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Using some of the filmmaking and storytelling skills he learned in the Army, King spent the better part of 30 years making films inside and outside the "system." That means he sometimes worked for the U.S. Information Agency and various local news stations, other times for the multicultural, quasi-revolutionary filmmaking collective he founded in Philadelphia.

By the late '90s, King had moved to Southern California and found a job that fueled his motors and media passions: cutting biker videos for Easyriders magazine, groundbreaking volumes that are highly sought collector's items today.

At the dawn of the 21st century, Hugh King hooked up with Thom Beers, who was building Original Productions into the fact-based storytelling hit factory that it is today. Beers, who shared King's passion for loud engines and compelling stories, saw in the filmmaker someone who could make powerful television programs.

One of King's first assignments was to produce a Discovery Channel show about custom motorcycles. Using his old contacts at Easyriders, the Chopper King connected with a then-unknown West Coast motorcycle builder named Jesse James. King fashioned a fast-paced, loud, thoroughly entertaining special about James, his motorcycles and his world. They called it Motorcycle Mania and it scored huge ratings for Discovery.