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The Unknown Teutuls, Part I: Daniel Friday, June 13 2008

Daniel Teutul is Paul Senior's second son, born in 1977, about two years after Paulie. He is two years older than his brother Mikey, and six years older than the youngest Teutul, Cristin. In Orange County Choppers: The Tale of the Teutuls, his mother Paula recalls, "Danny was always the serious and responsible member of the crew. Unlike his three siblings, he was neat and tidy." Like his brother Paulie though, Danny started working at his dad's steel shop, Orange County Ironworks, at a young age, 13, and was never the typical, lazy "bosses son," skating by on his family connections. Both Danny and Pauli worked hard in the ironworks, at first sweeping, painting, welding, working overtime and weekends, then moving up to supervise. Though Pauli is quick to recall that his dad only had "working supervisors," who were expected to work hard alongside those they managed.

Danny was good in school and active in competitive sports. He was, and still is, a die hard Jets fan and his mom recall a time when he would only wear clothing that had a Jet emblem on it. His love of football eventually led him to become quarterback of his high school varsity team. He rode bikes in high school, but only "rice bikes," never choppers, and only rarely. Bikes are not his thing.

Like Pauli, work was something Dan had in common with his dad. He wasn't affected much by his dad's drinking, he barely remembers it. His home life, as he recalls, was good, "I think my father could have given me more advice and guidance. But the big thing he did was get up and go to work every day." Hard work and a desire to excel drove Danny to learn everything he could about steel-working, mechanics, and construction. And most of his skill he acquired first hand, on the job. Insightful, serious, and determined to succeed, Danny seems to be more the businessman than his brothers. By the time his mom and dad were divorced in 1995, when he was just 18, Danny was ready to take over the business. By this time Senior was ready to take time off from his workaholic days at the ironworks and concentrate on building bikes. And Senior increasingly called Paulie, who was head of OC Ironworks biggest department, in to help with the design and fabrication of the bikes. Dannie took over the day-to-day management of Orange County Ironworks and by the time he was 27 was owner of his own company of the same name.

While he feels he learned a lot about being a manager and a leader from his dad, Danny is proud that his management style is different. He is willing to take risks, but there is more planning and fewer snap decisions. He is in charge, but not pushy or arrogant. There is more communication, lots less yelling.

When OCC first began to be televised, Dannie had the opportunity to join in, but declined. Does he regret that? Not really. "I do regret not going to the New York Jets training camp with them--I'm a huge jets fan." Other than that, he likes being out of the spotlight. He can see how being a public persona has complicated his father's and brothers' lives: "I know they like the fame, but I don't know how much they enjoy it."

He loves the show though. He feels it's real, unlike so much "fake reality" TV. "The show is real because I've seen them fight a million times in the steel shop." While some of it is probably staged, he thinks "98%" of the fights are real.

"Right now I see myself not as on the outside, but as free." He gets to enjoy some of the perks of the OCC success and he likes that he attend a bike show and not be recognized. "I can still go out in public. I'm like the mysterious third Osbourne." Still, sometimes people want to be buddies with him as soon as they learn his last name. And at times its hard not to feel overshadowed by everything OCC has become. At the end of the day though, Danny can go home and just enjoy his family--his wife Tara and kids Gabriela and Danny boy--and his success in the steel-working business. "My life is quieter, and sometimes I think they're the ones who should be jealous of me."