One of the most popular “reality” TV shows that debuted in recent years, Storage Wars is an extremely easy watch. All you have to do is sit back and observe people you’ve come to know buy storage lockers, and then wait to see if their purchase pays off. Due to the show being so reliant on the personalities of its stars, it is of paramount importance that damaging images don’t spread. On top of that, the stars of the series have egos that can be wounded.
In order for a photo to be up for consideration for this list, it first and foremost needs to relate to one of the stars of Storage Wars in one way or another. For our purposes, the image in question doesn’t actually have to include one of the cast members in person, so long as it pertains to them. Additionally, screengrabs of moments from the show or social media postings of its stars were absolutely in play. Finally, images related to stars of the spin-off series were also in the running, but they had to be particularly shocking as our main focus is on the original series.
These details inspired us to put together this list of 20 pictures the stars of Storage Wars don’t want you to see.
20. Laura Dotson’s Family Feud Past
A show focused on various people that appear in several episodes in order to purchase storage lockers, at times leaves out the importance of the auctioneers. One of the main people involved in that process, Laura Dotson, helps corral all of the buyers while also collecting their payments once the auction process is through. A role that, at times, requires her to be rather forceful with some of the buyers; Dave Hester particularly.
Best known for appearing in Storage Wars, what a lot of people may not realize is that she appeared on TV as a contestant on the show Family Feud. She looks lovely in this screenshot of her appearance on the game show, but we’re guessing she’d much rather be remembered for her more famous current TV role.
19. Darrell Sheets’ Inopportune Expression
One of the main people associated with Storage Wars is Darrell Sheets. He seems to pride himself on coming across as the no-nonsense bidder that you don’t want to mess with.
Often taking part in bidding wars with someone else, Darrell has to have his defenses up. This leaves him trying his best at times to come across as a tough guy, which we have to say he pulls off pretty well as we wouldn’t want to get on his bad side either .
However, an image of him like this one where he looks confused and out of sorts totally undermines the image he has built up, even if it happens more often than he would like.
18. Barry Weiss’ Long Hair
We’re just going to be real with you here, in our youth we made some truly horrific fashion choices that we can’t believe when we look back through adult eyes. On top of that, we’re guessing that pretty much all of our readers will have gone through a similar period which makes us all better understand each other's misstep.
However, when you are still making these kinds of errors as a middle-aged person, that can be quite different. A shot of one of the stars of Storage Wars’ first four seasons, Barry Weiss, shows him at another “reality” TV star's wedding we will be touching on later in this list.
Sporting long brown hair in a ponytail, this was not a good look for him at all and if we were him we’d want to keep it under wraps.
17. Red Robe Rene Nezhoda
As someone who joined the cast of Storage Wars when Barry Weiss took his leave, in a lot of ways Rene Nezhoda filled the space left behind by the older bidder. One of the most lovable figures to ever appear on the show, he wasn’t as eccentric as Barry but Rene does seemed to refrain from taking himself overly seriously.
An example of just that, we see him pictured above with a robe on that he found, sporting an interesting look on his face. Not exactly the best choice of clothing for him and made all the worse by the ludicrous expression he had going, if there was a photo of us looking like that we’d laugh at it while cringing.
16. Barry Weiss Slip and Fall
One of the original Storage Wars stars, Barry Weiss stood out right from the start due to things like his trademark colored lensed glasses. Also interesting for his sometimes outrageous fashion choices, it is clear that he likes to stand out.
One of the biggest and most expensive ways in which he did that in any group was by showing up to auctions in some pretty crazy cars. Someone that clearly has a love for automobiles, one of his auction items led him to the racetrack for appraisal, which made him overjoyed.
Hoping to get to drive one of the monster machines present, he revealed on the show he knew that wasn’t going to happen after he fell down simply while walking.
15. Woodchuck Darrell Sheets
The second shot of Darrell to make this list, we yet again find ourselves looking at an image of him appearing somewhat ridiculous. This time around, we think the expression on his face is exponentially worse.
Looking off to the side, like he was already embarrassed the second this image of him was put on film, we can only imagine what he might think of a screenshot like this. Yet again with his mouth partially open, this time around exposing his upper teeth.
Revealing how large his two front teeth are, we have to admit this shot brings to mind a woodchuck. If a photo of you brings to mind an animal because of how much of your teeth are exposed, it is safe to say it isn’t a good one.
