How JunkVets Ended Up on National Television
We didn't pitch ourselves. We didn't campaign for it. We didn't send a tape to a production company hoping to get noticed. The feature on American Pickers happened because the work JunkVets was putting in spoke loudly enough that people took notice — and eventually, so did the cameras.
American Pickers is one of the longest-running and most-watched shows in cable television history. The show follows Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz as they travel across the United States in search of valuable antiques and Americana hidden in barns, basements, and garages. They've spent years digging through the kinds of properties that JunkVets knows better than anyone.
The connection was natural. JunkVets, founded by Marine Corps veteran Hector Caballero, had built a reputation over years of estate cleanouts, hoarding situations, and large-scale junk removal — the kinds of jobs where you encounter the most interesting (and sometimes the most historic) items hiding in plain sight.
"We didn't apply. We were found."
Season 18, Episode 13 — "Slam Dunk Junk" — aired on March 12, 2018, and featured JunkVets as part of the story. It was a recognition of what Hector and his crew had been doing for years: showing up to the hard jobs, treating every property with respect, and doing the kind of work that builds a real reputation.