For years, the custom bike industry has thrived in the no-mans land between a creative and intriguing counter-culture and the cusp of the American consciousness. It seemed like only a matter of time before opportunity and fate would collide in a cosmic clash, the fallout of which would put the industry on the map of American popular culture for good. When Discovery Channel’s® never ending quest for progressive programming led them to custom bikes and the men who build them, they called Hugh King at Original Productions. The history of the custom motorcycle industry was about to change.

With little more than a basic idea to go on, Hugh did some research via friends in the industry. This led him to the doors of West Coast Choppers and its magnetic proprietor Jesse James. What has happened since that fateful meeting has benefited the entire motorcycle world. The overwhelming success of Motorcycle Mania I had Discovery® salivating for more. Monster Garage hit another home run and the gloves were off. Hugh and the creative minds at Original Productions developed The Great Biker Build Off and soon motorcycle fabrication became a respected artistic endeavor, as well as, a ratings juggernaut. Through it all, Hugh has remained humble and approachable. Always ready to steer the acclaim away from himself, Hugh has been embraced by the industry perhaps because he hates to gloat on the difference he has made. Hugh King has been pivotal in the industry’s unbelievable boom over the last four years.

I recently had an opportunity to chat with Hugh about his contributions to the industry. I was nervous but he quickly made me feel at ease, and soon I was talking to an old friend:

RCI: What project had you worked on directly before getting into motorcycles?

Hugh: I was cutting biker videos for Easyriders magazine – that led to Motorcycle Mania I.

RCI: How did you find out about Jesse James?

Hugh: Discovery Channel® approached my company, Original Productions, and they wanted to do a film about motorcycles; something very general. We said we’d do it. I called my friends at Easyriders – Kit Maira and Dave Nichols. I asked who was a really cool bike builder and they suggested that I go down to West Coast Choppers. Jesse and I hit it off and the rest is history.

RCI: What do you think the allure of the industry is?

Hugh: I think it represents a lost dream. I think a lot of people are in jobs that are not fulfilling them. Their jobs are routine and boring and they look at the world of motorcycles as a world of freedom. I think also that people can actually afford to go out and buy a Harley. Not as a primary vehicle, like it was in the beginning, but as a second car or maybe a third vehicle. They’re rolling kinetic sculptures and they’re fun. Any weekend you choose, there’s an event you can go to so it serves a social function too. It’s becoming more and more a national phenomenon, like a movement that’s sweeping the country. This is a country where there are more and more regulations, the biking industry is a little bit less rule-oriented and I think people are attracted to that.

RCI: How did you get the idea for Biker Build Off?

Hugh: After the success of Motorcycle Mania, Discovery® wanted more shows. It was actually my boss, Thom Beers who came up with the idea for Biker Build Off. We just thought that the premise of two builders competing over thirty days to build their bikes, and ride together to an event, and having the people democratically choose which bike they thought was the best, would be very interesting.

RCI: What criteria do you use when deciding to feature a builder?

Hugh: Well, they not only have to be a master craftsman, but they have to be innovative. They can’t be building the same bike that everybody else is building. Also, they have to be interesting as a person, because we’re making television here so you have to be able to reach out to people.

RCI: How did you settle on Roger Bourget Vs. Billy Lane for the pilot episode?

Hugh: I had met Billy on Monster Garage. I directed the first four episodes of Monster Garage, and Billy was on the build team of the very first vehicle we ever made. So I got to know him through the show. Now Roger, many people had suggested that he made very cool bikes. He was very different than Billy. Billy was the tiny shop and Roger was like an industry. One was on the East Coast, one was on the West coast, and they just made an interesting contrast.

RCI: What has been the biggest change in the way the shows are produced now as opposed to in the beginning?

Hugh: It’s become a little easier actually. The first one is always the hardest because you’re breaking ground. You don’t know whether the logistics of it will work. We had no way of knowing, for example, if anybody could build a motorcycle in thirty days. Since we only had one team covering both builders, we didn’t know whether we could photograph enough of each bike being built to give the viewer a sense that they had seen the entire process. We were able to film enough in each location so that the audience can see the majority of the process. Also, when you’re making one-of-a-kind, high-end custom motorcycles and you don’t have a chance to run them in, something is going to go wrong on the road and like almost 100% of the time it does. We like to see how the builders react to these hardships.

RCI: What do you think of reality TV?

Hugh: First of all, it’s not real. It’s completely misnamed. Shows like mine are very real. I mean we shoot hours and hours of material. Sixty hours for every hour show. Then you have shows like The Bachelor or Survivor that have nothing to do with reality. They’re all staged. They’re all phony. It’s all hype. The only reason these shows can be called reality television is that they’re non-actors…supposedly. I can safely call the Biker Build Off shows reality television. We try to represent what is real in a truthful manner. We don’t script it. We don’t create drama, things actually happen. We didn’t make Billy’s bike break down or his seat catch on fire. These things actually happened.