Car enthusiasts are well familiar with Aaron Kaufman the heavily bearded wonder guy from Discovery Channel’s hit reality shows Fast N’ Loud. Fans were left heartbroken in early 2017 when Kaufman told Richard Rawlings, his buddy on the show, that he is leaving him to pursue new challenges. Kaufman leaving the show also meant he was no longer working at Gas Monkey Garage, the Dallas-based mechanic where he and Rawlings tore up and built cars for 14 years.
Kaufman stated varying professional and personal preferences as his reason for leaving his buddy. He pointed out that the unbelievable deadlines brought so much pressure on him that he couldn’t pursue other interests. Kaufman said he didn’t feel comfortable building cars in a couple of weeks and that he would prefer building them at his own pace — fans of the show know how much of a perfectionist Kaufman is.
Satisfying the curiosity of the fans, Kaufman was quick to talk about his next venture — building Ford F-100 trucks. For those who don’t know, Ford is one of Kaufman’s favourite car brands. To get his new interest kicking, Kaufman founded fabrication company, ArcLight.
While Kaufman’s departure from Fast N’ Loud obviously took Rawling by surprise left him somewhat heartbroken, both are in good terms and hold no grudges against each other. After Kaufman launched his new venture, Gas Monkey showed some love by writing about it on its blog. The Gas Monkey Article read;
“As some may recall Aaron Kaufman and Richard parted ways on last season of Fast N’ Loud, but that does not mean it’s the last you’ll see of either. Fast N’ Loud returns this fall with some great builds and a few surprises and as for Aaron, he’s just launched a kickass fabrication shop, arclightfab.com.”
“Returning to his Ford roots Aaron will be fabricating for the early model Ford trucks he holds dear, as well as hosting a cruise this fall for like-minded enthusiasts. The Fun Hundred Run will take participants through hundreds of miles of Texas’ best driving roads with campouts and comradery along the way. Additionally, he’s got a shop up and running with some rad shirts, hats and stickers so be sure to show him some love with his new ventures.”
Aaron Kaufman Bio
Aaron Kaufman was born on January 26, 1982, in Crowley, Texas. As a child, Kaufman developed the talent of tearing things apart and building them right back up in different ways. As he grew older he developed a passion for cars which ultimately brought him to the world of hot rods. Kaufman honed his talent to become an exceptional self-taught fabricator, mechanic, and hot-rodder. He immediately began working at a local garage and it wasn’t long before fellow mechanic and entrepreneur Richard Rawlings discovered him.
Rawlings had visited the local car shop where Kaufman worked and asked that they offer him their best guy to run his ’53 Ford Mainline. Kaufman was that best guy and Rawlings was incredibly impressed with his performance.
When Rawlings wanted to start a new venture, he called on Kaufman to become his business partner. The duo birthed the idea for Gas Monkey Garage and took it to reality TV as Fast N’ Loud. The show featured how the Gas Monkey crew scouted for tired and run down cars and restored them for profit. The show which premiered on Discovery in 2012 quickly became a huge hit propelling both to instant fame and wealth.
Aaron Kaufman Salary, Net Worth
While it isn’t clear how much Kaufman earned per episode of Fast N’ Loud, it is a known fact that Rawlings received $50,000 per episode. With that, we estimate that Kaufman earned somewhere between $10,000 and $40,000 for his perfect touches.
Aaron Kaufman’s net worth is estimated to be $6 million. That figure is sure to rise with his new venture up and running. As the Gas Monkey blog stated, Kaufman will also be selling merchandise on his company website. They include; T-shirts, hats, and stickers, and of course F-100 parts.
Kaufman has also considered bringing his own show to TV with Discovery Chanel hot on his heels.
Giving a hint on what his own TV show might look like, Kaufman told ArtofGears.com;
“We are having conversations about TV, but if I do it I want to be ecstatic about it. I want to be very proud of the program and the parts that I make, so we are really looking at a fresh approach to making automotive television. If we go back to building cars on TV, it will be based on the premise fun with cars. Cars build out of imagination and of excitement and cars that move the soul and the body as well. Not cars built to go to auction, cars to make money, there are plenty of people who do it for a living, we are going to do it on TV and we are going to have a good time.”
Aaron Kaufman has bagged some honors for his works. In 2015, he was named as a ‘Top 25 Young Event Professional’ from Special Event Magazine. He was also named as the President of Toronto chapter of International Special Events Society.
Aaron Kaufman Wife, Girlfriend
Kaufman previously dated a certain Lindsay J for a period of three and a half years. Their relationship began and ended when Kaufman had not yet found fame with Fast N’ Loud.
After they broke up and Kaufman found fame, Lindsay set up a blog called “About That Bearded Guy” where she posted photos her and Aaron including beardless photos of Aaron and also answered questions regarding their relationship.
Kaufman began dating Lauren Moore in 2015. Both have posted photos of the other on their respective Instagram accounts.
Catch Up with Kaufman on Instagram.
