You probably recognize Rick Petko from American Chopper.
He started working at Orange County Choppers as a fabricator and builder in July 2003,
but he's not part of the operation anymore.
So, what's Petko up to these days?
He got married in 2012
In 2012, Petko married Brittany Cockeram on an episode of American Chopper.
Even though Senior and Junior were feuding at the time, they still came out for Petko's
wedding.
Once Petko was married, his priorities began to shift.
Petko and Cockeram welcomed their first daughter, Everly Rose, in October 2013.
Judging by the countless adorable photos of Everly hanging out on motorcycles on Petko's
Instagram profile, it's clear that he's loving fatherhood and encouraging his daughter to
follow in his footsteps.
Everly seems to be taking after her father and looking up to his example.
According to Petko, this girl already understands the need for speed.
Petko told Discovery Channel,
"If it's got wheels, she says, 'Go!'"
"I feel the need, the need for speed."
Jumping networks
After American Chopper was cancelled in 2012, OCC wasn't quite done being featured on reality
TV.
A spinoff of the popular series, simply titled Orange County Choppers, aired on CMT from
2013 through 2014, and Petko continued on as a cast member.
Orange County Choppers filled a void for dedicated fans of American Chopper, but the series was
short-lived, running for just one season.
It was a similar concept to American Chopper but just didn't carry the same appeal.
It wasn't quite the same without Senior and Junior's fights keeping things interesting.
It was nice for fans who weren't quite ready to say goodbye to Senior, Petko, and the rest
of the crew, but it was missing the exciting dynamics between cast members that made the
original so entertaining.
Building Shaq's Bike
After Orange County Choppers ended, some of the American Chopper cast members reunited
in 2014 for a Discovery Channel special titled American Chopper: Shaq Bike.
Unfortunately, not everyone was back on board for it.
Petko made an appearance, but there was no sign of Junior.
The special was about the crew building a custom bike for Shaquille O'Neal, and while
it was a challenge, the crew really stepped up.
Shaq's custom made bike, nicknamed the "Man of Steel," turned out to be the biggest in
OCC history.
This bike featured a 48-inch handlebar, a 6-inch rake, a 23-inch front wheel, and a
20-inch rear wheel.
"He's like a little kid that happens to be seven foot tall."
Until the American Chopper revival started airing, this was the last time viewers saw
the crew at OCC appear together onscreen.
In following years, Petko made some pretty serious changes in his life and career.
They would take him down a new path that diverged from the rest of the cast and crew from American
Chopper.
A long commute
Plenty of people can relate to Petko's frustration with his long commute, which he put up with
for years while working at OCC.
Three hours in the car each day took away from time spent with family, enjoying hobbies,
or simply relaxing.
Fans of American Chopper were well aware of Petko's extended traveling times, since he
mentioned it plenty of times on the show, and although he pushed through it for over
a decade, it clearly began to wear him down.
"You know, Rick's one of those guys, he doesn't really say a lot.
But every day, he drives to OCC about two hours each way from Pennsylvania."
One reason that Petko left OCC was because he wanted to spend less time in his car and
more time closer to home, doing what he really loved and engaging with his local community.
It also made life a lot easier for his family.
Once American Chopper ended and Petko became a dad, he began to think seriously about working
closer to home.
This was always part of his plan, even though it took several years for him to jump ship
from OCC.
His own shop
In 2016, Petko opened his own fabrication shop in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, in conjunction
with the Pocono Mountain Harley-Davidson dealership.
It all started in December 2015, when Petko entered a partnership with the dealership's
management.
According to Petko, they were super enthusiastic about working together from the moment that
he approached them, which took him by surprise.
It's rare for American dealerships to include fabrication work in their shops.
Knowing him personally as a hard worker and a stand up guy, the dealership managers knew
that bringing Petko into the business would be a huge boost.
Now, customers can essentially build their custom dream bikes through the dealership,
and Petko's partnership generated publicity.
Petko is clearly happy with his new full-time gig and the possibilities that it presents.
Petko told the Pocono Record:
"It has really anything we need to make anything for anyone's Harley.
If they can dream it up, we can build it.
That's the main goal."
Other business
Petko's talents are not limited to working on bikes.
He has plenty of other interests, and now that he is not working full time for OCC,
he has more time to spend on outside pursuits.
Petko's shop, RPD & Co., runs out of his home.
Through his shop, Petko does metalwork, handforging, and custom knifework.
As Petko explains on his personal website, he was originally interested in metalwork
long before going on TV.
Yes, his true passion is building motorcycles, but that's not all he loves to do.
He actually went to welding school.
Eventually, he went to work as an industrial contractor, relining kilns and furnaces for
a living.
Now, his business specializes in handmade culinary knives, and he takes custom orders.
He often shares recent knifework that he's proud of on Instagram.
"I was actually coming up with a new blade shape. I was going for something like a train, a high-speed train."