14. Dave Hester Looking Like He is Fighting Sleep
Without a doubt the least friendly person to star in the show Storage Wars, Dave Hester has been proven to be totally ruthless throughout his time in the series. He seems to take glee in costing his fellow bidders money just for the sake of it, despite that he still also manages to upset the auctioneers.
Seen here in an image put together to show how bad things got between him and Dan Dotson, it looks like someone took pleasure in playing up the anger between them. At least in Dan’s case, he looks somewhat normal though as Dave looks goofy seemingly trying everything he can to fight off sleep. Considering how full of himself Dave always comes across as, this look would be a hard pill to swallow.
13. Mary Padian Needs a Shower
One of the people that were added to the lineup of Storage Wars’ regular buyers in season five, it didn’t take Mary Padian time to be embraced by the show’s fans. Very good at what she does, we’d be lying if we pretended her looks had no part in how easily a certain group of Storage Wars followers embraced her.
Of course, when your job entails rooting through storage lockers that can be piled to the roof pulling everything out can be quite the workout.
Seen here after she put on a fake pregnancy belly in the process of going through one of her lockers, the work or heat had gotten to her enough that she looks quite sweaty. Someone that typically is carefully put together, this seems like the opposite of the image she’d want to exude.
12. Jarrod and Brandi's Terrible Spinoff
It makes perfect sense that once Storage Wars became a hit for A&E they’d want to keep the gravy train going. Opting to produce a number of spin-offs, in one case they took the most popular couple featured in the series, Jarrod Schulz & Brandi Passante, and gave them their own show. Named Brandi & Jarrod: Married to the Job, this show revealed more of their home life to the world than ever before.
Turns out that fans were happy with what they already knew about these two as their spin-off was a complete failure that only aired eight episodes. The type of situation that really diminishes their star power, Brandi and Jarrod would be smart to never speak of this series again.
11. Rene Nezhoda Poorly Shot Selfie
Considering this is a selfie we are dealing with, it seems safe to say that he released it to the world himself. As a result, it is only reasonable to conclude that at one time, he was perfectly comfortable with all of us seeing this shot.
However, that doesn't mean that as time goes on he can’t regret that decision and wish that he could undo it. Of course, we all know that the internet is forever and once something is uploaded it isn’t going anywhere, especially if it pertains to someone that is famous in any way.
Not only is it shot from an unflattering angle that really shows off Rene’s double chin, his squinting isn’t doing him any favors either.
10. Jarrod Schulz’s Mug Shot
Someone that can come across as foolhardy on national television, Jarrod Schulz has never tried to make himself seem like he grew up on Sesame Street. He also never really struck us as someone that was likely to have a mug shot out there, yet here we are.
The website that released the shot claimed at the time that he was arrested for something serious, but did not reveal what. Later said to be related to a DUI arrest and trafficking which he spent sixteen months in jail for, we in no way can vouch that those details are accurate.
That said, we can say that a lot of people would be pretty surprised to learn that he has a history with law enforcement. For that reason, we’re sure he’d prefer to keep this mugshot a secret.
9. Miami Cast Member Kevin Pew’s Son and his Crime
Kevin Pew, the only person on this list that solely appeared in one of Storage Wars’ spin-offs the short-lived Storage Wars: Miami. A series that only aired a single season of ten episodes, it was still enough for some people to become acquainted with Pew.
As it premiered early in October of 2015, that same month Kevin found himself in the headlines for a far more tragic reason. The father of a young man named Hashim Pew, his son was arrested for the homicide of a family friend.
Like any other parent, Kevin surely would love it if the world forgot about his son’s mug shot and more than that, we’re positive he wishes it was never taken to begin with.
8. Brandi Passante’s Odd Expression
A shot that, at face value many people may not understand why its included here, it's safe to say Brandi always has her way of looking fantastic. However, if that was your reaction there is something really big you are forgetting: people tend to see the worst in themselves.
For instance, we may focus on how pretty Brandi is while looking at this shot, but we find it incredibly unlikely that she would choose to sport this look on her face. Looking to the side of the camera at something that must have been a surprise or amusing, her mouth has been left agape.
Far from the way she looks whenever she poses for a shot, we can just imagine the exasperation a screenshot like this would inspire in Brandi.
