Vinnie is returning to American Chopper, joins forces with Paul Jr.
YES!!! Now things are REALLY getting interesting!
I’ve said time and time again, Jr. should start his own shop and bring back his good buddy, and expert bike builder Vinnie DiMartino, well that’s exactly what he’s gonna do. Not only that, but he’s also got his bro Mikey and paint whiz Robert ‘Nubby’ Collard on his team. All of this will be going down in the new show ‘American Chopper: Senior vs Junior’ which will premier this Fall on TLC. Man, I cannot wait for this. I’m a huge fan of Jr. and his bro, and the fact that Vinnie’s gonna be back in the mix makes it all the more amazing. I wanna see Jr. crush his d-nozzle of a father into dust. Finally he’ll realize who REALLY made OCC what it was.
The more I watch SR the more I like JR. How can a father be so cold and heartless towards their son? I think JR has done some major ‘growing up’ in the last year. I hope he is 10x more successful than his dad.
What happened to V -Force Customs and Cody? Did that Business fail? It would be fantastic if Cody could join the team as well. Maybe they could also get Rick to come over toPaul Jr Designs.
I am a huge fan of Jr.I hope that he ,Vinnie.Mikey and Nubs smoke occ,senior is full of himself and needs to have his ass kicked.He thinks nobody can build like he does,but truth is he would not be where he is if not for the people that he has ran off. If they get Rick to join the team, he will be toast ,that would be great.
Hey I love the bike building and the fact that these guys work together in a enviroment that is non condusive to getting anything done,and the threat of a screaming houlering mad man coming out throwing things….You it reminds me of my younger days growing up under threat of the same thing, and it makes me feel sorry for the guys there…. but I know this is all for the tv series but it does pull the strings of emotion …. I still watch and hope for a good time for all :*}
Does anybody know what happened to vforce? Why would vinny leave his own shop to work with Jr doesn’t make sence to me!! TLC opened the wallets I guess,but whatever it is ill be watching. Everybody is dogging Sr but how can any boss in business put up with an employee who comes n goes as he pleases. I like jrs style of bike building better than srs but I can see both arguments from both sides. I love the show n wish them well
just when i thought American Chopper’s done for… Paul Jr. will be doing what he does best(again)… and he’s got Vinnie and Nubby with him? OCC ‘s gonna have their asses handed to ‘em… my favorite reality show is BACK! Good Job!
About time old man has been Snr will get his just desserts!
Jnr shits all over his old man for design work and fabrication, Snr has lived off his son for too long now everyone will see his true colours.
All Jnr needs to do now is hire Rick and Jim, oh and maybe even throw a uppercut at the old man!
It appears most of you diluted skate boarders have failed to watch the show from minute 1.
Paul senior actually SERVED his country, raised his sons and STARTED the business before junior ungrateful almighty could mouth off the first time.
This is the epitome of the newer generation, ungrateful dumbies riding daddies coat tail. Yes, he has talent, it’s just like the monkeys that can fly jets, or do sign language.
Senior is an old school man who yes can be a pud, but we all can be. Especially with ratings, cameras, and sponsors watching every show. At least they don’t do illegal crap like most bikers.
Watching jr get a reality check upon starting his shop is a nice wake up call. If he would realize that his crap does stink, and that the world doesn’t revolve around him, that family would be unstoppable.
They need to realize how fortunate they are to be soo passionate and close. No one Is perfect, but like capt Phil told his sons, “EARN IT!!!”
I hope the show continues.
And yes I know I am a nothing no one, but watching jr be a spoiled brat, and senior acting like he should have was great. Yet listening to you uneducated “generation loser” bums, it’s just soo sad that you “green day era punkies” are soo delusional and far removed from real discipline and life.
Has Paul Jr designs sold anything besides merchandise so far?
People can hate Paul Sr as much as they want, personally I think most of you are vicariously living out your own daddy issues through Jr’s struggles. What made OCC was the TV show, it had little to do with their mediocre bikes, there were and are dozens of other bike shops in the US and hundreds if not thousands worldwide making bikes on the same or higher level than OCC but are pulling way less revenue and clientele.
