MEN’S JOURNAL
Mike Rowe Brings Back the Blue Collar Hero
By Rob Fishcher
Over the course of hosting Dirty Jobs for eight years on the Discovery Channel, Mike Rowe explored the filthy side of more than 300 gigs – from sewer inspector to guano collector to sheep castrator. Since the show ended in 2012, he’s turned his attention to his foundation, which challenges “the absurd belief that a four-year degree is the only path to success.” The fund has helped give $2.5 million in scholarships for training in the skilled trades. While Rowe is just as well-known for being the guy in the baseball hat in Ford commercials, his commitment to creating opportunities for American workers is beyond dispute. “I’m talking about these things as a guy who depends on them,” he says. “Halfway through Dirty Jobs, I realized, ‘You know what? When we flip a switch and the light comes on, we’re not suitably gobsmacked.’ ”
His new show on CNN, Somebody’s Gotta Do It, takes an even wider look at how Americans earn a living, whether it is as a stagehand, an inventor, or a defender of whooping cranes. “I wanted to do a show about real people in small places doing odd shit that you would never otherwise know about,” says Rowe. “It’s a pretty broad look at humanity.”
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