Paul Teutul Sr.

Paul Teutul

Teutul in 2016
Born Paul John Teutul
May 1, 1949 (age 68)
Yonkers, New York, U.S.
Occupation Motorcycle Designer and Builder
Spouse(s) Paula Teutul (m. 1969-1995) (divorced)
Beth Dillon (m. 2007; separated 2012- Divorced 2015)
Children Paul Jr.
Daniel
Michael
Cristin
Website orangecountychoppers.com

Paul John Teutul is the founder of Orange County Choppers, a manufacturer of custom motorcycles and the focus of the reality television series American Chopper. Teutul first appeared on the show with his sons Paul Teutul Jr. and Michael Teutul. In 2013 his new show Orange County Choppers premiered on CMT[1]

Early life

Teutul was born in Yonkers, New York and grew up in Pearl River, New York.

Although he never served in a branch of the United States military during the Vietnam War, Teutul sailed as a member of the Merchant Marine during the war. It is unclear what shipboard department he worked in, or how long he sailed.[2]

Career

Teutul with Brazilian President Luíz Inácio Lula da Silva and First Lady Marisa Letícia in front of the Palácio da Alvorada in Brasília, Brazil

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 and founded Orange County Choppers He hired his son Paul Jr and began building bikes for sale.

Teutul was a contestant on the Celebrity Apprentice 5 until he was fired by Donald Trump on April 15's episode.

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 who is a nurse. Daniel was seen on American Chopper building the new headquarters building. Teutul is divorced from his first wife Paula and married his second wife, Beth Dillon, in July 2007. He separated in 2012 and officially divorced in February 2015. He has been in a long time relationship with Joan Kay. He and Joan are often seen riding choppers in both Florida and NY. They are both actively involved in animal rescue and advocates of No Kill shelters.

Teutul's regular arguments with his sons became a routine occurrence during episodes of American Chopper. These vocal disagreements eventually led to Paul Jr. being fired in April 2009. Paul Jr. has since started a design business called Paul Jr. Designs.

Tattoos

A significant part of Teutul's image is his numerous tattoos. He has been 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 (in Orange County, New York) being frequently 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.[4] This tattoo session was filmed as part of an episode of American Chopper. Another example is the tattoo he received from Ami James, renowned tattoo artist from the shop (and fellow TLC show) Miami Ink, a portrait piece of his pet bullmastiff, Marty, to go along with an earlier portrait of his older bullmastiff, Gus (Gussy) whose full name is August, which was done by another tattoo artist.[4][5]

References

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