News Update

It's pretty evident why Vinny left. Paul Sr. said it, "There ain't no one who isn't replacable. The Pauls are getting to big for there pea brains. Vinny carried that friggin shop for 5 years and the Donkey twins took the credit. Prima-donna Jr. put about 3 hours a week in, and the 5th grade educated Sr. was too dumb to realize what Vinny means to his success. Mikey even wished he could leave. They will lose many more and still not realize why. Good leaders lead by example, they say follow me! The Pauls are all about do as I say not as I do.

its so obvious why Vin left. Paul made him clean up the mess that he made on the bike, which one of the rookies should have fixed. Paul has a God complex treating Vin like a subordinate instead of an equal and a friend. Senior is too old to put the shop back inorder and keep Paul inline, preventing him in abusing other employees. Other workings see that senior has slowed down, so they start slacking off < Vin doesn't approve because he's working so hard. Vin goes to Mikey's party and see's the nice new house. He gets jealous because he has more talent, been with the company longer, but hasn't gotten his share. See's his daugther at the shop and realises that he is not providing a good future for her as everyone else is getting paid. Vin asks for a share in the business via lawyer but senior doesn't agree and Vin's bluff backfires and he quits.

Vin really didn't want to leave, but he backed himself into a corner. Senior is old and stubbern, and doesn't want to share in the shows success > feels like its his baby.

I agree, Vinny and the other workers deserve as much success as the Tuttle's do. If it was for Vinny, Rick, and everyone else who works twice as hard in that shop, the Tuttles wouldn't be as successful as they are. I also noticed the nice house Mikey has, and yet you see Vinny driving the same old red Berreta. What does that tell you? The Tuttles need to remember how far they've come and who helped them get there. I for one will stop watching OCC, it won't be the same without Vinny, but I do love RICK, so I just might stop in to see how he's doing. :)

-D in California

I do not blame Vinnie a bit for quitting...he was never been really appreciated, just taken advantage of. I will miss Vinnie a lot, he was a very cool person. Rick will be next to leave...time will tell.

A different perspective: As someone who started his own business 20 years ago, I can tell you that nearly all employees who see the boss succeed become resentful. Paul Sr. (with the help of a VERY gifted son) took the risks associated with successful entrepreneurs and is now a multi-millionaire. Employees who are jealous of that kind of success should quit and try to start their own business. Looks like that is exactly what Vin and Coddie are doing....with a ton of free exposure thanks to OCC. If not for that show, no one would have ever known who they were and they'd be toiling away in some other shop.

I respectfully disagree with the previous poster's assertion.

Vinnie also incurred risk working for OCC. It was a tiny company of only three individuals at its offset. Vinnie could have likely chosen a job somewhere far more stable and with better benefits. Yet he decided to try to help in creating an inspired dream. And he deserves recognition for his contribution. True, the owner had to raise capital, but to imply that only the owner was incurring risk is a little short-sighted.

And as other posters have indicated, the 'Mikey' situation was somewhat of a slap in the face. I am sure Mikey is a nice guy and all, but he is a lazy ass and he knows it. Yet through the charity of his father, he enjoys a gorgeous home with plenty of acreage while Vinnie still lives in an older place.

I am curious what, if any, profit sharing program was in place when OCC was created. I have been at startup companies before and individuals who are original employees always share in the wealth. Strikes me that Paul Sr. and Jr. (although mostly Sr.) had no desire to share ANY wealth with anyone other than themselves.

And while I agree that no one is 'irreplacable', I think it is quite the low blow for Paul Sr. to make a comment like that in regards to an employee that was instrumental in helping his company achieve success.

Then again, 'tact', is not a concept that Paul Sr. is familiar with.

Does Vinnie get anything from the TV end of things?

What if he pulled his permission for use of his image in the TV eps all ready filmed?

It's a loss for the show, if not for OCC.

Watching American Chopper wont be as much fun without Vinnie...

