Paul Teutul Sr.: 'American Chopper' is "the only real reality show"

Paul Teutul Sr. didn't pull any punches in claiming that American Chopper is the only real reality series out there.


"I honestly believe we're the only real reality show out there," he told the New York Daily News in a Wednesday report. "You can't stage the things that happen. There's no script."

Teutul also discussed last week's incident in which the Heene family -- which has twice appeared on ABC's Wife Swap reality series -- claimed their 6-year-old son was inside the compartment of a homemade helium balloon when it accidentally took off, launching a 50-mile, two-hour chase to bring it down.

After investigating the incident once the balloon was brought down without the boy inside, authorities have alleged it was a hoax intended to land the family a reality show deal. 

"That's greed. That's out of the realm. I didn't do anything to get the TV show, it came to me," Teutul told the Daily News.  "There's a lot of people out there that think the same way [as the Heene family]. If you look at the reality shows out there today, it's a joke."


Teutul also offered his insight on another reality series -- TLC's Jon & Kate Plus 8 -- as he previously appeared in a crossover episode for both shows and explained it went better than he thought it would.

"I thought it was going to be a bad experience, but it was a good experience, believe it or not," he told the Daily News. "I spent a lot of time with [Kate]. She was very nice, that was my experience. I expected her to be totally different."

New American Chopper sixth-season episodes will being airing on Thursday at 9PM ET/PT on TLC.  The show's sixth season premiered in April, and its debut broadcast concluded with Teutul firing his son Paulie, who now operates his own design business.

Despite efforts by his other son Mikey to try and reunite the family, Teutul said he's not biting.

"I'm still getting stepped on, and I need to make a separation," he told the Daily News. "My health was starting to deteriorate."


While Paulie and Mikey still appear on camera for the show, the Daily News reported they "now work for TLC" and not Teutul's Orange County Choppers company.

"I think the TV show plays into this tremendously," Teutul told the Daily News. "Before the TV show, I had a steel business for 28 years. I worked all my life. Those guys never had a job but working for me."

Teutul added that despite gaining celebrity status from American Chopper, he hasn't let it go to his head.

"If you're a self-centered person and all of a sudden this fame comes on -- and a bundle of money -- then everything changes, which it shouldn't," he told the Daily News.

"For me, it hasn't changed. I never had no role models. I never had nobody. Nobody gave me anything. [Paulie and Mikey] had a golden spoon in their a--."


The Teutul family may have a rocky relationship, but the patriarch said American Chopper isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"I think I've got another two or three years, maybe," he told the Daily News.






About The Author: Christopher Rocchio