I met Frank’s father while out on a story today. Nice guy. Told me the story about how they got their show.

Frank and Mike were in a Chicago bar drinking with two guys. They told these guys what they do for a living. Turns out one of the guys worked for the History Channel. He basically told them to send a tape of them picking. They shot something with a home video camera and sent it in and History turned it into a show.

I found that story interesting because what immediately came to mind was all those Craigslist ads of people looking for someone to shoot their show idea for free. Of course, I’d never do it but that’s exactly how American Pickers got on the air.