I've been watching the show since day 1 and I respectfully disagree with most of you. I too love Vinnie but the show is American Chopper and the founders are Paul and Paul Jr. They are the owners and Vinnie was the Master mechanic. He is a great machanic but it has been and will remain to be Paul Jr's talent and designs that will continue to drive the OCC name. Even Vinnie admits all of the time when he does something and Paulie has him change it, Paulie was right. I hope Vinnie is succesful with his new business but Cody is a dog for running. He was just a kid when they took him in and he should be loyal to them.At least for now. He's only 20. Vinnie will get sick of him soon. He says it in most of the shows. "He's a punk and think he knows it all" is just one of the choice things he says about the kid. The show is successful because of the Teutles like it or not. Vinnie could afford a new house. I seem to think he was taken care of pretty damn good. In 5 years Vinnie has done things {thanks to the Teutles } that most people never do and never will. I think he just wants to give his wife and kids a better lifestyle. As a owner he feels he can do that. Cudos to him. It is not the teutles responsibility to do that. It is Vinnies. They will find another person to replace Vince. Paul Sr. didn't mean "**** Vinnie, I can repalce him". I'm sure Vinnie was asking for a little more than they were willing to give. If they gave him ownership, then Rick would be right behind him asking and then Jason and so on. It's not as easy as it looks to run a business and you can't give everyone everything they want. You will go broke. I don't think they said " screw you , you get nothing, go back to work". I'm sure they had to look at all the different avenues. You don't think they wanted Vinnie to go , do you. Vinnie has been planning this. He feels like he does everything. maybe he does, but don't think for two seconds that the Teutles can't build bikes. They know what they're doing and will continue to do so. Lets end this by giving love to them all. Good luck to Vinnie. The best thing he can do is keep this positive, keep his relationship with the Teutles good. Don't burn any bridges. If Vinnie has the monies necessary to begin to build Choppers then he has been making a pretty penny.Hmmmm, Maybe he has planning this for a while. Remember, Paul Sr. was already successful. This was his love and him and his son did this. Paulie will continue to build great bikes and all of you will continue to watch the great show. Why? Because OCC is a very entertaining show and it will continue to be one. Remember, I'm not hating on all of you, I just know that employees always think they do it all and the owners do nothing. Someone's out there getting all this business and doing all the P.R. work to build this empire in such a short time.

do not watch the show as often because it lacks it original drive. I saw the episode with Vin leaving. I also have seen a change in both Paul's. they seem to have fallen victim to the star complex. Paul should have recognized Vin's contrubutions to the success of OCC and rewarded him.

because of the vin matter the occ group of viewers that would gather to watch has been disbanded.

muthatrucka@operamail.com

I disagree with the guy that thinks positive of Vinnie leaving the show. I worked for a company that with my talents and hard work turned the company around and into the future with a computer. All of a sudden the 2 bosses had million dollar homes, all the salesmen bought new cars and when I asked for a raise they started interviewing 25 people (for the helper I asked for becuase of the work load) and I ended up getting fired first chance or excuse they got. I even had a very small share in the company but was asked to give it up.
By the way a number of people were hired and they quit becuase of the work load they could not handle and guess who got my job with helpers of course.....the son.
Thats business for you.
Gussyboy

Vin will be replaced in the shop, no doubt. Do I think Vin saw this coming? He had to, he talks of his family all the time, with that being said, you can't just walk away from a job. Do I think he demanded more, yes. Do I think he deserved more, yes. Do you get paid more for expierence and knowledge, yes. Did Vin show the world his nice things, no. Maybe he's been saving all the money he could for this very day when he approaced the "Big Walrus" and set his demands. When his demands were "shot down" he always had the idea of his own shop in the back of his head. The hard part for Vin and Cody will be getting the clientel. My man Notorious BIG said, "IF you aint got the clientel then say HELL NO..." I hope he has some contacts. Why didn't Rick go with him? That's the real question at hand....

I recently upped my cable package to include TLC. One of the things I was looking forward to most was being able to see the OCC clan again. It won't be them same without Vin. But, shall I be so bold to say.....Personally, I think he'll be back. It wouldn't be the first time a departure and return have been staged on TV. Who knows? Maybe ratings aren't what they were when they were on Discovery. This could be away to try and shake things up a little. If I'm wrong, I'm fairly certain we will be seeing Vin somewhere else pretty soon. In any event, best of luck to you Vin! You were a big part of the show for me.

At another website Vinnie himself thanked all of his fans saying he was leaving OCC but wouldn't say why. I am sure after awhile being away from his family took it's toll. Vinnie was always speaking about his family the twin toddlers it can be hard on a man. I will miss seeing him I watched the show tonight it really seemed to lack something I did see Cody and I thought he too had left? I too hear Rick is leaving it will be interesting to see what happens.

It sounds like Vinnie wanted to try his own shop? I haven't heard any beef from the Teutles or Vinnie. One report even suggested the possibility of a goodby show, doesn't sound like a real feud to me.
My Dad and I ran a small buisness and if there is any irritations, possibly it may be because Vinnie was a good hand and it is frustrating for an employer to find good people. Vinnie good a lot of good hands on experience which helped him become a better buider, whether on national tv or not, hey, that's a fact of life, he decided to strike out on his own and start his own shop. A good employee leaveing and starting up a competeing buisness? I wouldn't be in love with the idea, but would wish him luck. I really can't fathom how he's gonna be much of a threat to the Teutle buisness, so I doubt that there is any hard feelings there.
I think I will wait until I hear a release from one of the main parties involved.
In this day and age where everybody seems to think they're bike builders, I wish Vinnie the best of luck!