Are you guys kidding me. Paul jr is an arrogant ass. Is it too much for his father to ask for him to show up on time and keep his tools organized to set a good example? When your inline to take over a massive company like OCC you should be kissin ass and breaking your butt everyday to prove your worthy and set a great example. He`s not piccasso, he`s a bike builder. Personally I like seniors and their other designs better than anything Jr did. To me he just throws on a bunch of rediculous accessories to match the theme and thinks he`s a great designer. The paint jobs usually make his bikes look great and he doesn`t design the paint scheme! Don`t forget sr started this. He owned a successful metal shop which is where the money came from. He did it the right way by building bikes, selling them and then growing. Jr is putting together a million dollar shop and crew with no bikes selling. In this bad economy where people can`t afford to spend 50k for a bike, the overhead will kill him. But he was to cocky to listen to anything his father tried to teach him about business because he thought his crap didn`t stink. I met these guys at a motorcycle show in nyc. I asked for an autograph right before the show opened and Paul Jr gave me an attitude and walked away. Senior and Mikey saw it, senior shook his head in disbelief and him and Mikey came and signed for me. After JR reliezed he looked like an ass he tried to come and sign, but I told him no thanks! I worked there so I made sure they were completely done setting up so as not to bother them. They were standing around when I asked. By the way, it was 10$ for their picture before they signed it. This just showed me that the show didn`t lie, thats the way Jr really acts. Jr`s arrogance will be his downfall. His only chance will be to completely ride his fathers coat tails and copy everything OCC does and gain popularity off of OCC`s name. He should of spent some time learning to sell instead of coming in an hour late drinking coffee. Thats just my two cents
I am on the side of BOTH of them doing well in their businesses. This season will certainly provide a boost to their purses, including Vinnie. Glad to see him back.
How well will Paul Jr. do? Hope he gets th breaks. Would like to see him do well. Does his Dad feel the same? Seniors comment so far are all negative.
Do I want my son to succeed? You bet I do, and I’ll help him all I can. Will Senior help Junior. I wouldn’t put money on it. We’ll see.
Yes, Jr. and Sr. were both selfish in the past, but it looks like Jr. has done a lot of growing up. Sr. hasn’t. And Jr.’s first two bikes are SICK!!!!!!!!! Watch out OCC!!!!!!!!!!
I always felt that Paul Sr’s management style would do in his business, but what really bothers me the most is his lack of concern for family. God and family first. I really thought his ability to overcome his addictions (nearly losing his family then) would have taught him a lesson, but I guess he didn’t learn anything.
HAS PAUL DONE ANYTHING BUT PAINT A NEW CRAFSMAN BBG. ALL HE HAS TO DO IS LOOK AROUND AND SEE WHERE HE GOT HIS MONEY FROM….MIKEY ??? HE PAINTS PICTURES THAT ANY KINDERGARDEN CLASS COULD DO BETTER. what does he do??the last show he was sitting in his backyard shooting plastIc cups with a toy gun..and he needs to hire an asst.??..for what???….REHAB ANYONE….???LOL.. LET PAUL GO OUT ,FIND A REAL JOB, AND SHOW UP FOR WORK FOR ONE MONTH ON TIME, AND PUT IN AN 8 HR DAY…WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS DRESS SHOP?…HE JUST GOT MARRIED ?WHERE THAT MONEY COME FROM???THE TWO OF THEM SHOULD CRAWL BACK TO POPPA AND KISS HIS SIZE 12S…
paul sr is a busnessman when times a rough the personel needs to hussle to keep the company afloat they keep the company going not the alfabetmen at the top like the ceo and sush, even with the income from the tv shows the new building and all the other stuff around it create an enourmous overhead his bikes need to pay for those and he needs customers to build bikes to make the show
paul sr had a choice either have the whole company go belly up remove half his staff or remove the biggest drain on his income …….. that would be paul jr and his brother mikey they worked the least and prolly made the most pay of all the employees in occ paul sr included
vinny was getting fed up with paul jr making a mess and having him pick up the pieces he left occ after a talk with paul sr and i dont know where that whent about but i can make a good guess , now paul jr is getting back intoo bikebuilding ………… i predict him to be sitting behind his desk in a fancy office with a pencil and a sheet of paper scribbling acting like a desighner without doing a lot and have vin and the rest of the staff put the bikes together with him ocasionally have them tear stuff down again and change the desighn and take all the attention once its being precented to the public as being the sole “creator” of the bike and mikey will prolly do some internet stuff and basicly be a clown wish would help the show i agree ,
paul sr isnt a desighner of modern bikes hes old school and his desighns reflect that , he is allso a busnessman and builds bikes less from the hart but more with one hand on his wallet and that allso reflects on his desighns but at this time is important to keep things rolling , for his more modern desighns he has jim quin and jason pohl
