'Storage Wars' Star Dave Hester Discusses His Near-Death Health Scare and What He's Doing Now -

One of A&E’s most popular and controversial shows for the last decade continues being Storage Wars. Those who follow this show along since it began will know the concept was already eyebrow-raising due to auctioneers taking over and selling abandoned storage lockers. At helm of the show was Dave Hester, considered one of the master …

Published on August 16, 2020

3 min read

At helm of the show was Dave Hester, considered one of the master auctioneers within his field using his trademark “Yuuuup.” The way he made his money, though, was often rough, usually playing the role of reality show villain to get the sales he wanted.

After being fired from the show due to revealing Storage Wars as fake, Hester returned later. However, an almost fatal health issue nearly ended a near fabled life.

Was Dave Hester a hero for calling out ‘Storage Wars’ as rigged?

Remember when Dave Hester went public in 2014 to admit Storage Wars faked many of their storage locker situations? He filed a complaint against the show back in 2012 in L.A. Superior Court, citing it an illegal practice in rigging TV contests, according to Business Insider. A&E ultimately defended their show.

In turn, A&E fired Hester for his claim. One could call Hester an early hero in weeding out the fakeness of reality shows and not being afraid to say so while making a fortune as a reality show star.

No other reality show star has ever done anything similar, probably out of fear of what the blowback would be. Unfortunately, Hester had to pay a price for speaking out. Not only was he fired, but he was also ordered to pay back A&E’s legal fees in dealing with the issue.

It was no significant loss, though, since Hester went on to create his own auction business afterward and did well.

Dave Hester returned to ‘Storage Wars’ later on

A&E managed to remove all hard feelings about Hester calling out the show for not always adhering to reality. They apparently fixed all issues considering the network hired Hester back to Storage Wars a while later.

Today, you can still find Hester on there, even though he became a slightly different person due to a major health obstacle. Some even suggest there may be a curse on the show since various members suffered through illness or odd accidents, all of which they recovered from.

In Hester’s case, he ended up having a hemorrhagic stroke due to high blood pressure and sleep apnea, according to Looper. His condition was so serious, he almost lost his life, yet somehow recovered.

After suffering a stroke, one would think it would ruin any chance of continuing a career in auctions. Hester was able to recover after taking time to relearn basic life tasks.

Taking more time off from ‘Storage Wars’

Hester is still seen on Storage Wars, yet only once in a while. His focus is mostly on his own auction business now after seemingly recovering his health. Hester wasn’t the only one on Storage Wars with a severe health scare.

After all, fellow castmate Darrell Sheets ended up having a heart attack, according to TMZ, and Barry Weiss was in a near-fatal car accident while riding his motorbike, according to Looper. They all recovered if getting a dash of reality their own show once skirted, or allegedly.

One lesson to learn about the Dave Hester story is every reality show star should have a backup, just in case something goes awry. Starting his own auction business was the smartest thing he did where he seemed to end up making as much or more money than being on Storage Wars.

With more reality shows starting to showcase the real nowadays, Hester may feel better partaking in the show to keep his rough-edged auctioneer brand going.

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