Vinny was the show and BY FAR the most talented person in the shop. Notice whenever they got a new state of the art machine it was Vinny who learned how to program it and use it? The idea that Paul Jr is some sort of great talent is completely absurd. He's a fraud who wouldn't have his job if not for nepotism. He wanders in at his leasure, stares at the bike for awhile while Vinny and Rick actually work and then bolts on some accessory provided from that build's sponsor. Anything that needs to be fabricated is turned over to that goofball in the back for computer work and then to Rick and Vinny to actually build. Wow, thanks for the help big guy! I'm amused by the show but if not for Vinny it would not be as popular as it is. And without that exposure they wouldn't be making the big money...they're now using stock parts for just about everything and they're not turning the world on it's ear with their designs. I'd argue that Jr is the least important person in the shop, and 2nd place isn't close. Sr and Mickey aren't all that critical to the builds but they provide the "color" to make the shops interesting, which is really what is driving interest in OCC and giving them the exposure to keep upgrading shops (and houses and cars). Let Sr or Vinny do the designs and it would be just as good, if not better.

Go Vinnie Go! You don't need those pompous AHs (Jr.&Sr.). I hope you get your own shop and show. I will watch because I won't be tuning into the OCC anymore. The talent(Vinnie) has left the building! Let Paul Hollywood Jr. and Sr. do your work now! Ha!!

I would have left those ungreatful meglamanacs a long long time ago. What the hell Vinnie, why did you stay so long? Those mono-brow morons aren't the reason the show is so successful, you were. I haven't watched an episode of "Paul is God" since you left and rightfully so.

Good luck to you and Cody with your new business. It won't be long before Paul Sr. and his no class, no brain idiot suns are out of business and asking you for a job.

I been watching American Chopper since day 1.. Great show - but success seems to have gone to Paul snr/jnr's heads. Vinne put just as many hours in as paul jnr (probably more). Good move on vinnies part - Paul.snr is a nightmare. Vinne and Cody got some good publicity from American Chopper so they should be OK, afterall its ability that counts... In an ideal world Paul.snr should of done the right thing and rewarded staff that helped make the company a success.

A lot and i mean ALOT of what you guys are saying is based on assumptions.

First, you guys don't know that Vinnie wasn't rewarded for his efforts in establishing the shop to such an extent. Hell, he probably was. But what jumps out at me about Vinnie is what separates him from the Pauls. Vinnie is rather modest, and he wouldn't exploit his amount of money as much as the Teutuls would. He would spend is wisely.

Second, you don't know it was all Paul Sr. Have you ever noticed the number of people that are always in the office with Paul? That's because Paul is admin and so are they. There is more people than just Paul Sr. running the background operation. Need proof? Read the credits!!

However, I do entirely agree with you about the amount of work that Vinnie has done in the past. If you look at past episodes where they were behind schedule and Paul Jr. stayed behind until 3 am, who was there with him? Vinnie. Who always programmed the new machinery? Vinnie. Who did a large amount of fabrication? Vinnie.

He was a fantastic man and will be greatly missed. The show won't be the same.

But I won't let that stop me from watching the show all together!

How can most everyone here be so wrong. Although the show is about designing and building choppers, it is more about the personalities of Paul/Paul and their dysfunctional relationship.

After all, they are just average bike builders and Vinnie, Cody and Rick are simply decent mechanics. I do agree that OCC should have given everyone who sees camera time a bonus and share in a part of the show's success. It appears that they were not rewarded at all. Paul/Paul got greedy...which seems obvious to me.

yeah the teutals take all the credit for everything and for what ok jnr does thee design but then dishes the orders out and then goes on walkabout pretty cheap vinnie does not get the praise he deserves snr well what can you say about him he is just a lazy none considerate human being. good luck to vinnie and his family and all the best for the future. good luck vinnie.

It doesn't say much about Paul snr and jnr when vinnie was leaving the show mickey said he connected more with vinnie than he did with his family apart from his sister this shows if the teutels have no respect from a family member what chance has a employee talented and hardworking as vinnie got. I dont think they reliase that mickey wished he was the one leaving.Must be some atmosphere in that work enviroment.

This may be hard to believe, but I just learned that Vinnie & Cody have left the show. I was wondering what happened to Vinnie and now I know. I will really miss him. Not too much to miss about Cody. Vinnie was a hard worker, and deserved to be fairly compensated for his work. We don't know if he was or wasn't and probably will never know. OCC won't be the same and I don't know if I will continue watching it or not, not because Vinnie is gone, but because I don't find the show nearly as entertaining as it used to be. I do agree that Mikey is worthless and should be given the boot.

Anyway, all the best to Vinny and Cody in their new adventures. I hope we haven't seen the last of them.

