Jesse Gregory James (born April 19, 1969) is an American entrepreneur, automotive mechanic, and television personality. He is the founder of

West Coast Choppers West Coast Choppers (WCC) is a brand that began selling screen-printed T-shirts and stickers with the company's Iron cross/Maltese cross logo while founder and "master marketer" Jesse James was finishing high school, packaging the accoutrement ...

and former partner of Austin Speed Shop and current CEO of Jesse James Firearms Unlimited, both based in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

. He was the focus of a show chronicling some of the custom motorcycle builds in his TV series ''Jesse James: Monster Garage'', which ran a shortened single season in 2012 on the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...

before being canceled. James was the host of the

reality TV Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

shows ''Jesse James Is a Dead Man'' on

Spike TV Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles. The channel was o ...

and ''

Monster Garage ''Monster Garage'' is an American television series aired on the Discovery Channel and hosted by Jesse James (television personality), Jesse James. Each episode was an hour in length and was conceived and produced (along with James) by Thom Beers ...

'' on the

, and the focus of the documentary ''Motorcycle Mania'', also on Discovery. He also appeared in the 2004 skateboarding video game ''

Tony Hawk's Underground 2 ''Tony Hawk's Underground 2'' is a skateboarding video game, the sixth entry in the '' Tony Hawk's'' series after ''Tony Hawk's Underground''. It was developed by Neversoft and published by Activision on October 4, 2004 in the U.S. for the PlaySta ...

''.

Career

James was

outside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

Riverside Riverside may refer to: Places Australia * Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania Canada * Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon * Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta * Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...

, but two injuries forced him to begin his working life. At age 19, he became a

bouncer A bouncer (also known as a doorman or door supervisor) is a type of security guard, employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs, cabaret clubs, stripclubs, casinos, hotels, billiard halls, restaurants, sporting events, schools, concerts, or m ...

and then a

bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects a person or a group of people — usually witnesses, high-ranking public officials or officers, w ...

, notably for

Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...

Glenn Danzig Glenn Allen Anzalone (born June 23, 1955), better known by his stage name Glenn Danzig, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, film director, and record producer. He is the founder of the rock bands Misfits, Samhain, and Danzig. He owns t ...

, and

Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil (both of whom are the only members to appear in every incarnation of the band), and bassist Hiro Yamamo ...

. In 1992, James opened

in his mother's garage. James has also built and is racing an off-road

Trophy Truck A trophy truck, also known as a Baja truck or trick truck, is a vehicle used in high-speed off-road racing. This is an open production class and all components are considered legal unless specifically restricted. Although any truck that meets t ...

and a Figure-8 race car. James was the owner of the Cisco Burger restaurant, which opened on April 28, 2006, across the street from West Coast Choppers. It has officially closed. James also had partial ownership in Austin Speed Shop in

, which he left in 2013 to focus on the re-opening of West Coast Choppers in Austin. Other business ventures include the Chopperdogs fan club and the Jesse's Girl clothing line. James published the now-defunct ''Garage'' magazine. In November 2013, Jesse James Firearms Unlimited unveiled its first two firearms, a

1911 pistol The M1911 (Colt 1911 or Colt Government) is a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. The pistol's formal U.S. military designation as of 1940 was ''Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911'' for the ...

and

AR-15 rifle An AR-15-style rifle is any lightweight semi-automatic rifle based on the Colt AR-15 design. The original ArmaLite AR-15 is a scaled-down derivative of Eugene Stoner, Eugene Stoner's ArmaLite AR-10 design. The then Fairchild (aircraft manufactu ...

. His first rifle-caliber

suppressor A silencer, also known as a sound suppressor, suppressor, or sound moderator, is a muzzle device that reduces the acoustic intensity Sound intensity, also known as acoustic intensity, is defined as the power carried by sound waves per unit ...

was a basic reworking of an original Maxim design that he claimed could impossibly bend the

laws of physics Scientific laws or laws of science are statements, based on repeated experiments or observations, that describe or predict a range of natural phenomena. The term ''law'' has diverse usage in many cases (approximate, accurate, broad, or narrow) a ...

by offering a 78 dB rating at the muzzle, lower than even what the

De Lisle carbine The De Lisle carbine or De Lisle Commando carbine was a British firearm used during World War II that was designed with an integrated suppressor. That, combined with its use of subsonic ammunition, made it extremely quiet in action, possibly one o ...

achieved in testing; although James was careful to note that it only achieved that number with

subsonic ammunition Subsonic ammunition is ammunition designed to operate at velocities below the speed of sound, which at standard conditions is or Mach 1. This avoids the supersonic shockwave or "crack" of a supersonic bullet, which, particularly for suppressed ...

that does not produce a

sonic boom A sonic boom is a sound associated with shock waves created when an object travels through the air faster than the speed of sound. Sonic booms generate enormous amounts of sound energy, sounding similar to an explosion or a thunderclap to t ...

