A huge part of a hit reality show's appeal comes from its colorful cast of real-life
characters who bounce off one another with a unique chemistry any network sitcom would
go to war for.
That's definitely the case with Storage Wars.
What's the original cast of up to today?
Husband and wife team Dan and Laura Dotson were the main auctioneers for the entire run
of Storage Wars.
Their auction style was marked by classic fast-talking patter, with the occasional reality-TV-friendly
squabble with a bidder.
"Alright!
And if you're ready to go, I'm ready to go.
How much money?
What's your pleasure?
Hey ma'am whatchya thinkin', how much?"
Now, Dan and Laura run their own private auctioneering company, called American Auctioneers.
They offer up auctions to the general public throughout California, most of which are typical
legal sales and seized lockers.
The couple also runs StorageAuctions.net, which acts as an online database and facilitator
for storage facility auctions across the country.
As The Blast reported, the Dotsons discovered that they had sold a very special locker to
a client for $500 in 2018.
What was inside?
Well, $7.5 million in cash.
Dave Hester is the closest thing the show had to an outright villain.
He got into fights with his fellow bidders and even the impartial auctioneers.
He raised the prices on lockers he had no intention of buying.
And he did it all with his infectiously aggravating, legally trademarked:
"YUUUP!"
According to USA Today, Hester tried to blow the lid off the whole operation in 2012 when
he complained to A&E producers that the program was largely fake.
When A&E fired him, he filed a wrongful termination suit for $750,000 in damages.
However, the suit was settled in 2014, and Hester returned to the show for the remainder
of its run.
"Now shut up."
"Don't tell me to shut up or I'll tell you to get the f--- out of my auction, how's that?"
Now, he runs an independent business as an auctioneer and consultant.
In an interview with SpareFoot, he said that his eventual goal would be:
"To buy a motorhome, and not even have a home address anymore, and just travel from one
town to the next and be a gypsy auctioneer."
Known as "The Gambler," Darrell Sheets made big swings on Storage Wars, often scoring
big.
He once bought a locker for $3,600, only to discover it contained artwork worth $300,000.
"Hold on just a minute...Three hundred thousand dollars?"
This was far and away the biggest profit made on the entire show's run.
Now, Sheets has somewhat retired from public life and clearly enjoys being a family man
alongside his daughter and his fiancee.
He's also undergone a dramatic weight loss, shedding approximately 40 pounds using the
Nutrisystem method.
Sadly, in March 2019, Sheets revealed on social media that he was recovering from two back
to back heart attacks after years of being, in his words,
"A closet diabetic that would eat whatever [he] wanted and masked it with diabetic pills."
Let's hope for a safe and speedy recovery for "The Gambler."
On Storage Wars, collector Barry Weiss disarmed everyone with his unorthodox bidding style
and rat-a-tat roasts against his fellow storage warriors.
He impressed A&E so much that in 2014, he left the original show and was given his own
spinoff, Barry'd Treasure.
On the show, which lasted for eight episodes, he traveled across the country in search of
hidden goodies and knick-knacks, showing off his knowledge of classic cars in the process.
The following year, he was given yet another A&E spinoff, called Storage Wars: Barry Strikes
Back.
Weiss guided viewers through his favorite Storage Wars episodes and moments, offering
behind-the-scenes tidbits along the way.
"Oh here's where they're taking the potty mouth."
Currently, Weiss has stepped away somewhat from public life, he hasn't tweeted since
2014.
In a couple of more recent TMZ interviews, Weiss said he won't be appearing on TV anytime
soon, content with living life as, in his words, a "professional slacker."
Mary's Storage Wars journey began on a spin-off.
After her stint on Storage Wars: Texas, Mary was brought on board the main ship in season
five.
She earned her nickname "The Junkster" based on her devil-may-care attitude toward finding
treasures.
"Today this bull is a cash cow."
Currently, Mary maintains a vintage store called Mary's Finds, which sells, as she describes
it, "an eclectic mix of found treasures refurbished or untouched," many of which were featured
in her personal Storage Wars journeys.
According to her website, Mary has also worked extensively with Ubuntu Life, an organization
dedicated to helping children with special needs in Kenya.
Mary personally visited Kenya, met with many of the locals, and collected treasures along
the way.
She sells some of her finds on her website, with 20% of the proceeds going directly to
Ubuntu Life.
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