Behind The Scenes With Chumlee Of ‘Pawn Stars’
Ever since the History Channel first started showing Pawn Stars in 2009, the show has only gotten more and more popular. However, the truth is that not all is well for one of the stars of the show. For Chumlee Russell, his personal and public affairs have been in hot water recently.
The Star Of The Show
The reality show is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It has an awesome cast, although we think that the most famous one is Austin Lee Russell or Chumlee. He is a guy who is always full of life. He always has great comedic timing as well!
The Star Of The Show
Not The Best Student In High School
We think it is important to talk a bit about what life was like for him before the show. A Nevada native, Chumlee did not have an easy time when he was younger. He was not particularly academically-inclined.
Not The Best Student In High School
He Never Graduated
During his high school days, Chumlee liked to pay his fellow students to do his homework for him! At some point, he decided to drop out. We are sure that no one was very shocked to hear such a thing.
He Never Graduated
The Story Behind It
His scholastic difficulties do not offer the whole story, however. We also have to look at his nickname. Even though Chumlee might sound cute, they did not grant him the nickname for a flattering reason.
The Story Behind It
Cute Nickname But Cruel Intentions
His peers actually started to call him that in reference to one character from the ‘60s cartoon called Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales. The character Chumley was a fat walrus! That was not very nice of them, was it?
Cute Nickname But Cruel Intentions
Friends From Childhood
The good thing is that he had a friend that he could always trust and confide in. We are referring to Corey Harrison, who is another star on Pawn Stars! The two have been friends since childhood.
Friends From Childhood
A Friendship With Employment Benefits
The two pals liked to spend their time at the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, which is owned by Corey’s father Rick. It turns out that their friendship had certain benefits. Among others, Chumlee started to become a full-time employee when he was 21!
A Friendship With Employment Benefits
Not What He Expected
It is true that you need to have a certain precision when you work at a pawn shop. Even so, the truth is that the job is mostly menial work more than anything else. It is not really all that glamorous of a career.
Not What He Expected
Five Short Years Later
At any rate, Chumlee and the rest of the Gold & Silver team got the opportunity of a lifetime five years after he first began working there. We are sure that Chumlee started to like his job even more after this.
Five Short Years Later
Can’t Help It
The show went on to be even more famous and successful than they had anticipated. Chumlee was the cast member who provided comic relief. He never ran out of jokes to tell and antics to get up to.
Can’t Help It
Not The Best Buys
He was interested in rap, sneakers, pinball, and video games. If you watch the show, this would be a no-brainer. After all, Chumlee had a tendency to target things related to these. However, they do not always mean good things for the shop!
Not The Best Buys
Making Many Mistakes
Chumlee had a tendency to make silly mistakes when the cameras are rolling. However, this has been happening long before the show arrived. There was a time that he propped up a stand-up bass against some shelf. Everyone was horrified when it fell down and broke! It cost the store $20,000.
Making Many Mistakes
Popularity For His Mishaps
The other cast members of the show like to tease Chumlee for such accidents and mistakes. You just need to watch the show if you want to see how often this happens on Pawn Stars. At any rate, this behavior has only endeared him to the viewers of the show.
Popularity For His Mishaps
Quite The Popular Guy
We doubt that they knew the show would be such a big hit. In the beginning, Chumlee earned so much attention that he got a bodyguard for the public appearances they made. How impressive is that?
Quite The Popular Guy
Enjoying The Fame
Chumlee actually enjoyed the attention that everyone was giving him. This was the case at the beginning. With his personal assistant, he worked on a line of personalized merch. After he released it, the rest of the cast did it as well.
Enjoying The Fame
The Fan-Favorite
Even though this was what happened, they failed to be as successful as Chumlee when it comes to this. It seems like it is true that he is the most popular team member. Recently, he also started his very own candy shop on the Vegas strip.
The Fan-Favorite
Quite The Private Person
Chumlee might not be the kind of guy who boasts about the money he makes, but we do know certain things about his financial situation. He earned $155,000 after selling half of his Gold & Silver shares to Rick Harrison in 2010!