. As of 2020, James lives in Austin, Texas, operates Jesse James Fire Arms Unlimited, and manages the intellectual properties of West Coast Choppers.

Television

In 2000, the

made the documentary ''Motorcycle Mania'', which chronicled James' everyday life. Following the success of the documentary, the Discovery Channel approached James with an offer to host a new show called ''

'' 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 A hydrogen vehicle is a vehicle that uses hydrogen fuel for motive power. Hydrogen vehicles include hydrogen-fueled space rockets, as well as ships and aircraft. Power is generated by converting the chemical energy of hydrogen to mechanical energ ...

. Through James' show "History of the Chopper" there are also glimpses of his involvement with the

Hells Angels The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is a worldwide outlaw motorcycle club whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporatio ...

. He also had an appearance on Discovery Channel's ''

Sons of Guns ''Sons of Guns'' is a reality television series that aired on the Discovery Channel between 2011 and 2014. The series centers on Red Jacket Firearms LLC, a Louisiana-based business that manufactures and sells custom firearms to law enforcement, sec ...

''. He appeared on the second season of ''

Celebrity Apprentice ''The Celebrity Apprentice'' is an American television reality competition series. It was a variation of ''The Apprentice'' series, hosted by then real estate developer (later 45th president of the United States The president of the Unite ...

''. Each celebrity played to raise money for a favorite charity; James selected to play for the

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

Education Foundation. Due to his poor performance in raising funds, James was eliminated by

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

on the second-to-last show (ultimately placing third) which aired May 3, 2009. Trump repeatedly cited James' 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. Jesse James @ Academy Awards 2010

His show ''Jesse James Is a Dead Man'' premiered on

on May 31, 2009. The show features James doing death-defying stunts. The first episode set a rating record for Spike, drawing the largest audience ever for an unscripted series on the network, with 2 million viewers. The show is produced by

BASE Productions BASE Productions is a production company founded in 1992 by John Brenkus and Mickey Stern. As a producer of reality, documentary, and unscripted infotainment programming, BASE Productions uses a trademark motion-capture and CGI technology. The co ...

and James' company, PayupSucker Productions. In conjunction with that appearance

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

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 appeared on an episode of ''Street Customs'' where he had his

pickup truck A pickup truck or pickup is a light-duty truck that has an enclosed cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (this cargo bed back end sometimes consists of a tailgate and removable covering) ...

customized by

West Coast Customs West Coast Customs (abbreviated by the company as WCC) is an automobile repair shop focusing on the customization of vehicles. It was started by co-founders Ryan Friedlinghaus and Quinton Dodson in 1993. According to Friedlinghaus, he began the ...

. He appeared in an advert for

T-Mobile T-Mobile is the brand name used by some of the mobile communications subsidiaries of the German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG in the Czech Republic (T-Mobile Czech Republic), Poland (T-Mobile Polska), the United States (T-Mobile ...

's Google mobile phone with

Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...

and

Phil Jackson Philip Douglas Jackson (born September 17, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive. A power forward, Jackson played 12 seasons in the NBA, winning NBA championships with the New York Knicks in 1970 and ...

. Jesse James appeared on ''Sons of Guns'' on March 28, 2012. He asked the Red Jacket Firearms team to build a customized

Browning Automatic Rifle The Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) is a family of American automatic rifles and machine guns used by the United States and numerous other countries during the 20th century. The primary variant of the BAR series was the M1918, chambered for the . ...

for him, and even assisted in the build himself. Jesse appeared in special "Biker Build-Off" episodes of ''

American Chopper ''American Chopper'' is an American reality television series that airs on Discovery Channel, produced by Pilgrim Films & Television. The series centers on Paul Teutul Sr. (frequently called ''Senior''), and his son Paul Teutul Jr. (also know ...

'' in 2011 and 2012 for bike build-off competitions with

Paul Teutul Jr. Paul Michael Teutul (born October 2, 1974) is one of the stars of the American reality television series ''American Chopper''. He started working for his father ( Paul John Teutul). Teutul was the chief designer and fabricator. Prior to this, he ...

