Jesse James (customizer)



For other uses, see Jesse James (disambiguation). Jesse Gregory James (born April 19, 1969) is an American television personality and CEO ofWest Coast Choppers, a manufacturer of custom-made motorcycles. James was the host of thereality TV Jesse James is a Dead Man on Spike TV, and of reality series Monster Garage, on the Discovery Channel, and the focus of the documentary Motorcycle Mania, also on Discovery. James also appeared in the Tony Hawk's Underground 2 video game.

Jesse also appeared as a caracture of himself in Anthony Marsh, Jr 's  Power Rangers LG: The Rise of Trakeena, who he is also the third Magna Defender.

Career
After several years as the bodyguard with Danzig and occasionally for other heavy metal bands such as Slayer and Soundgarden,[2] James opened West Coast Choppers in his mother's garage in 1992. The company grew quickly and soon moved to a larger facility for select customers and companies. About 200 bikes have been built at West Coast Choppers. West Coast Choppers is also sponsoring race teams in Top Fuel Drags and Super Late ModelNASCAR. James recently bought custom car business Austin Speed Shop and has expanded into the custom car business. James has also built and is racing an off-road Trophy Truck and a Figure-8 race car.

He is the owner of 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 who is now deceased — features Angus beef burgers, low-fat burritos, organic vegetables, and biodegradable wrappings. James also has partial ownership in the South Austin Speed Shop in Austin, Texas.

Other business ventures include the Chopperdogs fan club and the Jesse's Girl clothing line. Since 2006, James has nationally published Garage magazine.[3]

In 2000, the Discovery Channel 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 Monster Garage 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.

Through James' show "History Of The Chopper" there are also glimpses of his involvement with the Hells Angels and other 1% outlaw motorcycle clubs.

He appeared on the second season of Celebrity Apprentice. Each celebrity played to raise money for a favorite charity; James selected to play for the Long Beach Education Foundation.[4] Due to his poor performance in raising funds, James was fired by Donald Trump on the second-to-last show (ultimately placing 3rd) which aired May 3, 2009.

His show Jesse James is a Dead Man premiered on Spike TV on May 31, 2009. The show features James doing death defying stunts. The first episode set a ratings record for Spike, drawing the largest audience ever for an unscripted series on the network, with 2 million viewers.[5] The show is produced by Spike TV, BASE Productions and James' company, PayupSucker Productions.[6]

In conjunction with that appearance Marvel Comics 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.[7]

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">James has appeared on an episode of Street Customs where he had his pickup truck customized by West Coast Customs.<sup class="Template-Fact" style="line-height: 1em; white-space: nowrap; " title="This claim needs references to reliable sources from October 2009">[citation needed]

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">He appeared in an ad for T-Mobile's Google cell phone with Whoopi Goldberg and Phil Jackson.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-7" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[8

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">]

Power Rangers crossover
James appeared in Anthony Marsh, Jr 's fanfilm of  Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy,  Power Rangers LG: The Rise of Trakeena , which starred him,  Tobey Maguire ,  Kristen Bell ,  Charlie Murphy ,  Rider Strong , and others. In it, he portrayed himself (obviously,a caracture of himself) and as the third generation Magna Defender.

The film was set for a June 29, 2011 release.

James was earlier also signed on for a sequel to the film following. Unfortunately, due to the poor box office run and negative criticism toward the film, James changed his mind and decided not to return. His replacement is actor Donnie Wahlberg, in the 2012 reversion and the reboot.

Personal Life
<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">James' Discovery Channel website states that his great-great-grandfather was the famous outlaw's cousin.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-8" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[9] 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 sampling for the Trust to review; he has not accepted the offer.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-9" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[10] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-10" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[11] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-11" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[12]

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">James has three children—a daughter and a son with his first wife, Karla, and a daughter with his second wife, adult film star/producer Janine Lindemulder.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-People_20070314_12-0" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[13]

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">On July 16, 2005, James married actress Sandra Bullock, whom he met when she arranged for her 10-year-old godson, a fan, to tour the set of Monster Garage.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-People_200507_13-0" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[14]

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">In October 2009, James' ex-wife Lindemulder, who had been jailed for six months for tax evasion, 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-14" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[15] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-15" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[16] In December, James won custody, and Lindemulder was given weekly visitation rights during the daytime.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-custodywin_16-0" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[17]

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-23" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[24] However on April 28, 2010, it was reported that Bullock had filed for divorce<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-24" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[25] on April 23 in Austin.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-25" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[26] Bullock also stated that she had proceeded with plans to adopt a baby boy born in New Orleans.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-PeopleBaby_26-0" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[27] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-PeopleBaby_26-1" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[27] The divorce was finalized on June 28, 2010, with "conflict of personalities" cited as the reason.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-27" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[28]

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">On August 19, 2010, tattoo artist Kat Von D confirmed media reports that she and James were dating, tweeting "I think it's pretty obvious that we're dating." On January 20, 2011 James announced his engagement to Von D, stating "You know sometimes the public and press gets it wrong. This is one of those times. 2010 was actually the best year of my life because I fell in love with my best friend. An amazing woman who stood behind me when the world turned their backs", and declared that "Growing old with her is going to be a fn' blast!".

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em;">On Halloween Day 2011, OMG! online ranked James as #1 for their List of the Creepiest Celebrities. <li style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">Link: http://omg.yahoo.com/photos/creepiest-celebs-5328/?nc</li>

Legal Troubles
<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">In 2007, James was fined $271,250 by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) after state officials determined that he had sold motorcycles in violation of California's clean-air laws. According to police, James' customized bikes were emitting 10 times the legal limits ofhydrocarbons. Investigators also found that the motorcycles did not have state-certified emissions equipment on their fuel systems. The bikes were sold between 1998 and 2005.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-peoplemag_30-0" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[31] 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 West Coast Choppers has built emissions-compliant choppers.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-31" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[32] 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Garrett2007_32-0" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[33]

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">In July 2008, James faced a $422,680 breach of contract 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-33" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[34] That September, James faced another lawsuit from his former lawyer for $327,533 in unpaid fees.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-34" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[35]