Porter Ridge fans filed a petition to Discovery Channel to bring back the reality show.
“We ask that you bring shirtless Terry, The Bear Man, Kayla, Dirty Andy, Danny Bob, Elvis Larry, Rusty, Barry and the Dog Killer Ridge crew back. Not only have earned their place on the Discovery Channel lineup, they have built a strong fan base.
“While we’d hate to see Porter Ridge lose its home on Discovery Channel, the fan base encourages Scott and Deirdre Gurney to keep the show alive even… “ said the petition on change.org.
Porter Ridge’s premier last year drew in 1.42 million viewers which quickly grew to a global following. The reality show ranks in class with other favorites such as Storage Wars: Texas, Real Husbands of Hollywood, Chopped, Modern Family, Law & Order: SUV, Tosh.0, Family Guy, etc.
Porter Ridge fans filed a petition to Discovery Channel to bring back the reality show
“Our request is for Discovery to continue to provide Porter Ridge a home on the network, one that has been rightfully earned. However, while we would be disappointed to see the show leave Discovery, the fan base would be satisfied to find Porter Ridge airing on any network.
“Further, we petition for Scott and Deirdre Gurney to keep their dream alive.
“Have your voice heard by signing this petition, and by visiting the Porter Ridge Facebook page or The Viewer Relations section of the Discovery Channel website,” the petition added.
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Porter Ridge stars are now taking pre-orders for Country Auto Parts baseball caps.
As seen on Porter Ridge!
The distressed baseball caps are embroidered with the Country Auto Parts logo. Hats are $20, with $6 shipping. If you would like to have the hat autographed by your favorite Porter Ridge cast members, you will have to add an extra $5 per autograph.
Porter Ridge stars are now taking pre-orders for Country Auto Parts baseball caps
Hats can be autographed by Terry Porter, Jeff The Bear Man, Dirty Andy, Elvis Larry, Danny Bob, Kayla Wood, Barry, and/or Kenny.
Orders can be sent via a private message on Porter Ridge’s Facebook page.
Shipping time is estimated to 6-8 weeks due to high demand, the Porter Ridge’s Facebook page writes.
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Porter Ridge’s Kayla Wood is a senior student at Indiana University.
Kayla Wood spent her summer in Terry Porter’s junkyard filming the first season of Discovery Channel’s new reality television show, Porter Ridge.
The show focuses on a go-to junkyard in Spencer, Indiana, Country Auto Parts, owned by Spencer native Terry Porter, who said he rarely wears a shirt.
Porter Ridge’s Kayla Wood is a senior student at Indiana University
Kayla Wood, the junkyard’s office secretary, is joined by regular characters, such as grizzly bear trainer Jeff “The Bear Man” Watson, dramatizing the operation of the rural small business.
Since the show premiered on August 13, Kayla Wood has driven from her apartment in Bloomington to the shop at least every Saturday for the show’s publicity events.
Kayla Wood is the show’s sole female cast member.
Filming for Porter Ridge was her first on-camera experience.
Kayla Wood started gymnastics in the second grade and competed at a national level with the Owen Valley High School cheer team.
Indiana University was her first choice for college, having grown up in the area.
While working part-time at The Tap in Bloomington this semester, Kayla Wood said she hopes to graduate from Indiana University in December with a degree in public health.
Kayla Wood plans to complete an internship at Cook Medical, a medical device manufacturer in Bloomington.
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From the creators of the hit series Duck Dynasty, Gurney Productions takes us out of the swamp and into the hills for the comedic Discovery Channel series Porter Ridge.
On the Ridge, playing with bears, holding family demolition derbies and wearing a shirt is optional, but their code of life is simple: respect the lord, love your family and watch each other’s backs.
Meet the folks of Porter Ridge, a tight-knit community of colorful characters that are unlike any other on Discovery channel on Tuesdays at 10:30 PM ET/PT.
Tucked away in the rolling hills of Indiana, far from big city life, this isolated, lawless community lives by its own set of rules. The eccentric band of misfits in Porter Ridge often butt heads but ultimately join together to keep their unique “Hilljack” way of life afloat. Although their lifestyle may not be acceptable by most people’s standards, you can’t help but laugh at all the crazy antics that are an everyday occurrence on Porter Ridge.