(representing Paul Jr. Designs) and Paul Teutul Sr. (representing

Orange County Choppers Orange County Choppers (OCC) is an American motorcycle manufacturer and lifestyle brand company based in the town of Newburgh, located in Orange County, New York, that was founded in 1999 by Paul Teutul Sr. The company was featured on ''Ameri ...

), with Gas Monkey Garage (featured on the Discovery series ''

Fast N' Loud ''Fast N' Loud'' was a reality-styled Discovery Channel TV show featuring Richard Rawlings and his crew from the Dallas, Texas-based Gas Monkey Garage as they search for tired and run-down cars, and restore them for profit. The show was success ...

'') entering the competition in 2012.

Personal life

Family and relationships

James'

website states that his great-great-grandfather was the notorious outlaw's cousin. However, Eric James, president of the James Preservation Trust, which tracks claims of being a relative of the outlaw, says it cannot find a record of him in the family tree, and has asked him to provide a family genealogy and DNA sample for the trust to review; he has not provided the requested information. James has three children: a daughter and a son with his first wife, Karla James, to whom he was married from 1991 to 2002; and a daughter with his second wife, stripper/adult actress/producer

Janine Lindemulder Janine Lindemulder is an American nude model, former exotic dancer and retired pornographic actress. She is best known for her work in American pornographic films (typically credited mononymously as Janine) during the mid-1990s and since a 200 ...

, to whom he was married from 2002 to 2004. On July 16, 2005, James married his third wife, actress

Sandra Bullock Sandra Annette Bullock (; born July 26, 1964) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Sandra Bullock, various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, Bullock was ...

. They met when she arranged for her 10-year-old

godson In infant baptism and denominations of Christianity, a godparent (also known as a sponsor, or '' gossiprede'') is someone who bears witness to a child's christening and later is willing to help in their catechesis, as well as their lifelon ...

, a fan, to tour the set of ''

''. In October 2009, James' ex-wife Lindemulder, who had been in federal prison for six months for

tax evasion Tax evasion is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduce the taxp ...

, sought to regain custody of her then five-year-old daughter with James, Sunny, after James had been granted sole guardianship of her. James sought to retain full guardianship, citing fear of the environment in which his daughter would be placed if returned to Lindemulder. In December, James won custody, and Lindemulder was given weekly visitation rights during the daytime. In March 2010, a media scandal arose when several women claimed to have had affairs with James during his marriage to Bullock. Bullock cancelled European promotional appearances for ''The Blind Side'' citing "unforeseen personal reasons." On March 18, 2010, James responded to the rumors of infidelity by issuing a public apology to Bullock. James declared that "There is only one person to blame for this whole situation, and that is me," and asked that his wife and children one day "find it in their hearts to forgive me" for their current "pain and embarrassment." James' publicist subsequently announced on March 30, 2010, that James had checked into a rehab facility "to deal with personal issues" and "save his marriage" to Bullock. However, on April 28, 2010, it was reported that Bullock had filed for divorce on April 23 in Austin, Texas. Bullock also stated that she had proceeded with plans to adopt a baby boy born in New Orleans. Bullock and James had begun an initial adoption process four years earlier. The child began living with them in January 2010, but they chose to keep the news private until after the Oscars in March 2010. However, given the couple's separation and then divorce, Bullock continued the adoption of the baby as a single parent. The divorce was finalized on June 28, 2010, with "conflict of personalities" cited as the reason. In August 2010, tattoo artist Kat Von D confirmed reports that she and James were dating."'LA Ink' Star Sets the Record Straight About Her Relationship with Steve-O"
BuddyTV.com, August 16, 2007 James and Von D became engaged in January 2011. Additional . Von D announced that they had split in July 2011. However, in August 2011, James and Von D announced that their engagement was back on. In September 2011, Von D announced that she and James had broken up again. Von D later accused James of cheating on her with multiple women during their relationship. In late 2012, James became engaged to professional drag racer

Alexis DeJoria Alexis DeJoria (born September 24, 1977) is an American drag racer who competes in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Funny Car category. She previously drove a Toyota Camry for Kalitta Motorsports (owned by Connie Kalitta), sponsored by Pa ...

. They married on March 24, 2013, at the estate of the bride's father, entrepreneur

John Paul DeJoria John Paul Jones DeJoria (born April 13, 1944) is an American entrepreneur, self-made billionaire and philanthropist best known as a co-founder of the Paul Mitchell line of hair products and The Patrón Spirits Company. Due to his personal car ...

