american-pickers-mike-wolfe-frank-fritz-technology-affected-freestyling

‘American Pickers’: Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz Once Discussed How Technology Affected Their ‘Freestyling’

One of the best things about American Pickers was watching Mike and Frank work off of one another in the field as well as in the van. In fact, their personalities helped to sell the show after five long years of trying. They were the dynamic duo of picking. That’s all in the past now, no matter how hard it is to accept.

The American Pickers stars have decades of picking experience under their belts. In fact, Mike started picking when he was just a kid. The world has changed so much since then. So, it should come as no surprise that picking has changed over time as well. This is especially true in recent years. Technology now affects how we do just about everything in life. The same is true for picking.

However, the American Pickers stars weren’t just dealing with technological changes. They were also dealing with their own fame. The show hit the airwaves in 2010 and it didn’t take long for it to become a hit. As a result, people across the country can spot Fritz and Wolfe from a mile away.

Both of these things have made freestyle picking a little more challenging for Mike and Frank.

In a 2014 interview with Sidewalks, the American Pickers stars opened up about how their fame and technology combined to make freestyle picking harder than ever.

How Technology Changed ‘Freestyling’ for the ‘American Pickers’

Sidewalks’ Cindy Rhodes wanted to know “How often is freestyling successful? Does that actually work out for you?”

Both of the American Pickers stars got a laugh out of the question. Then, Mike Wolfe kicked off a story about one particular freestyle pick. “Remember when we were on the Tennessee/Virginia border? We knocked on the door and this guy’s laying there in his underwear on the couch,” he recalled with a laugh.

The nearly-nude homeowner groggily made his way to the door. He swings open the door, still rubbing sleep from his eyes, and says, “Is that you, Frank?”

At that point, Frank chimed in to say that the fact that so many people know who they are has made it hard to freestyle. Apparently, many people with piles of rusty gold watch American Pickers. On top of that, the stars’ faces were all over The History Channel as well as the internet at that time. So, it was hard to find someone who doesn’t already know who they were.

Frank continued, saying, “There’s a lot of people out there that don’t have cable, don’t have internet, don’t have that kind of stuff.” Those are the ones who don’t know who the stars of American Pickers are. Therefore, they are the ones that Mike and Frank liked to find when looking for a place to freestyle.