In 2009, we first got to watch Pawn Stars on The History Channel. It has been a decade since then, and the program has only gotten bigger! Recently, things have not been going right for one of the stars of the reality show.
Chumlee Of Pawn Stars Has Been Having A Tough Time Lately And Here Is Why
Read on to see what is going on in Chumlee’s life. The reality TV show is based in Las Vegas. It would not be as successful as it is today if it were not for the hilarious antics that the cast members get up to.
The Star Of The Show
In particular, Austin Lee Russell has charmed many viewers. Chumlee is the person you need if you want to laugh! We will tackle his current problems in a little while. For now, let us take a peek into his early life.
The Star Of The Show
Chumlee grew up in Nevada, but he was not really the best student in school. As a matter of fact, Chumlee was known to pay other students to do his homework for him when he was a high school student.
Not The Best Student In High School
We are sure not many people were shocked to hear that he chose to drop out. There was more to the story than his less-than-stellar efforts in school. His nickname was not the best either, to say the least.
Not The Best Student In High School
It wasn’t meant to be a nice nickname. Even though Chumlee does sound adorable in itself, they did not give it to him for a good reason. Where did they get the nickname? As it turns out, there was a character called Chumley on the old cartoon Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales.
He Never Graduated
He was a stout walrus. We are sure that it hurt quite a bit. However, the good thing was that Chumlee did not have to go through this all on his own. His childhood friend Corey Harrison was always there to hang out with him and keep him company.
He Never Graduated
Yes, the two Pawn Stars colleagues go way back. Among other things, the two of them used to spend some time at the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, the store ran by Rick Harrison. Their friendship came with a number of benefits for the both of them.
The Story Behind It
For one, Chumlee got to start working there when he was only 21 years old. When you work at a pawn shop, you should handle the things there with a certain precision. However, the bulk of the job is still nothing more than menial work.
The Story Behind It
It is not really a glamorous job whatsoever. Chumlee and the entire Gold & Silver crew made their way to the small screen just five years after this. Something tells us that Chumlee became a lot more enthusiastic about his job when the cameras started rolling!
Cute Nickname But Cruel Intentions
They filmed season after season, gaining even more success and fame with the last one. Chumlee is there to provide much-needed comic relief. He never failed to make everyone laugh with his silly jokes and antics!
Friends From Childhood
The fans were absolutely captivated by his personality on-screen. It was easy to figure out what his interests and hobbies were. After all, Chumlee always made a point to target things that were related to sneakers, rap, video games, and pinball, to name a few.
Friends From Childhood
We bet you will agree with us when we say that these things are fascinating, but we doubt the others would approve. If you watch Pawn Stars, we are sure that you notice just how prone he is to making mistakes.
Popularity For His Mishaps
The others say that this has always been the case and that it’s not a new thing. Apparently, there was even a time when he placed a stand-up bass up against a shelf. It then fell and shattered! It was worth $20,000. Ouch.
A Friendship With Employment Benefits
The rest of the Pawn Stars crew like to tease Chumlee for making such mistakes. It is not surprising because it has become a sort of trend on the show. We daresay that this tendency of his has helped him become even more popular.
A Friendship With Employment Benefits
Can you believe that he began to garner so much attention that he decided to hire a bodyguard? He did so for the times they made public appearances. This went on during the start. He has truly made it big, hasn’t he?
Not What He Expected
At the start, Chumlee really liked the attention that the show gave him. In fact, he worked together with a personal assistant to release a personalized merch line. The other cast members followed suit later on.
Not What He Expected
Still, not one of them outsold Chumlee and his merch line. As you can see, this is just what life is like for the most famous member of the Pawn Stars team. He opened a candy shop on the Vegas strip too.
Five Short Years Later
Chumlee does not really talk about the money that he makes. However, there some things that we know about his finances. In 2010, he got $155k after he sold half of his shares in the shop to Rick.
Five Short Years Later
He made this decision because he wanted to focus on selling merchandise instead. Do not be deceived by his bumbler tendencies! Clearly, this is a guy that has a good head for business on him. Chumlee decided to make other differences in his life as well.
Can’t Help It
One reason was that a tragedy happened just two weeks before Pawn Stars premiered on television. Do you want to know what it was? It was in 2009 that his father succumbed to pancreatic cancer at 54 years old.
Can’t Help It
Chumlee was not living a healthy lifestyle back then. His death was the last straw. After this, he began to exercise and eat healthier and cleaner foods. He started eating better food and exercising on a daily basis.
Not The Best Buys
To get his blood flowing, he goes to the gym and practices yoga. He is also a fan of meditation and mindfulness to soothe his mind and soul! Chumlee had a rather solid plan to make his goal a reality.
Not The Best Buys
He went to the gym 6 times a week, drank fruit smoothies each morning, and started avoiding red meat. Do you think these things actually worked for him? Considering the fact that it was a rather intense health plan, we are not surprised to hear that it worked for him!
