Rich Pyle is a Detroit native and reality star fan favorite.

For seven seasons, Rich starred as himself on the truTV reality show Hardcore Pawn (2009), based on the pawn business American Jewelry and Loan located on the nationally renowned 8 Mile in Detroit. Employed for over 20 years as the store manager, Rich became a leading character, gaining notoriety for his quick wit, spiked hair and long goatee. Rich starred in 91 episodes and was voted one of the Top 10 Sexiest Men on TruTV.

Upon wrap of Hardcore Pawn (2009), Rich traveled the Northwest United States on the hugely successful tour, For the Hock of It. During his meet and greets with fellow pawnbrokers and his fans, people were lined up down the street in overwhelming support.

The National Geographic Channel was quick to cast Rich to star as an Urban Prospector in its new show, Meltdown on the Ice Planet (2013). Filming Meltdown on the Ice Planet (2013) took Rich to exotic places he never thought he would visit, including the Mojave Desert.

Filming an episode in the Mojave Desert that had him on the hunt for rocket parts, Rich met Waldo, commonly known as the Rocket Man. NASA calls the Rocket Man when they need a special kind of genius to figure something out. “Waldo is possibly the most intelligent man I have ever met,” says Rich. “He used words that were like 47 letters long, but then broke the ideas down into layman’s terms so that anyone could understand.”

At the time, Waldo was self-financing a rocket that he was building to break the land speed record, for no other reason than that he wanted the United States to hold the world record. “After speaking to this man, I realized what a true patriot he was,” says Rich. “He earned my utmost respect as a great man and a true American!” Finding Waldo on his desert trek proved to be life-altering for someone who thought only months before that he would retire as a pawnbroker in Detroit.

Music is a passion for Rich. He plays drums in two bands, Daniel Harrison and The $2 Highway and Superlast. The sound of Daniel Harrison & The $2 Highway is a mixture of alternative country, layered with complex conga beats, entrancing guitar solos and grooving bass lines, all driven by the deep thumping of the djembe. Superlast plays a combination of clean, soulful, hook-driven melodies with heavy, deep, inventive rock. The group has shared the stage with Def Leppard, Heart, Cheap Trick, Days of the New, Candlebox and Skid Row.

Rich has been a guest on every major television news media outlet, including as ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News and radio shows all over the country. He has been interviewed in Spain and Europe as well.

Rich is producing his new clothing line RPMGear with partner Darren Hamilton of Detroit Muscle. He recently filmed a Chicago Pilot with the Cohen Brothers of Hard Core Pawn: Chicago. His new TV series is also in development, with filming slated to commence in early 2015.