What happened to Steven Gerben’s hands?

One of the more surprising things to rocket to the top of the Netflix viewing charts is a little show called Tires about an auto repair shop starring comedians Steve Gerben and Shane Gillis.

Tires has proved so popular it even briefly knocked the seemingly bulletproof Bridgerton from the top spot.

The show is about Will (Gerben), a very average man who’s put in charge of one of the stores of his family’s financially troubled auto shop chain called “Valley Forge Automotive Center.” He has to deal with his inappropriate cousin Shane (Gillis) always messing with him while figuring out how to make the branch profitable.

Part of what makes the show work is the obvious chemistry of the characters, especially between Gillis and Gerben. Which makes sense, considering the two have worked together numerous times in the past, notably on Gilly and Keeves.

But, if you’ve watched Gerben’s character closely, you may have noticed there’s something off about his hands. Turns out he has a real issue with them.

Steve Gerben’s hand affliction

If you watch Will’s hands closely, you can see they’re a little gnarled and misshapen. Turns out Gerben has arthritis, a condition he’s been suffering from since at least 2021. He appeared on Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast a few years back and shared he suffers from Rheumatoid Arthritus, that only one of his fingers worked and that his symptoms were greatly exacerbated by COVID.

“It was arthritis stuff. The medication I was on stopped working, so we tried different medications, and they used to not work, so that one kills your everything, and then COVID. It’s unfortunate. I would like to have two usable fingers, I do not.”

There are a few different types of the disease as well. Rheumatoid arthritis is when your immune system starts attacking joint lining, causing swelling. Osteoarthritis is when the cartilage between your joints starts to wear down, causing extreme pain. The worse the symptoms, the harder it is to live with the disease.

Tires will return for a second season some time in 2025.