Paul Teutul, Sr.
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| Paul Teutul | |
 Paul Teutul, Sr., founder of Orange County Choppers
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| Born | May 1, 1949 Yonkers, New York |
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| Occupation | Motorcycle Designer and Builder |
| Children | 4 |
| Website OCC |
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Paul John Teutul, Sr.[1], (May 1, 1949 in Yonkers, New York), is the founder of Orange County Ironworks and Orange County Choppers. Teutul works along with his sons Paul Teutul, Jr. and Michael Teutul, who became celebrities when Orange County Choppers became the focus of a reality television series called American Chopper in 2002.
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[edit] Early life
Teutul grew up in Yonkers, New York. He was a Vietnam War veteran of the United States Merchant Marines.
In a few episodes of American Chopper, Teutul has made references to past abuse of drugs and alcohol. He has stated that he was a frequent marijuana user and, according to him, "had basically done any drug around."[2] He feels that his alcoholism influenced his children to experiment as well. During an episode in which Mikey interviewed OCC's staff for the Web site, he asked his father, "What is your best memory?" to which Paul Sr. responded, "Gettin' sober." Additionally, he has mentioned having "missed out" on most of his children's childhood.
In the book written by the Teutuls called The Tale of the Teutuls, Paul Sr. reveals that he didn't know his middle name until his mid thirties, and he finds out that he is in fact a legal junior, having the same name as his father, but by then the nickname "senior" had already stuck.
[edit] Career and Reputation
Teutul originally started out owning Orange County Ironworks, a fabrication shop now solely owned and managed by son Daniel. He began building custom bikes for pleasure after being inspired by the many custom bikes appearing on the streets and in films.[3]. In 1999 he left to found Orange County Choppers and began building bikes for sale.
He has built a reputation on American Chopper for being a hard-nosed businessman and having a short temper. He is often seen on the phone with a vendor or service company demanding faster results. No detail about the running of his shop can escape his eye and he has no compunction about letting his employees know when something displeases him.[2] He is also particular about neatness, often yelling (at least in the earlier episodes of American Chopper) about the disorganization and cleanliness of the shop, and being described by Michael at one point as being "like Martha Stewart on a motorcycle." However, his tendency for neatness and order notwithstanding, he is also known on occasion to break down a door or tear down a few walls in his workshops, if sufficiently motivated by the circumstances, a trait that he shares with Paul Jr., who also frequently doubles as his sparring partner.[2] Vehicles such as his Ford Expedition and a few electric golf carts have also been crashed into walls and other objects.[2] The Teutuls have marketed taped scenes of their on camera confrontations suitably dubbed for product promotion and comic relief, to a known auto parts supplier, thus turning their famous temper outbursts into a marketable (and profitable) commodity.[2]
He has been featured in the music video for Nickelback's Rock Star, and also in the TV Show Long Way Round starring Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman. He along with his son Paul Teutul Jr. played a small role in the 2007 film Wild Hogs.
[edit] Family
In addition to Paul Teutul, Jr. and Michael Teutul, he also has another son, Daniel, who is the general manager and owner of Orange County Ironworks, and a daughter Cristin. Paul is divorced from his first wife Paula and has since married Beth Dillon in July 2007[4].
[edit] Tattoos
Paul Sr. is also known to acquire tattoos from time to time in order to express a feeling or to make a point. For example when he became frustrated about the location of OCC being mistakenly confused with Orange County in California, he obtained a tattoo on his left arm with the designation OCC New York in order to make the distinction clear.[2] This tattoo session was filmed and was shown as part of an episode of American Chopper. Another example is the tattoo he received from Ami James, renowned tattoo artist of the tattoo shop and fellow TLC show Miami Ink, which is a portrait piece of his beloved English Mastiff, Marty, to go along with a portrait of Paul Sr.'s Bull Mastiff, Guss (Gussy) whose full name is August, which he obtained at an earlier date from another tattoo artist on his left arm. [5][2]
[edit] References
- ^ Stated on Late Show with David Letterman
- ^ a b c d e f g American Chopper on Discovery Channel
- ^ Paul Teutul Sr from bikermatchmaking.com
- ^ recordonline.com
- ^ Miami Ink
[edit] External links
- Orange County Choppers
- Discovery Channel's American Chopper
- Paul Teutul, Sr. at the Internet Movie Database
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