This may be hard to believe, but I just learned that Vinnie & Cody have left the show. I was wondering what happened to Vinnie and now I know. I will really miss him. Not too much to miss about Cody. Vinnie was a hard worker, and deserved to be fairly compensated for his work. We don't know if he was or wasn't and probably will never know. OCC won't be the same and I don't know if I will continue watching it or not, not because Vinnie is gone, but because I don't find the show nearly as entertaining as it used to be. I do agree that Mikey is worthless and should be given the boot.

Anyway, all the best to Vinny and Cody in their new adventures. I hope we haven't seen the last of them.

We here in New Zealand have only just got the shows where Vinnie has left. My daughters, I use to watch American Chopper as a family thing when the show first aired, but over the years have drifted away from the show as the Teutul's became more affluent, they simply became more destructive. With nothing better to do with their money than destory buildings and cars and what ever else that got in the way, sure it may have made for entertaining TV for a short time but it became so boring. Vinnie will be sadly missed, he really was the force in the workshop and could (and did everything) but good on him for moving on. As mentioned in these blogs he appeared to have very strong feelings for his family and until I found this site I had guessed that it was family commitments that finally made him leave. You could also see at times that he thought that they (the Teutul's) should just grow up. On the bike building front I don't think that they have built any interesting bikes in sometime. They are built pretty much to a formula and don't really break any new ground. "Biker Build off" and "The Metric Biker Build off" are where the real creative talent lies, if it is really about the bikes that you watch the show.
Leave the Teutul's too their empire and remember that they have given quite a bit to charity over the years. Vinnie may have to live in their shadow for sometime, but I'm sure he will emerge a happy and better man by simply moving on.

As stated earlier we no longer watch the show that often and now that he has gone probably even less.

Live long and prosper Vincent Dimartino.

A fan from Kiwiland.

It's a complete surprise to me when I learned of Vinnie's departure from OCC. When I heard of it, I feared Vinnie has reached the breaking point... And I saw it on the Corn Bike episode: it doesn't take a genius to decode Vinnie's body language.

Maybe the Teutuls aren't watching Mythbusters, where the Build Team were given equal billing status after some time. Vinnie was partly responsible for 100% of all the bikes made on the show, and, given four seasons with him on the show, he deserves something better, not just a little special with Mikey. He was a loyal member of the OCC crew (even leaving her family sick at home to go on a roadtrip)... Sheesh, are the Pauls overlooking this?

It's a complete surprise to me when I learned of Vinnie's departure from OCC. When I heard of it, I feared Vinnie has reached the breaking point... And I saw it on the Corn Bike episode: it doesn't take a genius to decode Vinnie's body language.

Maybe the Teutuls aren't watching Mythbusters, where the Build Team were given equal billing status after some time. Vinnie was partly responsible for 100% of all the bikes made on the show, and, given four seasons with him on the show, he deserves something better, not just a little special with Mikey. He was a loyal member of the OCC crew (even leaving her family sick at home to go on a roadtrip)... Sheesh, are the Pauls overlooking this?

It's a complete surprise to me when I learned of Vinnie's departure from OCC. When I heard of it, I feared Vinnie has reached the breaking point... And I saw it on the Corn Bike episode: it doesn't take a genius to decode Vinnie's body language.

Maybe the Teutuls aren't watching Mythbusters, where the Build Team were given equal billing status after some time. Vinnie was partly responsible for 100% of all the bikes made on the show, and, given four seasons with him on the show, he deserves something better, not just a little special with Mikey. He was a loyal member of the OCC crew (even leaving her family sick at home to go on a roadtrip)... Sheesh, are the Pauls overlooking this?

i agree with most of your comments. i don't know where many of the posters are from, but i live in new york state. for 20 yrs, we have traveled on rt 17k, going home to ct. and 2 days ago, we had the privilege of visiting vinnie and cody's new place. the shop is close to where occ's old place was (stone castle rd)-- vinnie is so friendly and modest! i wish them well. i know they will succeed. i purchased a t-shirt, and his secretary wanted to know if i wanted it signed. i had told her of the many times i had been outside the occ shop, but was too chicken to go in, lol. vinnie's manager heard me and took the shirt out of my hand, and had ALL OF THE WORKERS sign my shirt!!! when i asked occ, if they would sign a shirt for a soldier in iraq, they told me it would cost $50??? to hell with them. i have biker friends in ct, (paul, in wallingford..) and they say that occ has crap, that they never do much of the work to begin with. i am watching american chopper as i type, & i see they are still fighting, and always talking about hiring a few people because they are growing. ??? no, because they lost vinnie! rick is next! occ's new place looks like a shopping mall---not impressive. gee, maybe mikey can get a job as a waitress? lol.. vin's new place is really nice. their grand opening will be sometime after memorial day. we'll be there! they showed a new guy on occ last week-i heard he quit!! i could go on, but better not! the teutels say they are doing this and that for americans, yeah-that is why last summer as we drove by, there were about 100 guys picketing in the street, because paul would not hire union workers! whatever. their time is over---time for vinnie to have a show!

hi what can i say vinnie and cody gone ,the show wont be the same get them back .