Custom wedding bands
Petko's latest project is creating custom wedding bands for RPD & Co. customers.
Wedding bands are the perfect opportunity for him to get creative with his metalwork.
Petko only takes custom orders for wedding bands, working with customers to create a
band that is a symbol of their love.
There's no doubt that it would cost a little extra to hire Petko for a custom wedding band,
but for big fans of American Chopper who like his artistic style, it might be worth the
price.
After all, a wedding band is meant to last for life.
"Um actually I did.
I was coming up with actually a new blade shape when this situation came up.
I was going for something almost like a train, like a high-speed train."
Second daughter arrives
Petko and Cockeram's second child, Lucy, was born in 2016.
Like her older sister Everly, she seems to love hanging out in the bike shop and spending
time with her dad.
Petko supports his daughters by encouraging them in one of their favorite sports, taekwondo.
Petko is enthusiastic about fatherhood and putting his family first.
Viewers of American Chopper will remember that he was always one of the most down-to-earth
members of the cast.
He kept his head down, focused on his work, and prioritized what really mattered.
It's likely that his new responsibilities as a father were one of the reasons he keeps
a lower profile these days.
Spending time with his wife and daughters is clearly number one on his list, and being
a reality TV star isn't always conducive to being a family man.
Shunning the spotlight
Petko is a relatively private person.
Anyone who watched American Chopper will know that he was never in it for the fame and fortune.
He was just along for the ride, and he was never too attached to the idea of becoming
a bona fide "reality TV star."
He does his job for the love of it, as evidenced by the fact that he has continued in the same
line of work even after the cameras stopped rolling.
He shows no signs of stopping.
The very qualities that made Petko so endearing to audiences, like his laid back, low maintenance
attitude in comparison to other reality TV stars, is probably why he's not vying to be
in front of the camera anymore.
He doesn't crave the attention.
He's had a pretty good run on the small screen, and now, he's happy to turn over a new leaf
and seek out different opportunities.
Petko told the Pocono Record of his time on American Chopper:
"That was great while it lasted, but it still wasn't the core of what I was about or what
I like to do."
Sons of Speed
Even so, Petko appeared on the web series Sons of Speed for the Motor Trend network
in 2017.
The series followed Billy Lane, who also builds motorcycles, and his good friend Xavier Murray,
in their quest to revive the era of board track racing.
Lane is an avid collector of motorcycle engines built in the early 20th century, and his goal
is to restore them and bring them back to the race track.
In Sons of Speed, Lane and Murray were preparing for an upcoming race at the New Smyrna Speedway
in Florida.
It's a limited series of only two episodes, so fans of American Chopper looking for similar
shows can easily finish watching it in one night.
Petko's part in the show involved working on a specific bike for Lane.
He was interested in the project because it meant that he would get to work with older
bikes, which has always been one of his passions.
Petko said,
"I've always had a thing for older bikes.
It's like a resurgence, it seems like, with a lot of people just wanting to bring back
these bikes.
To go a hundred miles per hour on a hundred year old bike is kind of cool."
The miniseries was a relatively low key commitment, which is probably another reason why Petko
chose to partake.
Sitting out the revival
After being off the air for several years, American Chopper returned to the Discovery
Channel with a brand new season in 2018.
A full decade after their business partnership crumbled, Senior and Junior were running their
own shops, but they were finally ready to set aside their differences and work together
on camera again.
"The biggest issue me and Paulie had was working together.
So working on this Yankee bike is a little strange.
It kinda brings back some bad memories."
Longtime fans were definitely excited to see many of their old favorite cast members, but
not everyone returned for the revival.
Petko was notably missing from the two most recent seasons, and while there is always
a chance that he could make a surprise appearance, he hasn't hinted at it, and it seems unlikely.
He's got a lot on his plate right now, and it seems like he would rather just keep the
door closed on American Chopper.
Petko's fans will always be able to check in on him and see what he's been working on,
but when he said that reality TV was not his major objective, he meant it.
We'll never say never.
It's not unthinkable that Petko could pay a visit to his friends at OCC one day while
the cameras are rolling.
But for now, it's safe to say that American Chopper is behind him.
Races and bike shows
Petko may not be on TV anymore, but fans who want to see what he's up to can easily catch
him on Instagram.
He's very open about his latest projects and updates on his family life.
While he is clearly very involved with his own community in Stroudsburg, he also has
plenty of work commitments all around the country.
Petko travels for bike shows and races, and when possible, he likes to bring his family
along with him.
For example, in October 2018, he shared that he was traveling down to the Tennessee Motorcycle
Revival to show his Indian racer in the Bling's Cycles Bike Show and ride the bike in the
Flathead race.
Petko has also shared that he is looking forward to participating in the Sons of Speed event
again.
He's always updating his fans on new bikes that he's working on and whether or not he'll
be getting them out on the track.
He knows that although his audience can't tune in to see him on TV anymore, they are
still interested in the bikes that he's constructing and where he's headed next.
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