Kicking off the week with some exciting projects, longtime American Choppers star Paul Teutul Jr. took to his Instagram to give his followers a sneak peek at his new bike restoration.
“Restoring a Nimbus,” the American Chopper alum writes in the post. “Excited to get this bike back together this week.”
Teutul Jr. appeared alongside his father Teutul Sr. on American Choppers for eight seasons. The father-son duo would manufacture custom chopper-style motorcycles. They are both known for having several verbal arguments on the show. An explosive argument in 2008 led to Jr.’s termination and departure to start his own chopper company, Paul Jr. Designs.
Paul Teutul Jr. Opens Up About Life Before ‘American Choppers’
In a 2017 interview with Arc Magazine, Paul Teutul Jr. opened up about his life prior to the debut of American Choppers and if he actually thought about being a designer/fabricator before the series. “I grew up making railings, working in the steel business. I started sweeping floors and painting railings. Then I learned to weld.”
The American Choppers alum also shared that for the first two years of building motorcycles, there was actually a learning curve. “Then as time went on, we just got more and more experience. Learned more fabrication and went from there.”
Jr. further discussed American Choppers ending and what his new focal point is. “My son is the best thing ever. You talk about creations. I know my part in all of it was the easy part. But he’s my boy and he’s been the best experience.”
The former reality star also noted that he feels like he can relate more to his father because of being a father. “I have my own son, which makes it even more curious for me as to why things went so horribly wrong between him and me. And why he needed to be so competitive with me instead of being the guy championing me to move forward.”
He also admitted that he doesn’t understand the competitive vibe between him and his father through the years. “I look at my own son and I think, ‘Man, he’s better than me. I want everything better for him.’ What a game change he’s been.”
In regards to feeling comfortable about where he’s currently at in terms of his career and away from the cameras, Jr. explained that he tried very hard for years to avoid having his identity tied up in American Choppers or made his celebrity status a big part of himself.
“But I don’t feel like I ever abused it. It does become a part of who you are, and it’s interesting when you start to pull back from that,” Jr. further stated. He then reflected on the people who are not really equipped to handling the fame.
“I can see how some people go the deep end. That’s why a lot of people get into drugs. And you see all these really bad cases of celebrities dying because they just can’t handle it,” he added.
