Jesse James

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Jesse James - The Television Debut of Jesse James - Jesse James Interview - West Coast Choppers Customs -
Monster Garage - West Coast Choppers - Cisco Burger - Monster Garage -Indian Larry - Indian Larry Memorial.

Jesse G. James
Jesse Gregory James is a multi-layered person. He was a television personality and is CEO of motorcycle manufacturer West Coast Choppers, their signature is custom-made motorcycles. James garnered his fame with his impeccable work, though it was being the host of Motorcycle Mania and the former series Monster Garage on the Discovery Channel that brought him to a level of celebrity born of main stream exposure rather than that of the outstanding reputation he’d built for himself. Jesse James metamorphisized from Chopper Culture Trailblazer to a Pop-Culture Icon when West Coast Choppers, the celebrated Long Beach, California custom motorcycle shop he built from scratch, became part of the backdrop for The Discovery Channel’s popular series “Monster Garage” (2002). As the show’s heavily tattooed, charismatic bad-ass host, James transcended his mechanical background to become a mainstream celebrity with all manner of fans.

The reason I decided to design my website as a biographical collection of information is because, to me - he has created a career around technology. Not only has he succeeded, he has done it all entirely on his own terms and merit.

Early life:
Jesse Gregory James was born on April 19, 1969 in Lynwood, California to Larry and Carol James, the younger of two children. Jesse James claims to be related to "the outlaw Jesse James" from his great grandfather's cousin. James states he grew up in Long Beach, California, but that he did not spend his entire childhood there. James' parents divorced while he was still in grade school in South Gate, California and he and Sister Julie were then moved to Riverside with their father, Larry James and attended La Sierra High School.

Personal life:
James has three children - two daughters, Sunny and Chandler, as well as a son, Jesse James, Jr. – Chandler and JJ Jr. are from his first wife, Karla. He also has a daughter, Sunny, by his second wife, Janine Lindemulder, an adult film star/producer, and a former Penthouse model, however, he had no participation in her life until early 2007. Sunny was born January 2004. On July 16, 2005 James married actress Sandra Bullock; they met when Bullock arranged for her eight-year-old godson, who was a fan, to tour the set of Monster Garage.
On Oct. 20, 2002, he married porn star Janine Lindemulder – also known for gracing the cover of the band Blink 182’s more popular CDs as a nurse. The following year, James left Lindemulder while she was seven months pregnant with his second daughter, Sunny. The couple’s divorce was finalized in 2004. He went on to date A-list actress, Sandra Bullock, after the actress arranged for her eight-year-old godson, who was a fan, to watch the taping of an episode of his show. The unlikely coupling culminated in a July 16, 2005 wedding in Santa Barbara, CA – a marital merger which raised his profile outside the reality TV/motorcycle worlds in which he normally circulated.Interesting Facts:· On January 26, 2007 James was fined $271,250 for selling motorcycles that violated California air standards. James sold more than 50 motorcycles from his Long Beach shop that failed to meet California emissions standards.

Jesse James was named one of People Magazines' 50 Most Beautiful People in 2003.
Jesse James is an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church.
West Coast Choppers clients include Shaquille O’ Neal, Kid Rock and Model, Tyson Beckford.
Started West Coast Choppers in a friends garage without any partners or loans.
Played football with University of California, Riverside until a knee injury ended his career.· At the time a 6’2” Jesse James, could bench-press an impressive 400 pounds.
Jesse was at one point a bodyguard for the musical acts - Sound Garden, Danzig and Slayer.
His practical skills were obvious long before his other star qualities, he fabricated his first motorcycle exhaust system using mostly out dated, obsolete and hand tools in his mother’s garage when he was a high school freshman.
Jesse James got his first motorbike at the age of 7.

Career:
In 1998 Jesse opened West Coast Choppers in his mother's garage. The company grew quickly and soon moved to a larger facility. In 2000 the Discovery Channel made the documentary "Motorcycle Mania" which chronicled Jesse's everyday life and was to became one of the highest rated shows in the history of the network. Following the success of the documentary, the Discovery Channel approached Jesse with an offer to host a new show called "Monster Garage" where James and a crew of mechanics modified vehicles under a short deadline. Jesse later established "Payupsucker Productions" under which he produced shows like "History of the Chopper", "Iraq Confidential with Jesse James" and "Green Scream" in which Jesse plans to break the land speed record with an eco-friendly hydrogen car.

