Pawning is an old practice and pawn shops are a common phenomenon in the USA, where one can get quick and easy cash by pledging (loan) their personal belongings or selling their valuable items. Discovery’s new reality series Hardcore Pawn takes viewers into the crazy and dynamic world of American Jewelry and Loan – Detroit, USA’s largest pawn store, where a wide assortment of customers bring in everything from gold to old cars, from alligators to prosthetic limbs to exchange for cash.
Viewers get a glimpse of the daily events at the pawn store where each day brings new customers, new rewards — and new drama. Premiering August 29,Hardcore Pawn will air weekdays (Mon-Fri) at 8 PM on Discovery.
Follow the Gold family as they wheel and deal with colourful customers, manage temperamental employees, and squabble with one another in the name of making money in one of the most troubled cities in America. This isn’t a typical trading job; this is ‘Hardcore Pawn’. The Gold family and their employees never know what to expect when people’s personal items are on the line. As each episode of this fascinating series reveals, haggling over a price can quickly escalate into an all-out conflict.
American Jewelry and Loan (AJL) is owned by Leslie “Les” Gold, the grandson of a pawnbroker who has set up in Michigan’s iconic 8 Mile Road. Accompanied by his son Seth and daughter Ashley, both university graduates and future owners of the business, Les finds managing the sibling rivalry as challenging as running the business. AJL was opened in 1978, and has since become one of the largest and most recognized pawn shops in the world. The store handles anything from family heirlooms to electronics, from diamonds to heavy machinery. Each pawn ticket has a story, and there are over 45,000 stories to tell.
About the characters – The Gold Family
Les Gold
The charismatic patriarch of the Gold family, Les built American Jewelry and Loan from the ground up. Les is an old school, hard-nosed pawnbroker at heart with a passion for collecting unusual items and a nose for deals – and people. There’s no one quicker to sniff out a shady character than Les, but he also has a lion heart, and it shines through when he’s genuinely touched by a customer or an employee’s story. After 40 years in the business, Les likes doing things his way, which means he’s resisted some of the changes his son has tried to institute. But at the end of the day, Les is all about family, and he loves working side by side with his son and daughter.
Seth Gold
Les’s only son, Seth has worked full-time at American Jewelry and Loan since graduating from college. As Les’s business partner, Seth knows he has big shoes to fill, but he’s up for the challenge. Seth prides himself on bringing a contemporary corporate structure to his family business and revolutionizing their marketing efforts, and he never hesitates to point out to his father where there is room for improvement. Seth’s changes can drive Les crazy, but although the two butt heads from time to time, even Les can see that his son has helped bring their business to the next level.
Ashley Broad (Gold)
Les’s pride and joy, Ashley wrote her first pawn slip at the age of 7 and has been following in her father’s footsteps ever since. Now, this self-proclaimed daddy’s girl is the General Manager of American Jewelry and Loan. When things get tough, Ashley doesn’t just go running to Les: as stubborn and tough as her father, she isn’t afraid to take on troublesome employees or manipulative customers. As the most levelheaded of the Golds, Ashley usually winds up playing mediator in Les and Seth’s arguments. And although she sometimes gets fed up with her family’s squabbling, there’s nowhere else Ashley would rather be than working side-by-side with them.