that said paul sr isnt a saint either he allready wasnt on good terms with the occ steelcompany allso owned by one of his sons and i see the show when the teutle family is all together without sr does make me think he has sumtin to do with it ………….. the rest of the family being weened off the occ money tit might have something to do with that too though
the first of the series of american choppers where the best when they made stuff with bare hands grinders co2 welders pliers and big hammers and it took or 3 shows to complete a bike , the good thing about those shows where the way they made the bikes was accesible to the general public they made those bikes with minimal tools and you could see on the show how they do it , nowadays you look at a rolling frame than a tank than a bunch of stuff being wheeled from the machineshop by jim quin and a complete bike being presented ………… i think it does away from wat i would like to see i a show , the thechnical stuff
an older interview i seen comming from vin he described being under negotiation with a network for making his own show he described it being more about the building of the stuff and less of the drama , i hope he succeed in doing so
im from europe and discovery is rerunning the shows intoo oblivian and i believe there running sumtin like a year behind on the shows in the states , i hope discovery will transmit the shows over here as whell
Ok, it is time for the entertainment world to come together and rally behind JR. I am sure that the entire community of actors, performers and athletes see it the same way as the rest of us. Sr. has taken the best from his son, thrown him aside for his own pride’s sake, and banished him from what he should have inherited.
So be it! Time for a new kingdom to rise. I challenge all entertainers, actors, and performers to stand up and order that special custom bike from JR. and grab a piece of history before it is too late.
All of you celebrities, remember how big your eyes got when you saw those beautiful works of art coming from Jr.’s hands? Yes, well, you could own one yourself. Imagine, a beautiful, awe inspiring one of a kind road hog between your legs…nothing like it ever! You know you want it, you know you have been thinking about it.
So, pick up the phone, give Jr. a call. He is ready with tools in hand to make your dream come true, a special, one of a kind chopper with your name on it! Imagine it…better yet, make it a reality.
The truth is, this family spends between 40-80 hrs a week working together. Inculding, bike shows or preimers of showing off the new bikes. The Tutles also vacation together. Paul Sr., needs to have friends of his own and left his sons alone. Paul Sr. is a real control freak and everything, I mean every thing has to be his way. I know Sr. work hard to a successf ul buisness, Jr. has vision when working on those choppers. I believe what will happen is that both will amends with each other and Sr. will build production bikes and Jr. will be speciality for OCC. This way they both continue their own business.
The Discovery producers themselves said they picked the Teutuls originally for the bike build off show BECAUSE of the radical designs by PAUL JR. When they saw the drama from their build, then decided to give them their own show. So yes, Sr. provided the shop and financial backing, which means no Sr. no shop. Jr got the attention of Discovery, which means no Jr. no show, no fame and much less success. However its obvious to me that Jr. needs Sr. business sense much more than Sr. needs Jr. designs now that the shop is already famous.
P.S. Vinnie and Cody still have their own shop. Vinnie apparently does freelance work for Paul Jr.
I think they should all say sorry to each other and remember family always comes first before business because you only have one family you can always get another business not another family .also the design of the bikes that Paul jr did were absolutely beautiful and he should be proud of all the bikes he designed.As for Paul Sr i think he is a wonderful man who has a good heart and builds bikes which are out of this world.Well done OCC
It is sad to see a family being torn apart. This business grew too quickly due to series and the fact that people love to watch a car wreck every week. The family has obvious issues that came to a head and the all mighty dollar is one of the main causes. The father has great business sense and the son has a flair for design that when put together on television made them both very successful, may be too successful. It appears that reality TV brings forth fame and large paychecks, but it seems to destroy the families over time.
I hope that they can get it together and be a family again in the future before it is too late to say I’m sorry.
I can’t believe anyone would be on Paul Jr.’s side! What an ungrateful spoiled brat. I hope Jr. fails miserably. The same goes for Mikey – What a worthless lazy piece of flesh! You have to admire Sr.’s work ethic, and the fact that he built his business after basically starting with nothing. Its too bad his sons don’t appreciate all he has done for them. Does anyone else think Paul Jr.’S wife, Rachel, looks like a dumb bimbo?