I like many others it seems am sorry to see Vinny and Cody leave OCC but after reading the previous comments on this page i cant say that i am surprised, especially the one about charging to sign T-Shirts and union members picketing their premises, the two Pauls have obviously got too big for their boots and are now a really boring duo, good luck to Vinny and Co lets have a show about them now i'm sure it would be a great deal more interesting than the dross they turn out at present, raise the cry "bring back Vinny"

In german: In Deutschland ist es ein Schock. Hier ist die Kultur anders als in Amerika. Vinnie gehoerte zur Serie. Man kann auch nicht Kelly Bundy ersetzen. Cody war ein Lehrling, er wurde nie ernst genommen. Ich denke, dass Vinnie sparsam war und seinen Abgang geplant hat. Er hat Geld gespart mit dem Wissen, dass er bald eine neue Firma gruendet. Fuer die Serie wird es in Deutschland schwer. Hier verzeiht man so etwas nicht. Ist in tausend anderen Serien auch passiert. Hier hat man es OCC schon uebel genommen, bei der Europa-Tour nicht in Deutschland gewesen zu sein, obwohl die Serie hier die meisten Zuschauer in ganz Europa hat. 2 Sender (Discovery Pay und DMAX free TV) strahlen parallel American Chopper aus. Mit grossen Erfolg. Bin mal gespannt, was jetzt drauss wird. In diesem Sinne, scheiss Franzosen.

Vin is an awesome stand up guy....and has the Most mechanical talent in the whole dam shop no doubt. But listen....he is an employee. He chose to accept a job @ OCC. He brought himself. He didnt bring a chunk of Money, to buy into the business and become a partner.

No doubt there is a huge void in the show without Vin. But that's life. He was my favorite....a real cool stand up dude.

But because McDonalds, Walmart, and Microsoft, Founders/Owners have made it big thru their own And their employees, blood, sweat, and tears....doesnt mean that the most talented, hard working, likeable, employee gets a peice of the action. End of story.

I agree somewhat with the previous comment, Vinnie was an employee who chose to work at OCC and he has decided to leave which again is his choice but the employers should not forget that either. The employees choose to work. They can simply leave if they are not treated fairly and if an employer considers an employee valuable he should treat him fairly, even if that means sharing the spoils, I mean there is enough to go around in this case so some of the previous comments sound like those of greedy employers (you know who you are). I for one would watch the "Vinnie Show(Building Bikes)" over American Chopper any day of the week, maybe some channel should think about that and pick him up. What would become of OCC then. I am sure they would say Vinnie is disloyal and all the rest but wouldn't that be hypocritical since they didn't seem all that committed to keeping him from leaving so now he's free to do what he wants it's all fair as far as I am concerned. and as far as Co ddie is concerned many posts make it sound like OCC did him some huge favor lets not forget the kid WORKED there you know he worked.

I agree somewhat with the previous comment, Vinnie was an employee who chose to work at OCC and he has decided to leave which again is his choice but the employers should not forget that either. The employees choose to work. They can simply leave if they are not treated fairly and if an employer considers an employee valuable he should treat him fairly, even if that means sharing the spoils, I mean there is enough to go around in this case so some of the previous comments sound like those of greedy employers (you know who you are). I for one would watch the "Vinnie Show(Building Bikes)" over American Chopper any day of the week, maybe some channel should think about that and pick him up. What would become of OCC then. I am sure they would say Vinnie is disloyal and all the rest but wouldn't that be hypocritical since they didn't seem all that committed to keeping him from leaving so now he's free to do what he wants it's all fair as far as I am concerned. and as far as Co ddie is concerned many posts make it sound like OCC did him some huge favor lets not forget the kid WORKED there you know he worked.

Vin also said something on the ethanol bike episode about "No Bennies"[Benefits]. The OCC shop may have been small enough such that paul sr was not required to carry health insurance.

the show was on last nite. i never did see the whole thing the first time. we couldn't stand it, when jason was reading the letter that the corny company sent to ''jason and the rest of occ.'' vinnie looked ticked off, since he fixed all of the tootles screw-ups. i can't blame him one bit. it's like watching a bunch of clowns now. they just lucked out, nothing else.

ps, i also think it's disgusting how junior is acting too much like senior---he does less and less. and mikey wishing he was vinnie?? no, i guess mikey isn't that dumb.. u could see all that tension in rick too. hey rick, did u get that other house yet? i can see rick going out on his own too..or working with vinnie.... what about mikey's new house? yeah, they don't have money for benefits---gee sr, take care of that glaucoma, lol...don't stay stoned all the time, it doesn't work on your eyes. hey jr, watch out-it's hereditary!