7. Barry’s Failed Spin-Off
Another instance of a failed spin-off, this time around we are looking at a series that starred arguably the most lovable buyer in the history of Storage Wars, Barry Weiss. Just like the show the network tried to get off the ground for Brandi Passante and Jarrod Schulz, Barry'd Treasure would only stick around long enough to broadcast eight episodes.
However, the reason we feel this show is far more of a black mark on the history of Storage Wars and its star Barry is that he never returned to the original show.
Evidently a case in which this failed series was chosen over continuing to include Barry as a part of Storage Wars, this ended up being an awful decision for all. As such, we should all wish we’d never seen an image like this one.
6. Jarrod and Brandi with their Kids
As a couple that made the decision to star in a “reality” show many years ago, you may think that Jarrod and Brandi would have come to terms with surrendering their privacy long ago.
You may feel as though that means they have no right to feel protective over their family moments and they likely shouldn’t care about that if they did. However, if you follow the statements of the rich and famous you’d probably be aware that people pretty much never feel that way.
A family that decided to share a big part of their lives with cameras, their reasoning could have been that they could maintain some level of privacy. As such, when they went out together the day this picture was taken, they surely did not want to be the focus of the paparazzi.
5. Brandon Sheets’ Tweets
Brandon Sheets, the son of one of the main Storage Wars stars, was fired by the producers of the show. Even though his dad remained a part of the series, it seems like Brandon then decided it was time to air his grievances.
Heading to Twitter to reveal how his feelings, he wrote about wanting to do more than being “degraded by a show and people who simply do not care about others and their quality of life”. He did try to reel it back by writing about being grateful but he still mitigated that by wishing he was “treated more like a person”.
The fact that he tried to diminish his critique at all reveals he knew he may have regretted his actions, even if that was how he felt when the wounds were still fresh.
4. Rene Nezhoda Derp Face
The final shot of Rene Nezhoda to make this list, we made sure to leave the best for last. Unlike many of the other images on this list, we don’t need to give any kind of deep analysis of this photo in order to convey why it belongs on this list.
Instead, here we have a screenshot of Rene’s face that was likely taken at the worst possible time. With his face contorted into what seems to be a mix of ill and tired, his eyes are barely open and unfocused.
On top of that, his mouth seems to be about to take on some kind of snarl which isn’t making him look any better. In short, the expression he had on his face at the moment this shot was taken was all around unflattering.
3. Dave and Dan’s Fight
A screenshot from probably the most discussed episode of Storage Wars ever, we see Dave Hester and Dan Dotson in the midst of some pretty lame wrestling. An incident that some will likely instantly believe was a premeditated publicity stunt, we think Dan and Dave should want this moment to be forgotten.
In scenario number one, they really did come to blows in a moment of passion, both of them were highly unprofessional and quick to anger. Additionally, Dave should be especially ashamed because Dan’s wife Laura tried to intervene and he pushed her to the ground.
In scenario number two, in which this was all a stunt, both of them look pretty feeble if this lame pushing and shoving match was the best they could muster. In the end, there are only losers involved in this shot.
2. Jesse James’ Infamous Photo
Someone that rose to prominence as a popular “reality” TV star, Jesse James’ image was destroyed when it came to light that he habitually cheated on his wife, Sandra Bullock. At first seeming like things couldn’t get worse, the world was then shocked when the image on the right was released.
Wearing a distinctive hat, it was a part of the uniform given out to a paramilitary group that served Germany during World War II. Worse yet, Jesse is posed like someone from that group and is also using his fingers to pretend he has their leader’s mustache.
Still, you may be wondering what that has to do with Storage Wars and Barry Weiss. Well, it turns out that Barry is Jesse’s godfather and reportedly actually gave Jesse the hat, which we can’t confirm. Either way, this shot is one Barry should want nothing to do with.
1. Dave Hester’s Lawsuit Against the Show’s Producers
During the fourth season of Storage Wars one of its most notable stars, Dave Hester, was absent which damaged the show’s winning dynamic. Fired from the series after heated debates with the show’s producers, he did not take well to his dismissal and filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against his former bosses.
Dave revealed in court papers that the results of the lockers seen as a part of Storage Wars were rigged by producers. Letting the world know that most, if not all, of the exceptional items we’ve seen on Storage Wars are put there by the show, undermining the series.
Ultimately able to put the legal battle behind him, Dave returned the following year and now he and his co-stars must wish he never let the truth out.
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What picture did you think was the most embarrassing for the cast? Let us know in the comments.