WowReally says “Paul senior actually SERVED his country, raised his sons and STARTED the business before junior ungrateful almighty could mouth off the first time.” Served his country in the merchant marines? Are you kidding me? Lay off the bottle! They were partners and Jr. made him rich. Sr. was an abusive father and still is. He did everything he could to run him off. How can you justify the trash he yelled at Jr.? Did you watch the show? Our generation has fought the good fight in Iraq and Afghanistan is fat lazy drunk.
Trent says Does anyone else think Paul Jr.’S wife, Rachel, looks like a dumb bimbo? I have to disagree! You still running from state to state avoiding child support and snorting your percocet you uneducated loser? You still banging that whore who is missing her front teeth who works at Waffle House. FYI Sr. didn’t start with nothing. He started with a wonderful son with great talent and a desire to please his father. Yes Trent! You sound like father of the year! I get it now! I heard the democrats funded computers in prison. Guess your serving 10 to 15 for check forgery. A real piece of work. Look me up when you get out of the can. Sure you’ll be in a wheelchair after Jerome gets done with you. Seriously! Pay that child support and stop using Sr. and the tv show as transference for your failures as a father. Word up!
Ouch!
People really need to check their facts Paul sr. Never served in the military, he just has what seems a high respect for us service members. Sometimes I don’t even know if that respect is legit or for ratings. I’ve watched the show from the begining and Paul sr. Did start the company but Jr. really helped it grow with his designs. Someone said earlier that his designs weren’t that great in some cases they weren’t but people still bought them anyway for 50k, just because it might look like shit to you doesn’t mean it does to whoever bought it.
If you noticed they were really banking on high profile clientele and not just an everday customer. If they didn’t have a show they wouldn’t have gotten all those high profile theme bikes to build and the success they have now. With that being said juniors designs got them in the build off in the first place so without Jr. they wouldn’t have the
show and OCC wouldn’t be the success it is today.
From what I understand this fight between them is because of money, Jr. wasn’t getting the same type of money Sr. would get. Meanwhile it was Jr. bringing in the clients in the first place to make that kind of money. In one of the episodes Jr. even states how he bought his old man that million dollar house he just bought and that’s true. If Sr. wasn’t so greedy and compensated him properly they would of had a better business and not a war that’s splitting their family apart.
Im not on jr’s side but Sr. Is selfish and is blind to see who really carried the business. At the end of the day they are both to much alike and are way overrated on the quality of what they build. Rick is overrated too I actually didn’t like the show as much with him on it. Long story short they were in the right place at the right time. After all that the show is still entertaining even though they don’t even know how to really do anything with the motors itself and just build around mass produced motors.
Business sense? To connect the dots. First Paul Sr’s attempt at steel business went Chapter 11.
Second. What kept OCC afloat all these years? It was the tv show, ever wonder how John and Kate (+
stayed alive with no one working? HELLO!!! Discoery/TLC was paying big bucks for 10 years. Not to mention all the merchandized peddled on their website. I dont know about you but I dont know many people who could afford a $100,000 motorocycle. Ever wonder why most the bikes were “company” bikes which eventually got auctioned off for charity? (Tax write off/commercial advertisement)
Vinny left because of the work conditions The Boss was tirent, and your co-worker who was suppose to be the lead on most projects wa late/lazy. Also I am sure his paycheck was not in line with Paul Jr. But it was a steady paycheck.
For the father and son to come back to do this show at all is saying its about the money (PERIOD). The train wreck kept people watching so TLC kept funding more. Well at some point when money wasnt important anymore you get tired of the fighting regardless if you are Sr or Jr. The problem is they grew to fast and now have become accustomed to a life style which they cant afford. Remember when Jr was driving Corvette’s, Prowlers’s, Benz’s, Lincoln Darkwood’s, Custom build Elenore Mustang Clones etc.. Now what is he driving? A Toyota p/u. As for his dad? Remember in the 10 years.. They moved to a bigger building, then about 2 years later they had that monster building built? And they kept the old location? Now what do you think? I think they are in need of money. Maybe all this lawsuit is to keep OCC in the public eye to sale T-shirts. I think TLC didnt know what to do when the two walked away from each other.
Glad to see jr away from sr hope he kicks occ ass paul was the backbone of occ and i cant understand why he put up with the crap for so long love to see his new bikes and him have his own shop on tv we think hes great in australia
good on ya paulie, were the bloody hell are ya. when yuz get things going there try not to forget us down here! and can you sneak some p.j. design stuff into the o.c.c shop in coolum , congrats on your wedding lucky bugger. cant wait for the paul vinnie micky team to back together and start rolling out some kick ass bikes … hell yeah paulie ,your words( ya gunna smoke dis thing man) if you get time to read this cheers.#1 aussie fan.
