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Welder and blue-collar success story, Jesse James, first came to the public's attention on the Discovery Channel's "Monster Garage." Since then he has created a workingman's empire, starting with his West Coast Chopper specializing in custom-built motorcycles. James, 40, continues to work there and run several other businesses. He has a clothing line at Wal-Mart, a motorcycle magazine, restaurants and a production company called PayUpsuka. He also has become a reality TV star thanks to "Celebrity Apprentice," and Spike TV's "Jesse James Is a Dead Man," a series in which he performs death-defying stunts never before seen on television. He is married to actress Sandra Bullock and has children from his previous marriages.
Was "The Apprentice" everything you thought it was going to be?
I had zero expectations, so I guess it was more than I thought it would be. I mean, honestly, I've been stuck. I've been on basic cable for the last 10 years. So the chance to do one of the biggest, big network TV shows, you know, I was proud to be there.
Were emotions among the contestants running as high as they were portrayed on "The Apprentice"?
It was drama-rama. It was crazy. I think those people thought it was real life. They didn't realize it was just TV.
See the When did you have time to film "Jesse James Is a Dead Man"?
We started doing it last May, and then I took six weeks off to film "Apprentice," and then went right back the day we were done.
Did you try to minimize the risk on "Dead Man"?
No. Actually the only stuff I've said no to was stuff that I didn't think was dangerous enough. Some of the field producers are typical Hollywood dorks and they like, you know, want to do stuff that's pretty commonplace. Like, "We could go rent a jet, the jet for the Miley Cyrus movie." And I'd say, "[Expletive] no! Let's go to the military and get the biggest, baddest, fastest one that they have. Let's get the best pilot and do something that's nuts, that people haven't seen before."
Do you have any phobias?
I'm a little bit afraid of heights and a little bit claustrophobic.
And do you try to push those limits?
Yeah, I think so. I think if something scares me and seems impossible and, you know, really hard, then that's like what I want to do. If it seems totally easy and I've done it before or have seen people do it, then I'm like, nah, boring.
Where does that desire come from?
I think I'm just an idiot [laughing]. I don't know. I just like going fast and doing nutty stuff. Big, fast, gnarly motorcycles are my job, so what's my hobby going to be?
You have described yourself as a white trash kid. What does that mean exactly?
You know, my parents didn't have that much money. I kind of grew up in the furniture auction business. I was just kind of a grubby kid, and I think a lot of kids in high school and junior high kind of looked down on me. I didn't have new fancy clothes all the time. Everything I had was like second hand. It's just a fact of life and I'm comfortable with it. It made me appreciate the stuff I've worked hard for now.
Did that leave you with a chip on your shoulder about people with money?
Not at all.
Is that part of what drove you?
Yeah, so my kids don't have to struggle like I did for a pretty good part of my youth. Not that I want to spoil them, but I want them to know the value of a dollar. I want them to have experiences I didn't have. I spoil them to a certain extent, but mostly with experiences, you know? Letting them travel and see the world and learn skills and stuff like that. They are already 10 times smarter than I am [laughing]. They get great grades. I try to help them with their homework, but I'm like, whoa. I was in jail during algebra first semester, so ...
Really, what did you do to go to jail?
Just got in trouble.
You have celebrity friends and a celebrity wife, Sandra Bullock, and you are a celebrity in your own right. Is that comfortable for you?
Like the celebrity world? I work in Long Beach at my shop every day. I have the same friends I've had for 20 years and the only people I hang out with every day are other welders and workers. You know everybody thinks because my wife is a celebrity that automatically makes me super fancy, but that's not the case.
You've basically made it, so what keeps you motivated?
I've got bills and overhead just like everybody else. This place doesn't run for free and I have to work hard to keep it going. I think everybody automatically thinks, because you are on TV, you are like a billionaire with a cigarette extender and a monocle. People are paying a premium price to have a bike built personally by me, and that's what I love to do. Everything else is superficial. You know I am still 100 percent in control of my Wal-Mart business and magazine and everything else. But for me, being a welder and a fabricator is first and foremost.
Would you say the stunts you do are as much mental as physical?
It depends on what it is. Some of it you have to really zero in mentally and make sure you are completely focused and calm, or you'll screw up. If you do, you will crash and there is nowhere to go and no one to call.
How do you stay cool and not panic?
I don't know. I just do it. I switch it on like a light switch and don't dwell on it, because then you will over-think it.
You mentioned on "The Apprentice" that you had stopped drinking.
I went out on my 30th birthday and got really [expletive]-faced one last time, and then that was it. I'm pretty stubborn. Once I say I'm going to do something, I'm going to do it no matter what anybody says.
Finally, how do you feel about those red carpet walks to support your wife?
I don't walk on the red carpet. I fully know my place in life and it's not there [laughing]. That's her job and her work. That's what she does. I have no desire to do any of that.