West Coast Choppers employs 50 workers in an 18,000-square foot facility and produces 12 to 14 custom bikes each year for select customers and companies. About 200 bikes have been built at West Coast Choppers. The company has started modifying cars as well, with about 15 cars constantly being in their shop at different stages of modification. Although his bikes cost as much as $150,000, and often required as much as a year-long wait, James’ mix of quality workmanship and personality attracted big dollars and A-list celebrities, including basketball player Shaquille O’Neal, model Tyson Beckford and the aforementioned Kid Rock. James became known for tailoring each of his special-order motorcycle to the specific buyer, a process so specific that he actually took numerous measurements of the rider and factored those into the design of each bike. With its newfound visibility and financial success, West Coast Choppers’ staff ballooned to over 50 people and began to outgrow its 18,000 square foot space. The attention even made the name “West Coast Choppers” a recognizable clothing brand.
Celebrities sought James out personally, as well as professionally.

Monster Garage was one of, and at one point - the most - popular television show for the Discovery Channel hosted by Jesse James. Each episode was an hour in length and was conceived and produced (along with Jesse) by reality automotive show mastermind Thom Beers. The show aired the series finale on June 12, 2006. Jesse G. James, the host of the show, did not participate in the actual builds.

Sensing his growing mass appeal, the Discovery Channel made James the host of “Monster Garage,” a reality show in which he supervised teams of mechanics and engineers tasked with transforming ordinary vehicles into one-of-a-kind machines. A typical transformation was when an old milk truck was converted into a mobile milking station that could not only milk a cow, but pasteurize and dispense it by the glass. James’ real life business, West Coast Choppers became an integral part of the TV program, as the “Monster Garage” team often utilized James’ shop and machinery to help them meet the challenges of the weekly show. Conveniently, the warehouse that served as Monster Garage's set was located mere blocks from the real-life West Coast Choppers' Long Beach location. In practice, as the series progressed, some liberties were taken with the first two rules, at times becoming punch lines. In one episode, when a Chevrolet El Camino was turned into a Figure 8 race car, James discarded plans for a spoiler on the vehicle, sarcastically citing the first rule. Starting with season 4, the winning team also donated a toolkit to a high school of their choice.

The Rules of Monster Garage:

According to the show, the rules for Monster Garage were as follows:

1-When complete, the monster must appear to be stock.
2-The team has $3000 (later raised to $5000) for parts.
3-The team has seven days to complete the monster.

Show Timeline:

A) The First day is for designing.
B) The next Five are for building.
C) The Seventh day is to test of the monster!

Failed Monsters and their Ultimate Demise

Cadillac Hearse/Car Crusher "Grim Ripper" — was the first failure on Monster Garage. The build team spent more time goofing off than building the car. In one scene, the original Batmobile appeared at the shop, and Jesse quipped "tryin' to weld" when asked what he was doing. The non-functional Car Crusher was then sent to Terminal Island to meet its fate in a scrapper. At the suggestion of the scrap machine's owner, the Hearse came to an explosive end with a propane tank in the back. In Grim Ripper II, the team spoofed the demise of their first project by having the car in which they arrived at Terminal Island meet the same fate as the first hearse.
Scion xA/Rock'em, Sock'em Scions — In this two-episode special, Jesse handpicked a team of the best Monster Garage participants at the time, while the producers picked a "mis-fit" team of quirky and somewhat anti-social participants to build Rock'em Sock'em Robots out of two new Scions. The winning team would win a "special edition" set of Mac tools while the other team would see their creation turned into scrap. Jesse's handpicked team, dubbed the Red Rockers, secured the Scion xB, while the producer-selected Blue Bombers received the xA. In the challenge, the Bombers' xA suffered transmission issues, meaning the Rockers won by default. Some members of the Bombers stayed to see their failed monster off, only to find out that they would be receiving tool sets as well.
De Lorean DMC-12 Hovercraft — In an early attempt to shave time off the build, the team removed the outer bodywork of a De Lorean and put it on a donor personal hovercraft. Quite angry about this decision (even though he himself declared early on that he didn't like the project), Jesse fired one of the team members after a snide comment. Working again with a "new" De Lorean donor, the team tried unsuccessfully to make the monster hover but ultimately ran out of time. The car was eventually towed to a naval base where a tank tracked vehicle crushed the unfinished vehicle.
Mazda Miata Jetski — Some fans have noted that the reason why this build failed was the engine might have contributed to the air intake being flooded due to the heavy weight in the nose area. Nevertheless, three members of the build team opted to send the Miata to the scrapheap with a dynamite explosion.
Dirt Track Camaro — For the second time in MG history, this build had an all-girl build team (the first was the Black Widow Demolition Derby Car, which was heavily gutted moments before a demolition derby). However, a plague of miscommunication and personal differences sent this Camaro to a steel smelter and eventual recycling into rebar.
Peel Trident Micro Car — With a team composed of mostly dwarves, the team attempted to put a Hayabusa engine into a tiny Peel Car. Some fans felt that the team was compromised due to their small stature, but Jesse coldly stated that he gave no team any exceptions; they were all equal. Other fans feel the project was simply too ambitious for builders of any size. After they failed, Jesse, sporting some of his personal gun collection, took out the Peel with a .50 calibre sniper rifle.
Anglia Nitro Dragster — The team did not give themselves enough time to fire up the engine. The engine ended up not firing due to timing issues, and Jesse brought it to a construction site where a crane dropped a large metal box on it.