Quite The Private Person
Surprisingly Business Minded
He made the decision to do this since he wanted to focus more on his merch. Even though he is a bit of a bumbler, you can tell that he has quite a lot of business sense.
Surprisingly Business Minded
Time To Make A Change
Aside from that, he also began to show an interest in bettering himself. This happened because a tragedy unfolded in his life only two weeks prior to the premiere of Pawn Stars. What happened to his father?
Time To Make A Change
A Healthier Lifestyle
In 2009, his father died after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 54 years old at the time. Chumlee was not healthy, and anyone can see it. After the death of his father, he resolved to be a healthier person.
A Healthier Lifestyle
The Mind And Soul
He started to eat more healthily and exercise on the regular as well. He primarily gets his body moving by taking up yoga and going to the gym. He is also a big fan of meditation and mindfulness, which is considered therapy for the mind and soul!
The Mind And Soul
Taking The Necessary Steps
He had a great plan on how to do such a thing. He started to go the gym six days out of seven, downing fruit smoothies for breakfast, and avoiding red meat. Are you ready to see the end result?
Taking The Necessary Steps
Impressive Transformation
His intense health plan ended up working! The transformation is simply impressive. If you want to start living more healthily, we think it is a good idea to do the same things that he did.
Impressive Transformation
Healthy And Happy
His unbelievable transformation did not take that long. As a matter of fact, he achieved this from 2012 to 2013! He lost a lot of excess pounds, that much is for sure. The difference is astounding!
Healthy And Happy
A Major Change
Do you want to hear the details? Chumlee actually lost 75 pounds overall. He looks healthier, but we think it is more important to note that he looks happier as well. It changed his life completely.
A Major Change
Turning His Life Around
People who lose weight often think that the best part is finally slipping into old clothes! However, Chumlee is not like most people. He was happiest about the fact that he was now light enough to ride this hovercraft! To be fair, we would do the same thing if we had one in our garage.
Turning His Life Around
New Relationships
After that, he also began to date Tanya Hyjazi. His girlfriend is a chef working at the STACK Restaurant & Bar at the Mirage Casino. Not only did he change his eating habits, but he is also building awesome new relationships in his life.
New Relationships
It’s Official
The two of them got engaged as well. We are sure they were both very happy when Chumlee finally asked her to marry him. The two of the celebrated at the Royal Hawaiian Resort first and then at the Andiamo Italian Steakhouse with their friends.
It’s Official
The Whole Gang
They were surrounded by their loved ones during the second celebration. Of course, Corey Harrison and Rick Harrison of Pawn Stars were going to be there. They were friends of Chumlee, after all.
The Whole Gang
Where Things Went Wrong
It definitely sounds like life is going very smoothly for Chumlee, but you might be surprised to hear that everything started to go wrong. It all began in March 2016. Do you have any idea what happened?
Where Things Went Wrong
All Charges Were Dropped
That was the time that Chumlee was considered a suspect for a sexual assault case. The charges were actually made by another shop employee! Uh-oh. However, the investigation was later dropped due to insufficient evidence.
All Charges Were Dropped
Just The Beginning
Even though he got off the hook there, this was not the last time he had to deal with law enforcement. In fact, it simply feels like Chumlee could not stay out of legal issues since then…
Just The Beginning
The Results Of A Police Raid
The next incident happened when the police raided his house. It resulted in even more problems for him. Even though the authorities did not turn up anything to help their case, they found something else.
The Results Of A Police Raid
Illegal Substances Abound
They discovered marijuana, a gun, and crystal meth in his house. Of course, we all know that these things should not have been there. The police now had a good reason to keep their eyes on him.
Illegal Substances Abound
Even More Incriminating Things
The police then conducted another raid. They found other contraband items among his things! They found 11 firearms. This would be fine if they were registered, but the truth is that only 4 of them were.
Even More Incriminating Things
Chumlee Arrested
Not only that, but the officers also discovered even more drugs and evidence that suggested cocaine use. What did they do next? Well, there was not much else they could do but the apprehend him!
