Paul Teutul, Sr.

Paul John Teutul ( ; born May 1, 1949) is an American motorcycle designer and the founder of Orange County Choppers, a manufacturer of custom motorcycles and the focus of the reality television series American Chopper. He first appeared on the show with his sons Paul Jr. and Michael. 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. He enlisted as a member of the United States Merchant Marine during the Vietnam War.

Career

Teutul originally began with Orange County Ironworks, a fabrication shop now solely owned and managed by son Daniel Teutul. He began building custom bikes as a hobby after being inspired by the many custom bikes appearing on the streets and in films. In 1999, he left and founded Orange County Choppers. He began building bikes that quickly made their way to magazine covers, and center stage at every major motorcycle event. OCC landed on the hit reality show American Chopper.

Family In addition to Paul Jr. and Mikey Teutul, Paul Sr. has two other children: Christin Teutul and Daniel 'Dan' Teutul. Dan Teutul took over Orange County Ironworks when his father started building more bikes than buildings. His daughter Christin is a nurse in New York City who works in pediatrics. Paul Sr. has seven grandchildren.

Teutul's regular arguments with his son Paul Jr. became a routine occurrence during episodes of American Chopper. These vocal disagreements eventually led to Paul Jr. being fired in September 2008.