I am a huge fan of the show. It makes me very sad to watch the old episodes where they were in the old shop and everyone seemed happy. They have so many wonderful memories of trips and people they have met over the years. Now it is all about money because Sr. is greedy!!!! I have a child and would never scream and yell at her like he does at his sons. Isn’t it funny, that he does not get along with all 3 sons, but does get along with his daughter, at least today. Please Paul Sr. wake up, life is short. It isn’t worth it to be angry all the time. Forget about the money and make peace with your sons!
This season will be funny. Jr your a joke, It would funny as all F@#$ to see you land on your ass. You have never built a bike from scratch. a tack here, a thought there and nut here or there doesn’t make you a bike builder. Maybe this so called new venture might wake you up on how your father started and struggled when you were still shitting yellow in your nappy. Maybe a good days work out of you might be the best thing, but I doubt it, as you I believe your head is to far up your butt to see the real picture. I also gathering that Vinnie will do all the work for you anyways, while you are getting a hair cut. Good luck Jr, I look forward to watching your crash and burn. Vinnie, you should have stuck with your own gig or headed back to where things got you going and gave you a big break. Snr you rock, “bring back the biff”
#2 Aussie Fan and a real bike designer / fabricator that actually sells bikes.
Hope Paul Jr, and Vinnie get their own show. They were the ones with all the designs anyway. Saw the 2 bikes they took to Sturgis. You could see the workmanship in them. Without Sr holloring at them all the time they got them done even with alot of setbacks. Paul Jr has never said anything against his Dad, but for his Dad to go driving by his shop ans making all that noise, and than making the bike to crash with what was suppose to be Paul Jr., makes me wonder who the real adult is here. Paul Jr. has more class than his father ever could.
You know there both great builders, one is old school and one is todays tech, the both together sky is the limit. They need to talk not bitch, The show would be a better show.
hey sr fans, where do you think the occ logo came from????? ive watched the show since day one. that company should have been a partnership and senior makes his own son sign a no compete clause, then sues him for the measly 20% of stock jr has with occ. sr can’t even weld correctly. he’s an ahole of a boss and is losing his family over money. who cares if jr started showin up a little late after episode 110. at that point you have money coming out of your hole. have fun at that point and enjoy it, but once a greedy hole always a greedy hole. 3 wives and 3 sons later, he is still right and everyone else is wrong. sr needs to go get his pain shot in his back more often, he’s built a tolerance and now he’s grumpier than ever. the guy loves his fuggin dogs more than his children, give me a break. the employees that are left are suckups that hes now tryin to replace the void that is still there from the originals leaving. sr, your slowly digging occ its own hole that you will not climb out of, must be lookin for early bk retirement. you def have enough money.
Holy hell, dude paul jr. is a knob, seriously not a fan a. Glad to hear vinnie coming back, the guys a legend!
I’ve watched OCC from day 1 and have enjoyed all the builds, the games, the fights and most importantly the rags to riches story. As I’ve watched the presures of success get to everyone, and their willingness to let all of us into their most private thoughts, I wonder when they’re going to reach the limit? Why would these guys agree to continue fighting publically so much? They must have a heck of a contract with Discovery? I wonder how that contract written and why don’t they get the guy who negotiated that deal to be the mediator because he’s a damn good salesman? I get an unsettling feeling that we’re all just watching a pre-scripted World Wrestling style bout and the only one that gets rich in the end is the promoter. I wish Paul Sr would let the 20% go and move on, and I wish Paul Jr would have been more mature in the past and maybe he would have avoided the situation getting as far as it did. Maybe this is all a master plan Paul Sr has to force Paul Jr and worse yet (Mikey) to grow up and learn to run the business side of things. Who knows? One fact that is easily seen is that Paul Sr’s health is visibly getting worse as a result of all this. Nothing will age a person faster than family and business stress combined. They are all good guys individually. They are great together. They need to get back to great even if it means shutting off the TV show to do it.
If it were not for tv coverage, they would not have half the troubles they have now. true sr has a temperment problem, but I think in real life jr would have left the old man and got work else where. Bussiness wise the only orders they are getting is from corperations who have money to spare. The average Joe just about can afford to make end meet.