Chumlee Arrested
At The Very Least
After a couple of months, Chumlee was facing 20 felony counts in court. Yikes. On the bright side, the court did not come up with any substantial evidence. We are sure that he was relieved to hear this.
At The Very Least
Nothing Illegal
They might have found firearms in his home, but they did not seem to be used for illegal matters. We are glad to hear this. It would be worse for him if that was what happened.
Nothing Illegal
Justice Being Served
In the end, Chumlee pleaded guilty to these charges: drug possession, attempted misdemeanor, and unlawful weapons possession. He did that because he did not want to serve prison time. Instead, he received a probation of one year.
Justice Being Served
The Worst Is Behind Him
If the TV star behaves properly during this time, they will put the only misdemeanor charge on his record. They also made Chumlee attend mandatory counseling, which does not sound bad at all to us.
The Worst Is Behind Him
A Rough Patch
It looks like Chumlee is about to get over his streak of bad luck. Did this scandal have a negative impact on his career? It seems like the answer to the question is ‘no’. Whew!
A Rough Patch
A Hard Year
During a follow-up interview towards the end of 2016, he finally opened up about what he had to go through. Chumlee acknowledged that it had been a tough year for him. Let us see what he said.
A Hard Year
Thanking His Supporters
Chumlee took the opportunity to express his gratitude towards his fans who supported him in those trying times. They sent messages of support, and they all helped lift him up during that period in his life.
Thanking His Supporters
Endless Gratitude
He also posted this on Instagram: “I just wanted to give a quick shout-out to all my amazing fans that come and see me daily at @chums_candy – Thank you all for all the amazing love you show me”.
Endless Gratitude
The Fate Of Pawn Stars
But what were things like for Pawn Stars? There were quite a lot of theories floating around the internet back then. Everyone wanted to hear if the show was getting a new season or not.
The Fate Of Pawn Stars
Back To Normal
Fans were very relieved to hear that their favorite TV show was going to come back for another season. Chumlee is involved as well. We just hope that things soon return to normal for this reality TV show star. His probation is about to end soon as well.
Back To Normal
Self-Improvement
When Chumlee was going through all those legal issues, he decided to step out of the limelight. He went on break from Pawn Stars. He decided to spend some time improving himself in both the mental and physical sense. We are glad to hear that he is taking care of himself!
Self-Improvement
500 Episodes
Pawn Stars is doing amazingly, in fact. The show celebrated its 500th episode recently. Chumlee made this Instagram post: “Come celebrate our 500th episode Monday night on History [channel]. This is something we could not have done without you!!!! Thank you!!!”
500 Episodes
Thanks To Chumlee
Pawn Stars simply would not be successful if it were not for Chumlee. He is one lively fellow who has a good heart and a bright personality. Many viewers come back for more because of him!
Thanks To Chumlee
Spin-Offs
The show has become such a huge hit that History Channel made a number of spin-offs. Here are the 9 spin-offs of the show: Pawn Stars Australia Counting Cars, Pawn Stars: Pumped Up, Cajun Pawn Stars, Pawnography, Pawn Queens, Pawn Stars UK, Hardcore Pawn, and Harcore Pawn: Chicago.
Spin-Offs
Money, Money, Money
Chumlee has no problems when it comes to money. Thanks to the show, his public appearances, and his side businesses, he is set for life. Take a look at this $1.5 million Las Vegas mansion that he gets to call home. This pool is so gorgeous!
Money, Money, Money
Back And Better Than Ever
We sure hope that he returns to the old happy Chumlee that we all know and love. The reality TV star made a lot of mistakes in the past, but the important thing is to learn from his mistakes.
Back And Better Than Ever
A Stable Life
At the moment, he is working hard to improve on himself. We are sure that he is glad that his wife and their dog are there to help him out. Stability is the best thing ever when it comes to these things.
A Stable Life
New Beginnings
Chumlee is still on the cast of Pawn Stars. He has a lot of business ventures that he gets into as well. This is a guy who will be around for quite some time, so we want you to keep your eyes peeled!
New Beginnings