Making Many Mistakes
Look at how massive his transformation is. If you want to be healthier and stronger, do the same things that he did! Can you believe that Chumlee managed to pull off such a feat in only a year?
Making Many Mistakes
His transformation took place from 2012 to 2013. He managed to lose so much weight in such a short amount of time! Can you guess just how much weight he shed? He managed to lose 75 pounds!
Popularity For His Mishaps
We are really happy for Chumlee because he looks much happier overall. The amazing transformation has truly changed his life. For most people, the best thing about losing weight is finally fitting into their old clothes.
The Fan-Favorite
Not for Chumlee, however. For this guy, it was something else altogether! He was just happy that he could finally hop on the hovercraft after waiting for so long! What else has the transformation given him?
Quite The Popular Guy
For one thing, he and Tanya Hyjazi began to go out. She is a chef who works at the STACK Restaurant & Bar at the Mirage Casino. We are so happy for Chumlee! They got engaged fairly recently.
Quite The Popular Guy
That’s right, Chumlee asked her to marry him and gave her a gorgeous big ring! She said yes. The couple first celebrated this new development at the Royal Hawaiian Resort in Waikiki. After that, they also celebrated it at the Andiamo Italian Steakhouse in Las Vegas.
Enjoying The Fame
The couple had been surrounded by their loved ones while they were celebrating the incredible and exciting news. There was no way that they would have forgotten to invite Rick and Corey Harrison, of course.
Enjoying The Fame
Not a chance! Knowing all of these things, there was no reason to think that everything would start to go wrong for the Pawn Stars star. In May 2016, the first sign of trouble went down. What was it?
The Fan-Favorite
In those days, he was a suspect during an investigation on a sexual assault. Many fans were shocked since the charges were filed by another shop employee. It was dropped later on thanks to insufficient evidence.
Quite The Private Person
We are sure that he was relieved to hear that this was the case. However, this was not the last time that Chumlee landed in hot water with the authorities! Not too long after that, he got in trouble again…
Quite The Private Person
The next time it happened, the police raided his own home. This was the start of his serious legal issues. They did not find anything to help them with the case, but they did discover certain items that should not have been there…
At The Very Least
What did they find in his house? Apparently, the police officers found marijuana, crystal meth, and a gun in there! These were contraband items that made the police wary of what Chumlee was up to.
Surprisingly Business Minded
They then came back for a second raid. This was not good. They saw more contraband among his things. They were primarily concerned about the 11 firearms there. After all, 7 of them were unregistered!
Surprisingly Business Minded
They did not only find the firearms but also more drugs! They even found evidence to suggest cocaine use. You do not need to be a rocket scientist to guess what came after this. They arrested Chumlee!
Time To Make A Change
Several months after that happened, Chumlee faced 20 different felony counts in court. While it is not that big of a consolation, he was probably glad to hear that they did not find substantial evidence.
Time To Make A Change
The firearms that they discovered in his home did not appear to be used for illegal things. We hope that Chumlee is comforted by this. After all, everything would be even worse for him otherwise.
A Healthier Lifestyle
Our beloved TV star chose to plead guilty to the counts of drug possession, attempted misdemeanor, and unlawful weapons possession. While he did not get any prison time, they did put him on a year-long probation.
Illegal Substances Abound
Chumlee only needs to be on his best behavior in a span of a year. If he manages to do this, only the misdemeanor charge would be reflected on his record. On top of that, they made him go to counseling.
The Mind And Soul
We hope that Chumlee gets out of his bad luck streak quickly. Some people can get ruined by similar scandals all the time, but it does not look like this has affected the TV star whatsoever.
The Mind And Soul
Towards the end of 2016, Chumlee took part in a follow-up interview and spoke to his fans about what he went through that year. He said that he found this year to be especially difficult! Chumlee also made sure to express just how thankful he is for the support of his fans.
Taking The Necessary Steps
The fans stuck with him through those trying times. If they were not around, he could not have gotten through that mess. The TV star posted this photo on his Instagram account to show his sincere appreciation for his fans.
Endless Gratitude
It read, “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”. But what did the future hold for Pawn Stars back then?
Impressive Transformation
There had been some speculation about the fate of the show in the past, whether they decided to renew it or did they choose to discontinue it? Let us find out! Fans of the show, there is no need to worry because the show is still alive and well now.
Where Things Went Wrong
If you were at all curious, Chumlee is still a part of the cast! His probation is going to end soon as well. When his legal problems began to come up, Chumlee decided to take a step back from Pawn Stars to deal with the whole situation.
Healthy And Happy
He worked hard to improve himself as well. This was probably the best course of action he could have taken back then. If you were wondering, Pawn Stars is doing just fine nowadays. The cast recently celebrated the show’s 500th episode!
500 Episodes
Chumlee took to Instagram to make this excited post: “Come celebrate our 500th episode Monday night on History [channel].” “This is something we could not have done without you!!!! Thank you!!!”.
