What Barry From Storage Wars Is Doing Today
One of the biggest faces of Storage Wars, Barry Weiss made the A&E Network reality series totally addictive with his eccentric antics and quotable one-liners. But, as fans of the show know all too well, Weiss is no longer part of Storage Wars. The man otherwise known as "The Collector" last appeared on the series — which follows a group of Californian buyers who bid on abandoned storage units, hoping to find items they can trade in for huge chunks of change — way back in 2013.
Weiss has long since locked away his past life on Storage Wars, but what has he been up to lately? Here's what Barry from Storage Wars is doing today.
After it was announced in June 2013 that Weiss wouldn't return for Storage Wars season 5, and it was alleged that his profitable discoveries on the series were orchestrated by the production team, he inked a sweet deal with A&E Network for his very own spin-off show, Barry'd Treasure. The series followed Weiss — joined by his "motley crew of sidekicks who aid his efforts to haggle with the toughest, and sometimes oddest, collectors in America" — as he endeavored to quench his "insatiable thirst for misadventure" by doing anything and everything during his cross-country adventure. Airing eight episodes from mid-March to early-May 2014, Barry'd Treasure wrapped as quickly as it came into existence.
But Weiss wasn't about to step out of the spin-off arena just yet. The year after Barry'd Treasure concluded, Weiss scored another spin-off — one closely tied to his time on Storage Wars. Entitled Storage Wars: Barry Strikes Back, the offshoot show featured Weiss and his friend Kenny Crossley reviewing and commentating past episodes of Storage Wars. Like Barry'd Treasure, Storage Wars: Barry Strikes Back was short-lived, rolling out just 10 episodes between October 2015 and April 2016.
Weiss hasn't popped up on television since then, but he has kept himself occupied in his personal life... but not in the way you might think. Weiss explained in a past interview that the reason he left Storage Wars was to depart at the height of the show. He told entertainment photographer Ferry de Kok in April 2017, "I had a blast [on Storage Wars]. It was fun, but I had enough and I kind of wanted to leave while it was still popular." Now, Weiss joked, he's back to his old life as a "world-class slacker ... a bum, an underachiever." Slacking off isn't a problem for Weiss, though, as his net worth as of 2019 was an estimated $10 million.
Unfortunately, in the time after Weiss made his last small-screen appearance, he's also been the victim of an alarming rumor and a terrifying real-life accident. Many began wondering whether Weiss' absence from television was because he had died. This is, of course, not true, but Weiss actually did have a brush with death in April 2019 when he and his friend Jaime were involved in a motorcycle accident (via TMZ). Reportedly, both Weiss and Jaime were riding their motorcycles when a car pulled out from a parking space and the two men crashed into it. The incident left Weiss with major injuries, and he was placed in the ICU for what Jaime described as "serious chest and leg trauma." TMZ also noted that Weiss sustained "broken bones and other internal injuries."
Things turned around for Weiss in June 2019, when it was confirmed that he had been released from the ICU following multiple surgeries to his back and femur. The accident apparently gave Weiss a new appreciation for life, as he went from a self-styled professional slacker to a bonafide business guy almost immediately after leaving the hospital. Weiss is now the new face of Sherwood Valley Casino, and has reportedly been doing voiceover work for the Northern California casino while he's been recovering from the accident.
Sherwood Valley Casino general manager Michael J. Broderick said in a statement at the time of Weiss' hiring, "We are thrilled to partner with Barry and welcome him to the Sherwood Valley Casino family. Barry was a natural choice to be the company's ambassador as he is very charismatic, and we know he will build lasting connections with our guests and our team members. Barry has demonstrated great success communicating with many people from different walks of life, and they sure do relate to him. Everyone loves Barry, and we love him too! The team and I are excited to work with Mr. Weiss and look forward to all the many opportunities to strengthen our position together."
Fans who have missed seeing Weiss' face will soon see him on billboards and in print materials, and even back on the small screen in advertisements for the casino.
But will Weiss ever return to television for his own projects? Don't count it out. Weiss once said that he's down for the opportunity, should it ever arise: "I'd like to do like a motorsport show really. I'm really knowledgeable in all types. I'd really like to do that and travel the world, 'cause that's what I like."