Paul John Teutul is one of the co-founders of Orange County Choppers, a
manufacturer of custom motorcycles and 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 Early life
Teutul was born in Yonkers, New York and grew up in Pearl River, New York.
In a few episodes of American Chopper, Teutul has alluded to past abuse of
drugs and alcohol. He has stated that he was a frequent cocaine user and,
according to him, "had basically done any drug around". During an episode in
which his son Mikey interviewed OCC's staff for the Web site, he asked his
father, "What is your best memory?" to which Teutul responded, "Gettin' sober."
Additionally, he has mentioned having "missed out" on most of his children's
childhoods and also stated he wanted to make up for it with his grandchildren.
In the book written by the Teutuls called The Tale of the Teutuls, Teutul
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.
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.
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. In 1999 he left
and co-founded Orange County Choppers with his son Paul Jr 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 also particular about neatness, often yelling about the disorganization
and cleanliness of the shop, and being described by Michael at one point as
being "like Martha Stewart on a motorcycle." Teutul has appeared on the
Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Tonight
Show with Jay Leno and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
He has been featured in the music video for Nickelback's "Rockstar", and also in
the television programs Long Way Round starring Ewan McGregor and Charley
Boorman and on King of The Hill in Season 10, Episode 10 titled Hank Fixes
Everything. Along with his son Paul Jr., Teutul played a small role in the 2007
film Wild Hogs. As part of the agreement with the My Name Is Earl bike, they were
also featured on an episode of the show. In a 2008 episode, they can be seen
fighting in a makeshift bike shop as Earl steals a bike parked outside.
Teutul was a contestant on the Celebrity Apprentice 5 until he was fired by
Donald Trump on April 15's episode. = Legal issues=
Teutul and OCC have been the defendants of a number of legal actions. They
include claims from former employees, including Cody Connelly for a bike he
was apparently given on the show but never got to keep, as well as
unauthorized use of his name and likeness.
A lawsuit in 2007 alleging fraud, brought on behalf of Turner
Construction. This dates back to 2003 and a ruling in favor of Turner in 2005
concerning the original OC Iron Works company. It is alleged that assets were
stripped from OC Ironworks, transferring the viable assets, contracts and
personnel to a new company OC Ironworks LLC, before bankrupting the former. OC
Ironworks LLC is owned entirely by Daniel Teutul. This involved
transferring the ownership to Paul Jr and selling the assets with unfair
compensation to the new company. Trustee Tom Genova filed complaint with
Bankruptcy Court and sought to have the transfers from the old company to the
new company judged fraudulent and set aside. He also sought to make the new
company liable for the old company's debts. A settlement was reached between
Orange County Ironworks LLC and Tom Genova with Orange County Ironworks LLC
agreeing to pay out $500,000. On March 18, 2011, the Times
Herald-Record reported that Orange County Choppers was considering
abandoning the OCC world headquarters, located in Newburgh, New York, and
constructing a new 25,000 sq ft building adjacent to the current facility on
behalf of a company referred to as G&M Orange LLC, which lists Teutul as its
owner. In 2011, records of Teutul receiving
illegal prescriptions from a since-closed Florida anti-aging clinic
for human growth hormone and other assorted steroids between 2003 and 2006
were released. 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. 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
filed for divorce in February 2015. Beth has returned to California where she has
two sons of her own from her previous marriage: Burton Dillon III and Brent
Dillon, aged 35 and 33 respectively. 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 are
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 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. This tattoo
session was taped and was shot own as part of an episode of American Chopper.
Another example is the tattoo he received from Ami James, renowned tattoo
artist from the shop Miami Ink, a portrait piece of his pet bullmastiff,
Marty, to go along with an earlier portrait of his older bullmastiff, Gus
whose full name is August, which was done by another tattoo artist.
References External links
Official website Discovery Channel's American Chopper
Paul Teutul, Sr. at the Internet Movie Database
Paul Teutul, Sr. Profile on Country Music Television