Documentary on Jesse James, at West Coast Choppers and his great talent for building one of a kind custom choppers.
To many, owning a motorcycle is the ultimate expression of freedom – an expression that begs to be unique. So, where can you go to forge a one-of-a-kind ride? Welcome to West Coast Choppers and meet metal-forming guru Jesse James, whose talent, unlike his outlaw ancestor, is arc welding with artistry and making chrome sing.
Jesse Gregory James (born April 19, 1969) is an American television personality and former CEO of Austin, Texas-based Austin Speed Shop. James was the host of the reality TV shows Jesse James is a Dead Man on Spike TV and Monster Garage, on the Discovery Channel, and the focus of the documentary Motorcycle Mania, also on Discovery. Jesse James also appeared in the Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 video game, and was the focus of a show chronicling some of the custom builds at Austin Speed Shop in his TV series, Jesse James Outlaw Garage which ran a shortened single season in 2012 on the Discovery Channel before being canceled.
In 2000, the Discovery Channel made the documentary Motorcycle Mania, which chronicled James’s everyday life. Following the success of the documentary, the Discovery Channel approached James with an offer to host a new show called Monster Garage where James and a crew of mechanics modified vehicles under a short deadline. James later established Payupsucker Productions, under which he produced shows like History of the Chopper, Iraq Confidential with Jesse James and Green Scream, in which James plans to break the land speed record with an eco-friendly hydrogen car. Through James’s show “History Of The Chopper” there are also glimpses of his involvement with the Hells Angels.
He also had an appearance on Discovery Channel’s Sons of Guns. He appeared on the second season of Celebrity Apprentice. Each celebrity played to raise money for a favorite charity; James selected to play for the Long Beach Education Foundation. Due to his poor performance in raising funds, James was eliminated by Donald Trump on the second-to-last show (ultimately placing 3rd) which aired May 3, 2009. Trump repeatedly cited James’s stoic refusal to contact then-wife Bullock to raise funds for the show’s challenges, though other celebrities had no problem tapping high-rolling contacts for cash.
His show Jesse James is a Dead Man premiered on Spike TV on May 31, 2009. The show features James doing death defying stunts. The first episode set a ratings record for Spike, drawing the largest audience ever for an unscripted series on the network, with 2 million viewers. The show is produced by Spike TV, BASE Productions and James’s company, PayupSucker Productions. In conjunction with that appearance Marvel Comics created a special one-shot comic book where he evades death once again after considering retirement, and made it available in comic book stores for free distribution.
James has appeared on an episode of Street Customs where he had his pickup truck customized by West Coast Customs.He appeared in an advert for T-Mobile’s Google mobile phone with Whoopi Goldberg and Phil Jackson. Jesse James appeared on Sons of Guns on March 28, 2012. He asked the Red Jacket Firearms team to build a customized BAR for him, and even assisted in the build himself. Jesse appeared in special “Biker Build-Off” episodes of American Chopper in 2011 and 2012 for bike build-off competitions with Paul Teutul Jr. (representing Paul Jr. Designs), and Paul Teutul Sr. (representing Orange County Choppers), with Gas Monkey Garage (featured on the Discovery series Fast N’ Loud) entering the competition in 2012.
Jesse, I need a gas cap for my big bear chopper. I was wondering if you could make one?