About West Coast Choppers

West Coast Choppers, and Harley Davidson Helmets. The aboved image is one of the helmets that Jesse James actually wears when he take his causal cruises around his L.A. Town. With a collection of skulls, pet sharks and pitbulls, and tattoos illustrating his exploits, Jesse James depicts himself as the consummate motorcycle rebel. Some of that rebel blood was even acquired honestly - after all, his great-great-grandfather was the famous Wild West legend's cousin. But those images only describe a small part of the Jesse James' persona. The rest of his life reflects his passion as an artisan, his love for his children, and the success that naturally flowers from a love of custom motorcycles, hard work and a job done well. Originally from Long Beach, California, Jesse grew up around his father's antiques business. His dad's small shop was quartered in a shared warehouse with a large aftermarket parts manufacturer for Harley-Davidson's and sport bikes. One of Jesse's earliest recollections is playing around those magnificent, gleaming two-wheeled speed machines. Those early remembrances fueled the visions of his future. Jesse got his first mini-bike at age 7, and with that thrill his passion for two-wheeled machines was kindled. He made his first crude motorcycle exhaust system during his freshman year of high school in his mother's garage. His lust for perfection, however, prevented him from keeping it; he threw it away before anyone saw it. Jesse excelled in sports, playing linebacker for his high school football team. He went on to play football at the University of California at Riverside, barely making ends meet as a student athlete. Jesse even remembers counting quarters to pay his $175 tuition bill. A knee injury kept him from continuing his athletic career. Finding a new job opportunity that could provide a more sustaining lifestyle, Jesse attended training to become a professional bodyguard. He worked for many A-list bands, including Soundgarden, Danzig, and Slayer, and traveled the globe on tour with them. During this time he met his former wife, with whom he shares two children, a 5-year-old son Jesse Jr., and a 7-year-old daughter Chandler. After an injury sustained at a concert, Jesse decided to leave this job to pursue his childhood passion for building bikes. He began working for the famous hot rod builder, Boyd Coddington, and learned everything he could. Then Jesse set out on his own. Jesse began his company, West Coast Choppers, ten years ago, in a corner of a friend's garage. He started with no loan, no partners, and built it from the ground up, in the painstaking way Jesse builds his bikes. Now he has over 50 employees, and sells his bikes for $60,000 to $150,000 each, and is rapidly outgrowing his 18,000 square-foot facility. It is there that he crafts unimaginable bikes for the likes of Shaquille O'Neal, Kid Rock, model Tyson Beckford, and Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Shawn Jefferson. Jesse James sometimes can't believe that he gets paid so well to do what he loves. Of course, Jesse's other great loves are spending time with his children, and riding his bike - with the gleaming chrome, day-glo metalflake paint, and a 140 horsepower engine roaring underneath him.