The Porter Ridge cast includes:
Terry Porter: CEO and owner of Country Auto Parts, an auto junkyard, Terry is the fast-talking, shirtless, wild man in charge of the most legendary business on the Ridge. Having spent his entire life on the Ridge, he fancies himself the true leader of this backwoods clan but often times proves that he’s not suited to lead much beyond a scrapyard negotiation. For Terry Porter, it’s all about the next race, the next repo, the next get rich quick idea and whatever it takes to beat his longtime rivals from over on Dog Killer Ridge.
The folks of Porter Ridge are a tight-knit community of colorful characters that are unlike any other on Discovery channel
Jeff Watson: The Bear Man, has lived on the Ridge almost 20-years with a backyard full of bears. He has eight, truffle hunting, Brown Bears as companions. Jeff Watson treats his bears like family, and has a genuine affection for these powerful animals. Unfortunately, the other guys on the Ridge don’t always have the same love for these 1,500-pound beasts.
Dirty Andy: The scrappy scrapper, Dirty Andy is a renowned hustler on the ridge. Always looking for a way to make a buck, he and Terry Porter don’t always see eye-to-eye when it comes to doing deals. Whether it’s an old lawnmower or a rusty trampoline, there is nothing that Dirty Andy can’t turn to cash. He may look like Santa Claus, but this heavy-set hilljack definitely doesn’t smell like Christmas.
Kayla Wood: A local ridge girl herself, this country calendar model may look like the girl next door but she is as feisty as they come and negotiates with the best of them. While she’s supposed to be selling parts, Kayla Wood ends up spending most of her days trying to keep Terry Porter from sinking his business like the Titanic.
Danny Bob: The most longstanding employee of Country Auto, a whiz with a blowtorch, and one of Terry Porter’s closest friends. He’s a no-nonsense, wisecracking, ex-Army, guy who can fix just about anything with an engine. Danny Bob also has a handful of ex-wives in his past, including one he married twice – which he says is the definition of “stupid.”
Elvis Larry: The local garbage man, and jack-of-all-trades on the ridge, this Elvis look-alike is a good-natured momma’s boy and an unlikely source of wisdom at times. He will clean your gutters or fix your tractor, and knows all the gossip that’s fit to tell.
Barry Moore: A former tree-climbing and national clogging champion, Barry Moore is everyone’s buddy. He’s a cool character who rarely gets ruffled, and prides himself on his quick wit and first class mullet.
Rusty Porter: Rusty learned from the best, since he’s the 13-year old son of Terry Porter and around these parts he’s the face of trouble as he’s often up to no good. He has every kid’s dream life where instead of Matchbox cars, he gets to drive a full size lifter and crush actual automobiles.
Dog Killer Ridge: The rivals from the next ridge over, the men of Dog Killer Ridge only have one thing in common with what they feel are their inferior neighbors on Porter Ridge, the need for speed in a hunk of junk. They might only live a few miles away, but they are worlds apart. They feel it’s their God-given responsibility to let the Porter Ridge clan know at every opportunity just who is top dog around these parts – DKR (Dog Killer Ridge).
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Porter Ridge’s Terry Porter and Jeff Watson say they’re happy in the rolling hollows of Southern Indiana, but the money’s no good.
Terry Porter owns a junkyard on Porter Ridge Road, a winding route about 15 miles west of Bloomington, Indiana. Jeff Watson lives next door, with eight brown bears he owns and trains. Country Auto Parts rarely turns a profit, according to Terry Porter, who’s usually bare-chested before, during and after office hours. Far removed from Hollywood, Jeff Watson doesn’t find much TV or movie work for his animals.
“Jeff basically told me, <<My business is dying>>,” Terry Porter said.
“I said, <<Mine is the same way>>. ”
Jeff Watson dreamed up new hope for the duo, plus quite a few friends in rural Owen County, by pitching a reality series to the makers of cable-TV sensation Duck Dynasty.
The bear man’s entertainment resume includes acting in the 2008 independent film Grizzly Park and assisting with animal appearances on The Tonight Show and Good Morning America.
Discovery’s new series Porter Ridge, starring Terry Porter and Jeff Watson, represents a serious financial lifeline for its cast.
Otherwise, Terry Porter wouldn’t be sharing with America his tanned upper torso and hard-to-follow dialect.
“I don’t want to be famous, don’t want to be a dadgum movie star,” Terry Porter said of his initial reluctance to be part of the show.