Succeeded monsters destroyed in Day 7

Mazda RX-7/Doom Buggy — Unsatisfied with how the Sandrail performed, Jesse destroyed it with a Dillon Minigun.
1970 Cadillac Coupe DeVille/Demolition-Derby Car - In day 7, Cindy Regimbald lost the demolition derby, leaving the car smashed from the derby.
1970 Oval Racer/RC Car - During the challenge, after Jesse lapped the car about 5 times, he rammed his car into the rear fender of it and sent it smashing into wall of the short track. The monster was totalled, and it was stored outside the Monster Garage, later to be cannibalized in future episodes.
1969-1970 Classic Farm Tractor/Crop Circler - The vehicle was built successfully, but Jesse decided the project was uninteresting, so he burnt it in a desert with a flame thrower.

Publications:
James found time to write a book of his own. It was published by Viking Studio and Penguin Group.
·    "I Am JESSE JAMES"
Published by Meredith Books first was a book about the TV series.
·    Inside Monster Garage.
MBI Publishing Company has published Monster Garage instruction books under the Motorbooks brand, separately or also sold together as Monster Garage Gift Set and The Big Box of Monster Garage:
·    "Monster Garage: How to Custom Paint Damn Near Anything"
·    "Monster Garage: How to Customize Damn Near Anything"
·    "Monster Garage: How to Fabricate Damn Near Anything"
·    "Monster Garage: How to Weld Damn Near Anything"

Extracurricular:
Other branches of the "West Coast Family" include the Chopperdogs fan club and Jesse's Girl clothing line. Since 2006 James has published Garage magazine. James has also built and is racing an off-road Trophy Truck and a Figure-8 race car. West Coast Choppers is also sponsoring race teams in Top Fuel Drags and Super Late Model NASCAR. James recently bought Austin Speed Shop, which builds custom cars including a Mercury for Jesse himself. Through James' show "History of the Chopper" there are also glimpses of his involvement with the Hells Angels and other 1% outlaw motorcycle clubs. One of James' latest ventures is the Cisco Burger restaurant, which opened on April 28, 2006, just down the street from West Coast Choppers. The 1950s style hamburger stand - named after his beloved pit bull which is now deceased - features Kobe beef burgers, low-fat burritos, organic vegetables, and biodegradable wrappings.

Notable Quotes:
(Quoted from the book "I am JESSE JAMES" - the book he, himself authored.)

"The show, is about people not unlike myself: the rapidly vanishing breed of unheralded artisans who fabricate the stuff of daily life, like cars and refrigerators. The 60-year-old man pounding metal for 40 years sitting around at noon eating lunch every day - I want to shake his hand, That guy behind the scenes making his knuckles bleed." —Jesse G. James.

"I stuck to my guns and stuck to what I liked and forced everyone to change." —Jesse G. James.

"People who can make something with their hands could run the world." —Jesse G. James.

"I don't do anything that I don't want to do."—Jesse G. James.

"Pay Up Sucker!" —Jesse G. James.

"Jesse Who?" — The first slogan used for the West Coast Choppers clothing lauch.