT GOOD TV and it doesn’t bring in the bucks and doesn’t hold an audience. Keep that up for long enough and it will give anyone a twisted perspective on what is right and correct.
I for one will miss all of the Teutels (Snr included) and the rest of the guys past and present.
Rather than wishing or hoping for the demise of any one of them – here’s to hoping they sort their differences – they get the support they each need and that they go on to lead satisfying, happy and prosperous lives and if we get more good TV in the process then its a win / win situation.
Here’s to you OCC (past and present) – I for one, wish ALL of you the best – Its been a good run.
Sr. is a prick and I hope his business goes down the toilet. What finally sent me over the edge was when they (OCC without Paulie) built that stupid bike for some Indian tribe. When the bike was unveiled Sr. looked pathetic trying to describe the details of how the bike was built. He couldn’t do it and looked like a fool. Finally, I can’t believe they give so much credit to that idiot Jason. What a retard!
I agree that Sr. often push Paulie too much. I also think that Sr. takes for granted all the good work that Junior has contributed to OCC. However, by this time Junior should know what drives his dad up the wall. All he needed to do was to stop being late and to clean up after working. He wants to be treated as a partner but at the time, limits his duties to design and fabrication. If he should have taken a more administrative approach to OCC by being more involved in the business which would probably improved the relationship between the two. As for Mickey, he’s worse than Paulie who rode on their coat tails and doesn’t live up to his contract after being given so much freedom. Now that Paulie’s gone, Mickey’s starting to feel the heat. I think he should have been cut from OCC because all he does is fool around. At a recent episode, he was depressed because he’s being edged out. He should have taken things more seriously and if he’s wondering why he’s being treated that way, he should watch the show’s archives to know why.
AC debuted on the Discovery Channel and moved to TLC in 2007.