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Mike Wolfe, creator and star of History Channel's hit TV show "American Pickers," has became a household name by dominating the world of "picking," a place where treasure is mined in old barns, crumbling sheds and dilapidated warehouses that line America's back roads and main streets. Today, he's at the top of his field, operating as a major voice in the world of interiors and collectibles, not to mention a personal empire that includes retails stores, books, product lines, endorsement deals, and an upcoming CBS sitcom pilot that he developed based on his life as America's foremost professional scavenger. Mike will also serve as the show's executive producer.
Before taking on Hollywood, Mike made his name as a professional treasure hunter, road tripping across the country in search of what he calls "rusty gold" to buy and sell in one of his two Antique Archaeology stores. Located in Le Claire, Iowa, and Nashville, Tennessee, the stores feature actual vintage and antique treasures Mike has picked up on the road as well as official merchandise associated with his Antique Archaeology brand.
Born in Joliet, Illinois, Mike is the second of three children raised by a single mother. Though he began picking at the tender age of six, pulling old bicycles out of his neighbor's trash in Bettendorf, Iowa, Mike has been working as a professional picker for over 20 years. (He logged time as a competitive bicycle racer and owned two bike shops before settling into his picking career). For most of those two-plus decades, Mike went about his business with little fanfare, putting some 60,000 miles on his cargo van each year as he traversed the country in search of cool finds. His anonymity ended in January of 2010, with the debut of "American Pickers," a TV concept he pitched to various networks for almost five years before it was picked up by The History Channel.
A certified hit, the show attracted 3.1 viewers for its first episode, making it the highest rated History Channel debut in three years. (Mike is credited as the creator, executive producer and co-host of the series.) That first season, as many as 5.4 million viewers tuned in each week, making it cable TV's highest rated new non-fiction program of 2010 among adults 25-54 - and Mike a bona fide American idol.
Now entering its fifth season, "American Pickers" continues to pull in 4.7 million viewers for new episodes. The success of "Pickers" allowed Mike to expand his retail business (the Nashville store opened in 2011) and buy a house near Leiper's Fork, Tennessee, a quirky little country town about a half hour south of Nashville, where he lives with his wife Jodi and daughter Charlie, and two beloved Australian blue heelers, Ruby and Scout. The couple also has a home in Le Claire.
In 2012, Mike expanded his personal business empire, announcing several new side businesses. Rustorations is a collection of lighting that "gives new life to old fixtures and vintage lighting parts by forging them into functional, one-of-a-kind furniture for your home or office." Pieces are available for sale in the Nashville Antique Archaeology store. Kid Pickers is an online community that gives kids aged 7 to 13 a forum to share their own picks. A Kid Pickers book - a how-to guide to picking written with children's specific needs in mind - will be published by Macmillan (Feiwel and Friends) in spring 2013; it will be Mike's second book, following 2011's "American Pickers Guide to Picking."
Mike's success has allowed him to expand his reach as a humanitarian. He routinely hosts event and encourages fund raising projects that benefit St. Jude's Children's Hospital, Operation Smile, the ASCPA, and animal shelters.
A longtime music lover with a special affinity for Americana and old school country, he's co-produced an album called Music to Pick By, a mix of picking-compatible tunes complied by legendary Nashville producer Brian Ahern. The record will feature three new songs composed and recorded by Mike and country singer/songwriter Dale Watson. The release date is TBD.
In September of 2012, CBS announced it had purchased Mike's latest TV project, a scripted, multi-camera workplace comedy set in an antiques and collectibles shop. The show, which will be directed by actor-turned-director Fred Savage, will be based on Mike's life and experiences as a picker. Mike is one of the executive producers. Mike recently signed an endorsement deal with Indian Motorcycle, a brand he loves and rides.
