Paul Teutul Sr. Is Now a Florida Man and No One Is Surprised

In 2003, Paul Teutul Sr. (aka Senior) created a brand with his Discovery Channel show, American Chopper. The show featured Paul and his son, Paul Teutul Jr. (aka Junior) as they built custom chopper-style motorcycles. However, because of tension between Senior and Junior, Junior left the show, while his father continued until 2019.

Paul Sr. served in the Merchant Marine during the Vietnam War and then founded Orange County Choppers in 1999. They capitalized on the drama between Senior and Junior with their short-lived series, Senior vs. Junior, in 2010. They did another show called Orange County Choppers, but it was canceled after eight episodes. Plenty has changed since then, so what happened to Paul Teutul Sr.?

Paul Sr. continued running Orange County Choppers with his business partner, Thomas Derbyshire, but in 2017, Thomas sued him. Thomas claimed that Paul used his investments for personal reasons, and because of this, Paul filed for bankruptcy in 2018. At this point, he relocated Orange County Choppers to Florida and opened the OCC Roadhouse and Museum in Clearwater.

The OCC Roadhouse has a concert venue, restaurant, and museum, so it’s a whole entertainment complex. However, it was connected to several Ponzi schemes in 2018 when the Miami Herald shared that foreign investors had been conned out of millions of dollars. Apparently, the Orange County Clerk’s office also filed a $22,000 warrant for Paul because of unpaid taxes for his Orange County Choppers Cafe in Newburgh, N.Y. that same year.

In addition to that, Paul's Montgomery home was in foreclosure, so he hit his stride in financial and legal troubles. However, the OCC Roadhouse is still going strong in Clearwater, Fla., and Paul even used the venue as the location for the first annual Orange County Choppers Invitational Bike Show and Biker Build-Off Competition. The next one is scheduled for Nov. 21–24, 2024.

Luckily for us, Paul’s time on television isn’t over. West Coast Choppers host Jesse James is partnering with Paul and Monster Garage star Billy Layne to create a new online streaming network called Outlaw TV. Emmy-winning producer David McKillop is slated to be the network’s president. "I'm passionate about Outlaw TV. I want it to be the culmination of my career,” he said in a press release.

Jesse said of his partners, "These are no-nonsense guys who've seen success, still do, but have paid their dues along the way. I work with people who work with their hands — I've championed that for 25 years." Paul’s show will be called Senior Living, which will likely chronicle his nearly-retired life in Florida.