LITTLE ROCK — Among the thousands of bikers cruising through the hills of Northwest Arkansas this week is Jesse Gregory James of West Coast Choppers fame, as well as the TV shows Monster Garage and, more recently, Jesse James is a Dead Man.
The Californian has become a regular at the Bikes, Blues and BBQ motorcycle rally and arrived Thursday for this year's event.
"Arkansas is such amazing riding," he said earlier this week from his motorcycle shop in Long Beach, Calif.
That, and he has a key business partner in the neighborhood. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is the exclusive retailer for his Jesse James Industrial Workwear line of clothing and jackets.
James is to make afternoon appearances at the Siloam Springs supercenter, 2901 Highway 412 East, today and the Fayetteville supercenterat 2875 W. Sixth St. on Sunday. The visits are the final stops in his 2009 Working Man's Tour, which has also taken him to county fairs in Iowa, Indiana, Illinois and Pennsylvania.
In addition to work wear, his line includes flame-resistant shirts and coveralls for welding, an activity that is at the core of his motorcycle business. The apparel is "not opening price point, but it's pretty close to that."
County fairs and Wal-Martparking lots are a natural for him, he said.
"I kind of like a grass-roots approach," he said. "I'm just a welder, and these are the kind of people I want to hang out with."
A welder, that is, who also happens to be married to actress Sandra Bullock (shedidn't make the trip) and spent some time as a bodyguard for heavy-metal bands before getting into the specialty chopper business.
And he has his own production company, Payupsucker Productions, that has produced documentaries including History of the Chopper and Iraq Confidential With Jesse James, for which he visited U.S. soldiers in Iraq and helped repair a damagedHumvee.
Both aired on the Discovery Channel. James said he hopes to return to making documentaries soon.
Among the dangerous stunts he performed this year for Jesse James is a Dead Man on Spike TV was setting a land speed record for a hydrogen-powered vehicle, 199.7 miles an hour, in the Mojave Desert in California.
The series was a one-yeardeal, he said, but reruns will continue to air in the United States and Europe.
In addition to the two stores James will visit in Northwest Arkansas, his line of work wear also is sold at Wal-Mart stores in Harrison, Batesville, Crossett, Arkadelphia, Monticello and Alma, company spokesman Melissa Hill said in an e-mail.
To contact this reporter:
Business, Pages 31, 32 on 09/26/2009