A Major Change
It is no secret that Chumlee is integral to the success of the entire show. Pawn Stars became big with his help and personality. Fans continue to be taken with his amazing personality and hilarious jokes to this day!
A Major Change
The show has been doing well enough for it to spawn a total of 9 spinoffs over the years so far: Pawn Queens, Harcore Pawn: Chicago, Pawn Stars Australia, Counting Cars. Not to mention, Pawn Stars: Pumped Up, Pawn Stars UK, Cajun Pawn Stars, Pawnography, and Hardcore Pawn.
Turning His Life Around
Indeed, Chumlee has made it big over the past decade alone. Thanks to the show and his side businesses, he has made himself a whole lot of money. Look at his gorgeous mansion in Las Vegas. He shelled out a whopping $1.5 million for it!
Money, Money, Money
We just hope that Chumlee will be able to return to his normal self in the near future. Despite the fact that he took a bad path in the past, he has shown us that one can learn from his mistakes.
New Relationships
Chumlee has never stopped trying to better and improve himself! He has a pretty stable home life with his family. We are glad to hear that his wife and dog are around to lend his life some much-needed stability!
It’s Official
Even though Chumlee is busy working on Pawn Stars, you should know that he still likes to dabble in different business ventures here and there. This guy is bound to make even more great things happen in the future!
Chumlee And His Sandwiches
Have you ever noticed just how often Chumlee and the other members of the cast eat sandwiches and other foods from Subway? The truth is that Subway is a major sponsor of Pawn Stars.
Chumlee And His Sandwiches
However, we bet that they also enjoy eating the subs they do. Of course, it is important for them to show off the wrappers and the name of the brand on them to make the most of the sponshorship.
Must Be Incognito
The stars of this reality TV show have become so famous that people recognize them when they are out and about in public. It is rare for them to step out without signing an autograph or posing for a photo for a fan or two.
Must Be Incognito
We are sure that this gets hard when they want to take a look at a garage sale to hunt down valuable objects that they can sell at the store. Sometimes, the owners of the sale would make things more expensive for them or even hide things so that the stars cannot sell them for more.
A Married Man
While Chumlee has been through plenty of ups and downs over the past couple of years, there is something that has made his life that much sweeter. He found his one true love! The couple got married in May 2019 and appear to be very happy together.
A Married Man
They decided to get married in Hawaii, which sounds like an absolute dream! Who wouldn’t want to have a gorgeous wedding in Hawaii? It’s the classic wedding destination!
Animal Lover
While he can usually be seen snuggling up to the nearest dog he can see, Chumlee actually has two of his own dogs in his house. Previously, he has mentioned that he would love nothing more than to adopt two pit bulls.
Animal Lover
However, this has not become a reality for him just yet. For now, he has his two adortable pups to care for until he gets the pit bulls he’s always wanted and dreamed of having. In any case, his puppies are so cute! We’re sure he’s enjoying them.
Keeping Up With His New Lifestyle
Like we said earlier, he really wanted to improve his lifestyle as much as he possibly could. He made himself a promise to live a healthier life and do everything in his power in order to stay happy, healthy, and in shape.
Keeping Up With His New Lifestyle
It doesn’t matter where he is or what time zone it is. Even when he is on a vacation or a getaway, he makes sure to look after his fitness and stamina and make time for his workouts.
A Designer Punch
Throughout his health journey, he has also given himself a serious wardrobe upgrade. He works hard on his body, so he should also work hard on his appearance to balance things out. We think that he looks good in these designer boxing gloves!
A Designer Punch
It must make his punches feel all the more satisfying, if you ask us! They do a great job in representing the hard road he’s gone down to reach where he is today. While it was hard work, he made it look good and easy.
A Man Of Many Talents
Aside from already being a pawn star, a businessman, a candy shop owner… Could he be a pilot now as well? He took to Instagram to post this photograph of him in the cockpit of an airplane.
A Man Of Many Talents
It looks grounded, but who knows what the future holds. Maybe after this picture was taken, he really did fly the plane! Or maybe he’s simply learning to fly the plane and hasn’t gotten there quite yet?
Making A Living For Himself
We already talked about this earlier, but Chumlee did not always have it so easy. He had some serious problems in school and his personal life. Things have been looking up for him recently, however.
Making A Living For Himself
At this point in time, he no longer has to worry about his bank account! He is worth around $5 million nowadays. Good job, Chumlee! Not graduating high school really paid off for him, which is a rarity.
Inspirational Messages
As you can clearly see, things have not been easy for Chumlee as of late. Especially in the last few years or so. So, he decided to take to his Instagram profile to share some sunshine into the feed of his followers.
Inspirational Messages
He uploaded this photo of himself and capped it off with an inspiring caption for his followers. He might be hoping to have someone see this and become inspired or feel comforted by it. But isn’t that the point of most social media platforms? We sure hope he had an awesome day after that!