Gonna miss Vinny :(

First off, all the Tuttles were, were a disfuntional joke, that's what got them a tv show as years went by, and they got famous they actually had to build real bikes, and Vinnie was very instrumental in that. Lets face it, he was the brains of the operation while the two boobs were fighting, he was building the bikes in the background. Money does fucked up things to people, it makes them forget how they even got where they are. Like they say, what goes around comes around, pay back is a motherfucker, we'll see, when discovery offers Vinnie a show to boost saging ratings, with him at the handlebars.
Good luck Vinnie, fuck them greedy motherfuckers.

I think its kind of sad that you guys think the Teutuls did nothing for Vinnie. Among many things, I know I've seen him driving a brand new Cadillac, free roofing, help with anything he's needed, free trips to exotic places, 4 years of wages(which I can guarantee you are more than a lot to most mechanics in that position make), and obviously enough money to leave OCC and make his own company (something NOT cheap at all). The owe Vinnie nothing, and Vinnie owes them nothing. If it was on bad terms shame on Vinnie. He was a great part of the show/company, but I don't think the Teutuls screwed him at all. How many of you have been to Australia/Europe/enough money for expensive cars/free roofing/free bikes/experience/wages from your jobs?

OF COURSE, I don't completely disagree that it could have been the Teutuls that screwed the relationship, but it better not have been about money or anything of that nature.

As for all you Mikey bashers out there saying he's lazy and stupid, don't forget that the entertainment business includes thousands of people that are just as stupid and lazy as him. YOU'RE the one paying them if you've watched the show, bought merchandise, gone to their website, whatever. Don't go to movies if you don't like entertainers making money for doing what they do.

Get it right, employers don't give anything to employees. They pay employees and expect a certain amount of work out of them. They give them benefits to attract the better employees to them. The employees work and the employers get teh rewards. Vin worked for the Tuttles. He did assume a risk by working for them but he still worked for them. If they obviously did not see his value so Vin walked. Yes Jr. is talented but Vin did all the work, because he is the employee. Jr. still puts out great looking bikes without Vin because he has other employees that do the work. If Vin wanted more he should have asked for more at the beginning, before anyone was making money.

FREE ADVISE FROM A BUSINESS OWNER:
1. IF you have to go into business with anyone in a partnership, make all financial decisions before any money is earned.
2. NEVER ENTER INTO A PARTNERSHIP, if you do refer to rule 1.

Vin would have been a partner and Sr. is an egomaniac. That is how life roles. Vin left to better himself.

"Blood is thicker than water" so this is the reason why lazy-ass Mikey gets paid for doing nothing and Vinnie doesn't. Mike Campos left some years ago and he was as self-effacing and gentle as Rick, so being "Mr. Nice Guy" never works. Since the series started, so much high-tech machinery has been purchased, making it look as if ALL custom bike shops have this type of gear. They don't. Dave Perewitz's shop is relatively small but still comes up with great stuff - and he does not get the majority of the shelf.
You work hard and add signficantly to a company - I know this because I did juist that as a designer of security equipment in the UK, accumulating at least a dozen patents. I got paid back by getting shafted when the newbies took over - obviiating 20 year redundancy pay. Vinnie went the same route and I wish him well.

I'm sure Mikey was not payed more then Vin he got this new house because his father is a millionaire. Your father would do the same thing for you. OCC is a family business
so the money stays in the family. Vin is JR. friend and employee not a partner so if he wants to be an owner he must start his own business and he did. Running the shop is far more difficult and stressful then being a mechanic. Sr. managing and jr. designs keep this shop running and don't forget that their fights and crazy personality made the show popular not the bikes. If someone ask you how would you rather see in the show Vin or mikey my guess is mikey. My favorite guy is rick but you saw what happened with his bike without jr. and sr. help, it was just an ordinary bike you could buy from a magazine. If you go down that road how does the most hours should be the boos then the workers would be running the shop and where would that lead to.
Sr and jr started the business from scratch and some of their first bikes like the black widow are amazing and vin had nothing to do with that he was still learning from jr. at the time. Getting mechanics is easy and there is a lot of them that are much better than any of the guys on the show but there is a few guys who can design a bike like jr and have the skills to build it.
Don't worry about Vin he has much more money than all of us who post here together but he doesn't show it. Being on tv for 5 years makes you quite rich and having a lawyer proves it.