All I have to say is that Sr needs to grow up and start acting his age. Who does this? Sueing for 20%? He’s just jealous of Jr. I would hope his customers and fans have been watching and really see who he is. He’s a control freak. Jr was the backbone of OCC. Driving by Jrs shop and the whole launching the motorcycle with a dummy dressed like Jr what kind of father does that? I wish nothing but the best for PJD.
The only bike jr can make is a themed spider bike. Get over ur obsession with spiders and make something else
Have watched this series from day one here in the U.K. The show revolved entirely around juniors imagination and mechanical flair. Mikey was brought in by the programes makers to inject a bit of humour into the show his contribution to the bike building being meaningless. Have watched most of the series two or three times over and can say that seniors bike building skills are very limited. How a father can turn against his own sons in the way he has I cannot comprehend. The first programe without junior in it was lacklustre and boring in the extreme.
Senior has surrounded himself with yes men and men protectecting their well paid jobs.On the subject of Vinnie well I think he was immensely talented and sorely missed the programe was never the same once he left. The bike that vinnie built in the series was one of my favourite builds.If there is a build off contest between senior & Junior it will be a no contest with junior winning hands down. Senior should take a long hard look at himself and realise who the star of american chopper really was and who was responsible for making most of his money.
What kind of dad sues his own son?! I hope to see Paul Jr. bury Paul Sr. and OCC. With Vinnie and Nub at his back, I can see it being likely.
The guys left at OCC at not cool to watch, as they only lick Sr. Ass, especially that Paul Shaffer from Letterman look-a-like Mike with his voice like he ate to much shit out of SR.Hole. I like Sr. but now i just FastForward until Jr.’s crew is on. Anyway court is not the way to handle shit with your Fam.
Don’t like Sr’s crew anymore only the suckups are left (except for Rick he is just a good guy). The rest is not to be trusted, i think. I still like Sr. but not the courtcase
i love the series really can relate to it as i to work with my father who loves to moan and nit pick at any given moment .. but i must agree with snr when he talks about junoir not being there and sounds as thow he wants too much off the pie to quick and wants a very big bite as well , but jnr must see that his dad before he got big was a hard working old school fellow who got his luck later in life and i think he wants jnr to relize you have to work a few more hard years before he thinks everything should just fall in to his lap and retire, come on pauly jnr most off us dont retire till 60 to 65 you are a credit and a fantastic bike builder ,stay with your pops and all will be well and as for mikey ….he could make a dead man laugh !!!!! thanks for your great great show!
woow did he rely sue his son in real life ???? anyone noplease ??
First, why did Vinnie complain about Sr. and Jr. But now works for Jr? Sr. is like having no father,your better
off Mikey and Jr. Good Iuck guys
Ginny
Ive been watching the senior vs junior and american chopper since the beginning. I have noticed that since junior left occ that they haven’t built any breath taking designs like they used to. I mean it seems like they are just recycling old ideas. While pjd is really taking the creativity and designs to a whole new level. Honestly I think junior did more idea and design wise than senior gives him credit for.
fact is. occ would not be where they are without discovery channel. Jr is where Sr was when they started the show. and it was jr’s outrageous builds that made the show not srs old school shit. Jr’s immaturity srs stressful antics is nothing that is life it goes on everywhere in jobs. but Sr cutting on Jr is so wrong cause Sr was there and started from nothing too so why is he condemning Jr for starting from nothing… and also it isn’t Sr building the bikes its his new staff that is doing it all now. It wasnt sr that made jr.. jr did that himself on his builds. sr hardly ever did any building of the bikes he just started shit all the time.. again it is discovery channel and the show that got them where they are..
Three semi-literate bolt twisters get lucky and get a TV show. Make that two bolt twister. Mikey is a ______ (fill in the blank). If it wasn’t for the show, Mikey would be someone’s personal assistant, since he has no talent. Sr is a jokester: Jr is a paranoid. Not one of them can say, “I’m sorry,” and patch things up.
Sure, they’ll make money, from bike building and TV shows but, Discovery Channel is the only winner.
What is Vinny thinking? How can he go back to the same BS? He does all the work and jr. takes all the credit! All jr. does is flap his mouth about his father misstreating him! The old man should have long ago fired his ass! I don’t see him spending alot of time at the shop some ole same ole jr.
I’ve watched the show on and off since the beginning and lost interest with it as they seemed to have gotten into a rut with the predicable contract–long creative process–intemperate tirades and demands for results–deliberate foot-dragging and absences in return–last-minute rush–delivery (applause) with Mikey’s antics thrown in for comic relief. I’ve gotten interested again with the SR vs JR theme and also done some reading on their circumstances.