. In March 2020, James announced his separation from DeJoria after seven years of marriage, stating "our lives were just headed in different directions". Since late 2021, James has been in a relationship with former adult film star

Bonnie Rotten Alaina Antoinette Hicks, known by her stage name Bonnie Rotten (born May 9, 1993) is an American former pornographic actress, feature dancer, fetish model, and director. In 2014, she became the first alt-porn star to win the AVN Award for Fem ...

. They married on June 25, 2022.

Legal troubles

In 2007, James was fined $271,250 by the

California Air Resources Board The California Air Resources Board (CARB or ARB) is the "clean air agency" of the government of California. Established in 1967 when then-governor Ronald Reagan signed the Mulford-Carrell Act, combining the Bureau of Air Sanitation and the Motor ...

(CARB) after state officials determined that he had sold motorcycles in violation of California's clean-air laws. According to authorities, James' customized bikes were emitting 11 times the legal limits of

hydrocarbons In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and hydrophobic, and their odors are usually weak or ex ...

. Investigators also found that the motorcycles did not have state-certified emissions equipment on their fuel tanks. The bikes were sold between 1997 and 2006. James explained that he was unaware of rule changes that required small-volume manufacturers to comply with regulations. James said the CARB refused his offer to recall and modify the uncompliant choppers. Since 2005,

has built emissions-compliant choppers. James said the fines were excessive and intended to make an example of him due to his company's fame and his celebrity marriage to actress Sandra Bullock, but CARB spokesmen stated their enforcement efforts were aimed at the entire custom industry, and further that they were aware of no offer by West Coast Choppers to recall the motorcycles in question. In July 2008, James faced a $422,680

breach of contract Breach of contract is a legal cause of action and a type of civil wrong, in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party ...

lawsuit from Michael Jones, a customer who hired James to build him a custom car, who contended that after paying $270,000 over two years, the car was not completed, and that James informed him that it would cost between $600,000 and $700,000. That September, James faced another lawsuit from his former lawyer for $327,533 in unpaid fees. In 2010, James was accused by Fortune Fashions Industries, LLC of working with Walmart and stealing one of Fortune Fashions Industries' executives to work on the clothing line after a failed collaboration between Jesse and Fortune Fashions. The company claimed over 6 million dollars in damage and lawyer Lawrence H. Nagler, representing the LLC, claimed "Jesse has stolen the benefit of Fortune Fashions' work and manpower to put this together." James' lawyer Joseph A. Yanny pointed out that James was a prolific entrepreneur, selling his West Coast Choppers brand apparel in his own shop and online, long before he met Fred Kayne (owner of Fortune Fashions). The trial concluded with the verdict in favor of James. When Fortune Fashion Industries asked the judge to quash the jury decision, the judge stated that they were "not entitled to any proceeds from an unrelated line of clothing that came into being a year after the failed venture."

Controversial photos

After James entered a rehab facility while separated from Bullock, ''

Us Weekly ''Us Weekly'' is a weekly celebrity and entertainment magazine based in New York City. ''Us Weekly'' was founded in 1977 by The New York Times Company, who sold it in 1980. It was acquired by Wenner Media in 1986, and sold to American Media Inc ...

'' printed a photo that depicted James in a German SS officer's hat and giving a

Nazi salute The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute (german: link=no, Hitlergruß, , Hitler greeting, ; also called by the Nazi Party , 'German greeting', ), or the ''Sieg Heil'' salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. Th ...

. James explained to

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

' show ''

Nightline ''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News' late-night television news program broadcast on ABC in the United States with a franchised formula to other networks and stations elsewhere in the world. Created by Roone Arledge, the progra ...

'' that the photo, taken in 2004 before his marriage to Bullock, was meant as a joke, and that he was not a racist. James' lawyer claimed that the hat was a gift from a Jewish mentor and that James is not a neo-Nazi. ''Us'' subsequently printed additional photos that had been posted to Facebook by former West Coast Choppers employees showing James and Nazi imagery. A friend of James explained to the magazine that the "swastika deal" is "part of biker culture".

References

External links

*
Jesse James: The Man and His Machines

Mike Seate Mike Seate (born in 1965) is a motorcycle journalist, TV producer and presenter from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In addition to newspaper columns, Seate has authored books and is the founder of ''Café Racer'' magazine. Works Books * * * * * ...

, 2003, Page 5 {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Jesse 1969 births Television personalities from California Living people Motorcycle builders People from Lynwood, California Participants in American reality television series The Apprentice (franchise) contestants