I really don't think Vinnie (and probably Rick) are making anywhere near what their hard work is helping to bring in. For example, in the presentation of the bike to the Iowa Farm Bureau a guy asks how much would it cost me to get a bike like that. Sr. refuses to announce any kind of price range and insinuates that he wouldn’t be able to afford it and then tells the guys to "sit down" and the company representative says "priceless". The point is the Teutuls are bringing in absolutely tons of money off each one of these builds (mainly because businesses what to get promotion and exposure through the show) and the "employees" don't get anywhere near a decent percent of the amount of money that their product (they've worked extremely hard on and spent countless late night hours away from their families building) brings in for the Teutuls.

As another poster already brought to brought to attention, "Vin also said something on the ethanol bike episode about "No Bennies"[Benefits]". Isn't that just great! No benefits for the hard working employees, but yet Paul senior doesn't seem to have any insurance or financial concerns about getting his eye problems looked into? Also, Vinnie isn't able to afford to hire a roofing company to fix his roof (or even get any time away from work to do it himself) in his (from the way it looked) tiny little house, but Paul senior can give his girlfriend and Jr. brand new expensive bikes, has a brand new million (or multi-million) dollar house, and drives to work in a Hummer every day? Paul Jr. has a new house as well and is able to flaunt his wealth on frivolous things just the same, and yet he (and Mikey) still always complains about wanting even more money for what little he even does around there anymore? I mean come on get real! I don't blame Vinnie for getting tired of being shafted by these exploiting egomaniacs and wanting to move on to something better. I just hope that Rick sees this as the inspiration that he needs to stand up for himself and leave the Teutuls also (maybe to work WITH Vinnie as an equal, not under someone else’s thumb as is always the case at OCC).

I've read several posts from other some of these business owners on here that basically have the same "screw over the hard working employees while sitting on my ass and getting rich" mentality. You people, and you know who you are, are the reason that working people hate some management and owner types. You’re exploiters, plan and simple. If it wasn’t for child labor and minimum wage laws, you’d be the same people that would have 7 year old slave labor working for a nickel a day or even LESS, while you sat on an even bigger pile of money. You should be ashamed of yourself for treating your workers like that. The Teutuls should be ashamed of treating not only their “workers” but their friends like that. I really hope that Rick leaves soon. Then everyone that is actually deserving of the absorbent amount of money that these bikes brings in will leave the Teutuls high and dry.

Good luck Vinnie!!! I hope you all the best in the world. On the first season of American Chopper, I used to rush home to watch it. Now, I can't sit through an entire episode. I watch it to try to catch Rick, but he doesn't get much air time. I guess Jason is an OK guy but he just annoys me to no end. It's painful to watch the Teutuls go from working class to elitists. I think Vinnie kept his perspective. I wish him great success. Maybe someone will offer him a bike build show in the future. Good luck Vin.

Just watched again the episode where Vinnie left. It really made me realize how much the Pauls have forgotten where they came from. Paul Sr. said it best when he said, "No one is irreplaceable." Kinda sums up their whole philosophy over there...it's all about the Teutuls. I give them all the credit for building that business from the basement of Sr's house to the new world headquarters, but let's face it, Vinnie was a big part of that success.

I agree with lots of the posters who said the show was about the dysfunctional relationship between the Pauls, but the reality of the situation is that Jr is a hell of a designer/fabricator, but he has the work ethic of a welfare mom. I admire his designs and respect what he is able to do in that regard, but who is always there to pick up the large amounts of slack left behind from Jr's PR filled life? Vinnie and Rick. Every episode shows one Teutul or another off on some adventure visiting some corporate client to gain inspiration to give to Jason Poole so he can work his magic on the computer and then give the printouts to Rick and Vinnie to actually create.

Let's face it, it's the motorcycle equivalent of the royal family @ OCC. The Teutuls tour the planet on somebody else's nickel, they spend a few minutes working with someone else on the design of various parts and then disappear when the actual work needs to get done.

I respect Paul Sr. for what he has built by force of will, nepotism, hard work and some good fortune. And every successful company has role players; there are the superstars (or those who think they are), the lunch pail crew (the guys who just come in and get it done day in and day out), and there are the behind the scenes glue guys (the people you never see who make everyone else's life easier). I think Vinnie got tired of being taken for granted. For keeping Jr & Sr from killing each other all those years, for picking up the pieces when those two blew up, for being the whatever needs to get done guy and for simply showing up on time day in and day out. I love Mikey, but let's face it, what does he DO? Makes Sr and most of the world laugh? Prove that even a knucklehead like Sr can create a kid without a gigantic ego? Okay fine. But is he more valuable to the shop than Vinnie? I don't think so.

Mikey makes the SHOW bearable, but Vinnie and Rick are the ones who can put up with the Tuetuls' antics and still get things done. While I have no doubt that the line to get into the OCC shop will be a long one, I doubt that whoever winds up in there will last very long due to the one thing you can't replace, chemistry.

