Vincent DiMartino
| Vincent DiMartino | |
|---|---|
| Born |
October 9, 1972 Hudson Valley area, NY |
| Occupation | Motorcycle designer and builder |
| Children | Vanessa, Ava, Isabella and Vincent |
| Website | DiMartino Motorsports |
Vincent "Vinnie" DiMartino (born October 9, 1972) is an American motorcycle builder, best known for his work from 2002 to 2007 at Orange County Choppers (OCC), the subject of the American TV show American Chopper. In August 2007 DiMartino left Orange County Choppers and founded V-Force Customs, a custom motorcycle shop in Rock Tavern, NY. Several months later, Cody Connelly, a friend and co-worker of DiMartino at Orange County Choppers also left to join him at V-force Customs. In 2010, DiMartino returned to the show; however instead of rejoining his former employer, OCC, he joined Paul Jr. Designs.
DiMartino, known as "Vinnie," was born to John and Margaret DiMartino. He is the second child of four. DiMartino and his wife Melissa have three girls and a boy, Vanessa, twins Isabella and Ava, and Vincent.
DiMartino was born in 1972 in New York's Hudson Valley. At the age of nine DiMartino started hanging around his father's auto repair shop and soon became a "gearhead". At the age of 14 he began working for a small engine repair shop. A few years later he was rebuilding cars and motorcycles and pretty much anything else he could get his hands on. In 2002 DiMartino started working for Orange County Choppers which was owned by high school friend Paul Teutul Jr.'s father. Although a pilot episode was shot just before he was hired, it was only a month after starting his new job that DiMartino learned The Discovery Channel was turning his workplace into a reality television show called American Chopper.
DiMartino spent five years working for Orange County Choppers before leaving in August 2007.
There has been a lot of discussion on the internet about the factors that led to Vincent leaving OCC. From the VForceCustoms website "FAQ" Vinnie responds to the question stating:
"I had gone as far as I could there. I really didn’t have any chance for advancement, and I had always wanted to have my own shop, so the natural progression was to leave and start my own place. Nothing against them, but it was time to move on."
The American Chopper episode in which DiMartino leaves dedicated a little over four minutes to his departure. After he gave his notice, Paul Teutul Sr. was shown saying "everyone's replaceable" which he claims was only a fragment of what he actually said. OCC has said that they have no control over the editing of the show and what parts of the dialogue are edited out.
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