Story of a farm boy who grew up to become a reality TV star auctioneer.
Don Reinhart
OLN`s reality television series
Storage Wars: Canada star Don Reinhart is a second-generation auctioneer drawing on fifty years of experience in the business. He is a modest man with strict words to abide by:
"If you don`t play the rules my way, you don`t play." Don`s straightforward stance built him a loyal base of bidders at auctions.
He generously took time out of his schedule to answer a few questions for iBid4Storage.
Don Reinhart Interview
Q. You grew up on a farm. What was daily life like for you?
A. I grew up on a farm near Kitchener, Ontario (Breslau). I am too old to remember much. I mostly just remember swimming in the cattle trough.
Q. Who was the greatest influence in your life growing up?
A. That would be my mom and dad. They taught me how to work and how to get ahead in life.
Q. What was your childhood dream?
A. I wanted to retire at the age of 45-50. Obviously that did not happen. I am still working and loving it.
Q. How did you become a self-taught auctioneer?
A. My father was a self-taught auctioneer. He passed away in December of 1964. He operated a livestock auction. I started auctioneering in January 1965. I was 19 years old. I auctioned poultry and rabbits.
Q. What was it like to hold livestock auctions in the 1960s?
A. Almost all of the farmers were reasonably close neighbours. A lot of farmers came to buy livestock, sell livestock, and visit with neighbours and friends.
Q. What type of auctions have you conducted?
A. Auctions for livestock, farm machinery, furniture, antiques, Impact Auto Auctions (insurance damaged vehicles), land sales (farms, homes, industrial buildings), restaurant equipment, machine shop equipment, storage auctions, airplanes, content of jumbo jets, race cars & parts, tractor pullers and monster trucks.
Q. What is the strangest item that you have auctioned to date?
A. I sold a casket in a storage unit.
Q. What has been your most successful auction to date?
A. It was a Sheriff`s sale of a large industrial building in Mississauga which included executive office furniture and 50-75 computers and testing equipment.
Q. What type of charity auctions do you conduct?
A. My favorite charity is Chase the Dream Galea Fund. It`s for a local boy who is 6 years old. I have also auctioneered for cancer fundraisers, The Children`s Aid, auction that is funny money, and hospital fundraisers.
Q. What are five ways to get kicked out of a
storage auction?
A.
1. Use of foul language.
2. Interrupting the auctioneer and staff.
3. Drinking alcohol.
4. Not paying for your storage unit at prior auctions.
5. Not cleaning out your previously purchased locker properly and on time.
Storage Wars: Canada
Q. How did you get cast on the show?
A. People from Proper Television Productions came to see what a storage auction was about and how it worked.
Q. How long does it take to film one episode for you as the auctioneer, from start to finish?
A. Sometimes it`s just one day and sometimes it feels like 203 days.
Q. New Yorkers claim their weather is the worst, but your winters are gruesome. How bad is the weather in
Canada?
A. The temperatures can drop to -40 degrees Celsius (that`s 40 degrees below Fahrenheit) coupled with wind and snow.
Q. What difficulties do you encounter as you work with cameras all around you?
A. I am use to the cameras now, so I try to look around them. Also, I know most of the buyers and what they buy, so it`s not really a problem.
Q. Describe your cast mates:
A.
Canada`s Storage Wars Stars
ROY: Buys good lockers, bids quick, and has a bit of a temper. (Saying: Good morning, Don.)
CINDY: Strange squeaky voice, fairly aggressive, buys pretty lockers, and tries to put Roy in his place. (Saying: I am the Queen of Storage Lockers.)
RICK: Pretty cool dude, cowboy boots, smokes, listens to Cindy very well, and the backbone of their team. (Saying: Cindy, that`s enough.)
URSULA: Attractive, must have a large wardrobe and shoe supply, unpredictable in buying, when she screams - it`s a shrill, and she slaps the locker doors. (Saying: How`s it going?)
BOGART: Who would name their kid Bogart? Reasonably quiet. (Saying: Why did you buy that locker for, Dad?)
PAUL: Witty, smiles a lot, unpredictable in buying, and almost always last in viewing lockers. (Saying: What size is this locker, Don?)
Q. What surprised you most about working on a reality television series?
A. How the staff and crew seem to work really great together.
Q. What tactics do the cast members use to squeeze information about a locker out of you?
A. Cindy offered me a cherry pie. Never did get it. Ursula can scratch my back anytime. That damn Roy tries to buy me (that is not going to happen). Paul is always talking and trying, but he doesn`t listen.
Q. What do you think about Roy`s antics on the show?
A. Some of Roy`s shit is funny. But there are other times he needs his ass kicked. It`s kind of fun to hear when he has lost money on some lockers.
Q. How would you describe the show?
A. The auctions are 100% real. The buyers are 100% real. The buyers have to pay right away, the same as the buyers you don`t see. More fun this year than last year because you know some of the cast and crew, and what they do during their time off and their family time.
Don enjoys keeping in touch with his fans. Follow him on Twitter @SWCDonReinhart or `Like` him on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DontheAuctioneer.
Q. How did you meet your wife?
A. I met her at an auction (hard to believe). I will have been married for 39 years in November 2014. We never, never, never had a fight or argument. Still love her to death!
Q. Do you have any children?
A. I have two kids. Donald Jr. is 38 years old and single. He owns 8 cows, 9 calves, 2 goats and 1 big bull. He works at our trailer business. Melanie is 35 years old and single. She works part-time at our trailer business and part-time at a small veterinarian clinic. My wife and I own 2 horses, 1 cow, 1 calf, 2 dozen chickens, 1 rooster and 2 cats on our hobby farm.
Q. What was it like for your family and friends when they saw you on that first episode?
A. Most of my family and friends congratulated me and enjoyed my part.
Q. What are your pet peeves?
A. When at auction - people who don`t pay attention or abide by the rules.
Q. What are your hobbies?
A. Spending time with my wife and kids. Spending time on the hobby farm. NASCAR.
Q. What mottos do you live by?
A. Do it my way and do it right the first time.
Q. What`s on your bucket list?
A. Retire from the trailer business. Work part-time at auctions. Spend time on my hobby farm.
Q. How would you like to be remembered?
A. As a good father, as a good husband, as a good auctioneer and for giving back to the community.
Don Reinhart
Farm Boy who became an Auctioneer who became a TV personality.
Living the Dream!
Check your local listing on the OLN channel for times on episodes for
Storage Wars: Canada.
What did you think of Don`s interview?
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@ibid4storage or
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Also
Paul Kenny`s Interview
Ursual Stolf`s Interview
Cindy Hayden`s Interview
Rick Cofill`s Interview
Bogart Kenny`s Interview
About the Author...
Chuck G. is a freelance blogger and celebrity interviewer based in Southern California. She`s quite the geek who likes to play arcade games and writes/produces short films. You may follow her on Twitter @chuckgwriter.