If you want to know what appreciation is check out http://www.vforcecustoms.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=10 to realize that not everyone at OCC was clueless in that regard. I don't "blame" either party for the split....I think both needed to be reminded of who they are dealing with and unfortunately for both parties, this was the only way that could happen. But let's face it, with the emergence of Jason Poole and his whacked out personality, you had to know that Vinnie's face time with his low key personality was gonna go down. So it was no surprise to me at least, that when the paycheck that goes with that face time starts to dry up, that the "putting up with this crap" cost of working there would become too high real quick and he would bail. I'm surprised that anybody works there for longer than a year.

Best of luck Vinnie and Cody and OCC. You're BOTH gonna need it.

I will miss Vinny too but not understood why he leave OCC. I from Ukraine.

I feel for Vinnie, I honestly think that He loved what he was doing and where he was doing it. But, the 2 Paul’s' were sooo dedicated to become the celebrities the show had made them, they forgot that there were good people behind their success. So, when you start believing that it's all about you, you start looking at yourself as someone you’re not. Jr. has to take the cake on that, he honestly thinks he's a motorcycle genius. Without daddy he would be asking “Do you want fries with that?" I met him and I have met a lot more talented and wealthy people in my life but not one so conceded. So Vinnie, I wish you the very best, and remember the unbreakable rule--- "what comes around goes around".

Why do you let the guy who builds the products that built your company go? He's the only guy that didn't let anything get to his head. The show is on a downward spiral.

You are all wrong im afriad. Vinnie and codey were both building their own bikes and undercutting the companys business. Paul Sr. found this out and fired them both. I have this on good authority. They both now have their own shop called 'VForceCustoms'. Goes to show that even though they seem like nice people on the T.V. they can still be underhanded and sly. I was a big fan of both, Vinnie and Codey but they do not get any of my respect now.

u have it on good authority....must be mikey, rofl....and who did the teutels take their ideas from, before they started doing everything on the computer? u make it sound like vforce just opened....they have been there for 1 1/2 yrs now...we were just there 2 wks ago....in fact, there are alot more places on rt17k, that have automomotive places. i wish vinnie and cody all the best-they deserve it. not like those loud mouthed pigs from occ. vinnie is the nicest guy...ever meet him, "on your good authority?"

I used to work in the same kind of family owned buisness as Vinny did at OCC, the owners kids got all the advancement opportunities, didn't do squat, came and went as they pleased, drove new company trucks/cars, and were basically spoiled brats like Mikey.

Go Vinny, I wish you and Cody all the best and hope you put OCC to shame with your bikes!!!

The guy who said all employees are resentful of the boss's success, wouldn't be the kind of boss that would succeed in silicon valley. There, you understand that the team is what makes the boss look so good, so you pay them decent, then pile on the stock options so they put in the hours necessary.

If Sr. didn't do that for Vinnie, then he's stupid. Each of the principals had their place: Sr., the leader, Jr. the talented rebel, Mikie, the comedy relief, and Vinnie, the one that keeps the trains running on time.

What most people are missing is that they don't separate the show from the actual business. Because of the risk Sr. took, he should get the lions share of the business dollars, but not necessarily the same percentage of the dollars brought in by the show. Vinnie should have gotten as much of the show profits as Mickie; and if he didn't, he was robbed!

There are two entites: the business, and the show.
Vinnie should have been paid big time for the heart he put into the show, and how relevant he was to its success. Without him, the show would have been as interesting as watching an hour of your parents arguing.

Hello I’m Joe from the UK & sorry to see Vin go. I’ve had my own landscaping business in the past. But could not expand because I could not get the right staff. I tried to teach them the skills needed. But to do a top quality job you need to be an artist as well & only a couple were. It’s like looking for gold. If I could have found a enough gold id be a millionaire by now

i cant believe vinny has gone he was the backbone of the show and the company its about time paul and pauly pulld there heads out of there asses and realised that i to think rick should tell them to shove it if rick vinny and codey set up on there own they would ruin the occ gang through hard work alone thank you for ruining my favourite show i cant believe you made that much money from being a disfunctional family i will never watch again good luck rick i think your amazing please stay in touch with vinny bye bye occ for ever.
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Here in the UK, there is a tendancy to repeat virtually all of the shows from day ONE and it is becoming tedious. The fans want to see the technical side of the bike building.
I remain amazed that the simplest of items is flow jetted and/or billet formed. The costs of producing the simplest of items like this must be horrendous. By the looks of it, Jason Pohl has absolutely NO idea of costs associated with manufacture and once he leaves OCC to work somewhere lesser, he will struggle - unless other bike builders have the same financial set-up and I very much doubt that.
Although there remains an unhappiness that Vinnie left the show, the real reasons will never made public - despite some 'having it on good authority'
Everyone is replaceable and OCC seems to have made this transition without a hiccup. On a more personal note....I could happily slot into a design position there without any problem and I WOULD make a very positive contribution :-)