The steel business is still there and going strong. But the family played fast and loose with the legal niceties. Here’s a link to an article about it http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070626/NEWS/706260312 but a summary of the facts are as follows:
Orange County Iron Works failed to deliver on a contract for product to a school being built in Queens, NY in 2003. This caused delays and cost overruns when the prime contractor, Turner, had to find a new source of material. SR transferred ownership of the Ironworks to JR. Daniel, another brother, started an unrelated company called Orange County Ironworks, LLC (yeah, I know) and the family gradually transferred all the assets, customers, accounts, machines, buildings, etc to the new company. When Turner sued in 2004, all that was left of the original company was about $600K in bad debts that they had not collected and debts to creditors of well over $600K. After the suit was filed, the family put the original company into Chapter 7 bankruptcy. After the suit was filed, the family put the original company into Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Eventually, the bankruptcy trustee sued SR, JR and Daniel and they had to pay about $500K back. The new company uses the same address and phone numbers and you can see the web page at http://www.ocillc.com/oci.html.
I always thought JR was quite a talented designer and the temptation is to attribute the phenomenal success of OCC to him. But then again, the cameras follow him around all the time, focus on the bike build, not the rest of the company. No one goes in the office to see SR unless he’s about to chase JR down for a spit-filled, bellowing tantrum. SO you don’t see just HOW those contracts to build those wonderful bikes are arranged and I don’t know SR does that, no one outside the show does. That may also be something SR prevents because he doesn’t want the film crew to hear who they will be building for until it’s contracted, something JR does with his new business. And I assume he got that from the old man, who’s a pretty cagey businessman. But it’s still boring to the audience compared to the actual builds, even though it’s vital to the company. You don’t see how all the deals with suppliers and partners are arranged, or who set-up the network of dealers for their production bikes or their parts line. Yeah, it’s possible that JR did a lot of designing for their parts, but it’s also possible they hired a designer to do the work. Again, I’d give SR the credit for that and pushing forward on the thousands of niggling little details that a good businessman has to stay on top of. And which JR quite evidently DID NOT care about.
I know, I know, “without the show, SR would have had nuttin’ to woik wit!” There’s a point there, but consider how entertaining the show would have been with just JR showing up and tacking a couple of pieces of sheet metal together, and leaving Vinnie to finish while he’s out for three hours to do . . . whatever. I’m aware he wasn’t like that in the early days, and the old man didn’t care how good the bike looked if there were un-racked tools on the bench, or if SR couldn’t SEE work being done even when JR was deep n thought. But I noticed over time, with success came the parade of fancy cars, the big house (and JRs house has got to be worth at least $750K even in a down market), the lovely, lithe, trophy girlfriends and a kind of whininess about his awful lot in life. Sheesh. I’ll say this, JR will HAVE to do those little things even if he’s swamped with orders just from the controversy on the show. Or hire someone who he will probably drive crazy by disappearing whenever a decision has to be made.
And SR is no prize either. I give him all the credit for being a good businessman. But he’s very insecure about about the things JR does well that he does not. I don’t know how much of a market there is is for his beloved “old skool” bikes, but I bet it’s very restricted (and probably filled with a lot of “old skool” DIY guys making their own). He’s still making the corporate sponsor bikes (which was a great market to get into) and selling his parts and bikes and clothes. But the fire is mostly out.
With Mike and JR out of OCC, he walks around the shop and the guys just do cartwheels to say “Yass, Boss!” whenever he grumbles and that’s boring TV, so the conflict, even indirectly, adds drama and interest to the show. Or he does something to antagonize his sons. He’s as possessive as an alpha lion, but not about his kids, only about his property. He’s competitive as hell, even with his sons. He used almost any excuse to tear JR down, to reduce his chief designer to sweeping up steel shards from the floor, or clean up boxes. Yes, in small businesses the family often acts that way to conserve cash. But he was doing that long past the time when it was a matter of money. A guy who rams his truck through a sheet rock wall of his old building just for a hoot (and ratings), isn’t worried about the bucks it would take to have a crew in after closing to sweep up.
The final touch is to sue JR in order to force the sale of the 20 percent interest his son owns, which he claims is worth “zero.” I wonder if JR thinks the old man will try the same stunt they all pulled on Turner?