“But you gotta do what you gotta do type of thing.”
In contrast to Duck Dynasty, the A&E’s reality hit centered on the owners of lucrative hunting supply company Duck Commander, Porter Ridge isn’t based on wealth, accomplishment or celebrity.
Porter Ridge is a self-made sideshow featuring shirtless Terry Porter, bear whisperer Jeff Watson and a band of bearded outsiders. They’re modern-day “Beverly Hillbillies” who never relocated to L.A.
Among the true-life characters who congregate at Country Auto Parts is “Dirty” Andy Minnick, who makes ends meet by selling scrap metal from old lawn mowers, rusty trampolines and other items.
Like Jeff Watson, Andy Minnick worked at the General Electric refrigerator plant in Bloomington before being laid off.
Porter Ridge is a self-made sideshow featuring shirtless Terry Porter, bear whisperer Jeff Watson, Kayla Wood and a band of bearded outsiders
Andy Minnick refers to himself as a “hilljack” and doesn’t view the term as an insult.
“We’re representing ourselves,” he said.
“We’re not representing the community, as such. I hope [viewers] realize that you don’t have to do a 9 to 5 every day to make a living. There’s other ways around it.”
Porter Ridge cast members don’t talk about their compensation for doing the show. Terry Porter said the series hasn’t significantly changed his finances, but he’s looking forward to the exposure Country Auto Parts will receive.
“I spend $8,000 a year advertising,” he said.
“If I can get free advertising – and lunch – you know what I’m saying?”
Reality shows that become hits deliver far more than complimentary catering for cast members.
Members of Duck Dynasty’s Robertson family reportedly sought $200,000 per episode after the series ranked as cable television’s No. 1 “nonfiction” program for 2012, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Of all the attention surrounding Porter Ridge, Terry Porter said he’s most flustered by an online business directory, ChamberOfCommerce.com, that lists Country Auto Parts as doing more than $2 million in sales volume per year.
“I would really like to know where that banking account is,” Terry Porter said.
“Because I wouldn’t have any clue.”
Terry Porter said Country Auto Parts did about $80,000 in sales in 2012, enough for him to pay two full-time employees and keep up with house payments.
As Jeff Watson recognized when hatching the idea for Porter Ridge, his entrepreneur friend is a “show in and of himself”.
Prone to making bold statements greeted by vacant stares, Terry Porter is a malapropism artist in the tradition of baseball great Yogi Berra.
“If nobody’s there, we have quite a few people,” Terry Porter said of car races at his private dirt track.
Not everyone on Porter Ridge Road embraced the production crew that made two episodes of the show last fall and another 10 episodes this spring.
“I have a neighbor across the street, and he says if you bring a camera over there you’ll be wearing it home,” Jeff Watson said.
“He’d be a great addition to the cast, but he doesn’t want to be on camera.”
Andy Minnick rejected any suggestion that situations depicted on Porter Ridge are scripted.
“Jeff has bears in his backyard,” he said.
“Terry has a figure-eight racetrack in his backyard. This is a real junkyard.”
For brains and looks, Porter Ridge boasts Kayla Wood, the part-time office manager at Country Auto Parts. The Indiana University senior (majoring in health administration) is framed as the cast’s attractive tomboy.
Kayla Wood grew up on Porter Ridge Road, where she drove ATVs and fished.
She said IU’s Bloomington campus isn’t far away in miles, but quite a distance in lifestyles.
“When you talk about what [students] did growing up versus what I did growing up, it’s completely opposite,” Kayla Wood said.
“Especially people who aren’t from Indiana.”
Porter Ridge may not dispel negative stereotypes associated with Southern Indiana, particularly ones related to education, broken-down vehicles and questionable fashion decisions. But Discovery Channel executive producer Joe Weinstock said Porter Ridge isn’t designed to make Hoosiers look bad.
“When people see the show, I believe they’re going to come away feeling pretty darn good,” Joe Weinstock said.
“It has a lot of heart. In the end, these neighbors who all unite and live on Porter Ridge Road love each other.”
Jeff Watson said Porter Ridge can be a positive for its cast.
“I hope [the show] translates into better times for people,” Jeff Watson said.
“The economy is tough. I hope this junkyard takes off; I hope it really helps Terry out. Nobody here is going to be a star, and nobody is going to consider themselves a star from this.”
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