If you're a fan of the insanely popular History Channel TV series Pawn Stars, you know that it has just about as many spinoffs as it does seasons. One of these spinoffs is Counting Cars. Filmed in Las Vegas, Nevada, the show focuses on Count's Kustoms, a hot rod and chopper customization and restoration shop.
The owner of the shop and star of the show is Danny "The Count" Koker, who looks more like an '80s-era rock star than someone who runs a custom shop (He actually is a rock star, too. But more on that later). Even though Danny Koker has quite a few different side projects, the guy is pro at the car and bike restoration game.
Danny Koker Bio
Born on January 5, 1964, Daniel Nicholas Koker II was raised in both Cleveland, Ohio and Detroit, Michigan, meaning that a love of cars was pretty much engrained into his DNA. His dad, besides being an accomplished musician, worked at Ford Motor Company, and by the time he was eight, Danny had already been gifted a cruiser by his pops. Eventually, Danny taught himself how to restore cars, and he got good at it. Real good.
Shortly after developing a love for working of cars, Danny also developed a loved for entertaining. When his parents bought the Las Vegas television station KFBT, Danny started hosting a weekly B-movie showcase called Saturday Fright at the Movies, where he played a character named "Count Cool Rider." It's not really "cool" in the traditional sense, but definitely entertaining.
Following the success of his TV stint, Koker took his Count moniker and applied it to his true passion: Customizing cars and motorcycles. Hence, Count's Kustoms was born.
Danny Koker's Counting Cars Career
As business started booming for Count's Kustoms, Danny Koker grew in popularity. He served as a car and motorcycle expert on both the Pawn Stars TV show and the Pawn Stars spinoff, American Restoration. In 2012, yet another Pawn Stars spinoff was born: the popular show Counting Cars.
Along with "The Count," the show includes a pretty eclectic cast of characters, including a guy named "Horny Mike," an airbrush artist who likes putting horns on everything. Yeah, probably not the direction you assumed that was going...
Not everything ended up going smoothly at Count's Kustoms. In 2016, an employee named Joseph Frontiera was accused of misappropriated company funds for personal use, including using shop money as a down payment on a Range Rover and personal airline tickets. He ended up getting fired, subsequently sued by Count's Kustoms, and fined $18,000 by the IRS.
But, what about the future of Counting Cars? After a nine-season run (the most recent season having aired in July 2020), the History Channel show has yet to be picked up for a tenth season. Here's hoping that we get some new episodes of the reality TV show soon, or else we'll be deprived of more incredible moments like this.
Danny Koker Net Worth and Personal Life
Danny Koker has an estimated net worth of $13 million, and he puts a lot of that money towards his love of vehicles, with a car collection of 55 and counting. Oh, and he also has around 70 motorcycles. Yeah, you could say he's a just little bit obsessed with the gearhead lifestyle.
When he's not working on cars or choppers, Danny definitely keeps himself busy. He's the owner of Count's Vamp'd Rock Bar & Grill and has a tattoo parlor called Count's Tattoo Company. On top of that, Koker is also the lead vocalist of the hard rock band Count's 77. Clearly, Danny's really milking that "Count" nickname.
Having been married to Korie Koker since 2015, Danny Koker is an ordained minister and is also involved with a number of charities. They need to change the term "jack of all trades" to "koker of all trades," because this guy really does it all.
This post was originally published on February 21, 2020.
