Mike Rowe

Men’s Health News By J. Rentilly Not since Huey Lewis and the News has America’s working class had such an iconic, affable brother in arms—or elbow grease, or sewage sludge or aviary vomit, as the case may be—as in Mike Rowe. Host of Discovery Channel’s much-watched Dirty Jobs (Tuesdays, 9 p.m.), which casts a loving spotlight and a spitball of mischievous humor on some of the nation’s grungiest gigs, the 49-year-old Rowe has become an unlikely spokesperson for the blue-collar brethren. Last year, Rowe went to Washington, addressing the United States Senate on employment issues and trade activism. Rowe has Read More

That’s a tough one. Nobody likes a bully, but they’re easy enough to deal with if you’re willing to fight back. Crybabies on the other hand, while not overtly dangerous, pose a more insidious threat to polite society. They sow the seeds of victim-hood with their chronic whining, slowly replacing personal responsibility with self-pity and misplaced blame. Either way, bullies and crybabies are both a drain on the species, but relatively harmless when compared to the specter of the dreaded Cry-Bully – an unhappy hybrid of the two. Every now and then I stumble across one of these cowardly Gollums, Read More

From the MRW Water Cooler: Q: “Obama was trying to make a point about the amount of money various groups of people contribute to the country compared to what they earn, how else could he say it without mentioning the rich or the poor?” — A Ok, I’ll give it a shot. (cough cough) “My fellow Americans. I know that many of you are suffering. And I know that many of you look around and see a country where not all things appear to be equal. Well, guess what? They aren’t. They never have been, and I can assure you, Read More

Mike instructs young Wyatt on the safest way way to maneuver in a sewer. Feel free to take notes in case there is a pop quiz or in case you find yourself in a sewer too. My son and daughter love Dirty Jobs and I watch it too. My son Wyatt’s favorite episodes are the ones in the sewer. He would love for you to tell him about the sewer. Our family thinks you’re great Mike. – B Hi Wyatt, Your Mom tells me you enjoy the sewer. I think that’s great. The sewer is an interesting place, full of Read More

When you’re a freelance actor struggling to find work in an industry where unemployment hovers around 95%, you have two recurring dreams: • Finding steady work on a hit TV show. • Finding a friend with steady work on a hit TV show. Personal relationships in show business are very important, and the easiest way for an actor to find a job is to be good friends with someone who already has one – someone like me. I say someone like me, because being friends with me specifically won’t do you much good. Unless you’re willing to put on a Read More

Mike recalls his 2006 Shark Week adventure  for the Discovery Channel. One day down the road, when I’ve had an opportunity to fully digest the events, I’ll look back on April of 2006, and shake my head in wonder and gratitude. I arrived home to San Francisco, by way of Baltimore, by way of Nassau, by way of Bimini, by way of Durban, by way of Cape Town, by way of Johannesburg. My crew and I have seen some sights, and return home with more than a few memories, and a story or two that may be worth telling. We Read More

From Mike’s forum on Discovery: Q: Mike, I know the number of people doing voice overs are fairly small, relatively speaking (no pun intended). Do you ever meet with other voice over actors – the ones who narrate the other DC shows? I know your schedules tight, but is there a trade group – like SAG for film actors, conventions? – N Voice over conventions – that’s funny.  Who would be the announcer? Relatively speaking, the voiceover community is indeed small – maybe 10,000 altogether, celebrities notwithstanding. At the highest level, there are two or three dozen people that you Read More

Part of the ‘Mike Rowe’ appeal is that you come across as an “Average Joe” yet a “Renaissance Man” – well read, polite, caring about those you work with, self-deprecating, great sense of humor, an appreciation for good music, fine wine & opera yet you are seen sitting around barefoot, drinking beer with a baseball cap on & have an appreciation for the working guy. You are also willing to try things even after stating your reluctance to do so. You are too normal. It makes people think of you as a friend rather than a celebrity – which is Read More

From Mike’s forum on Discovery: Q: We caught the news that you didn’t pick up an Emmy for Dirty Jobs this go around. We were all rooting for you. I understand that Dirty Jobs should be recognized by those that measure such things as a ground breaking renovation in television media. Not only the show, but the entire package should be considered. Of course, that’s not up to me is it? The Emmy’s aren’t the people’s choice are they? Any who, after you get home and strip of the cummerbund and tie, what award would you like to see Dirty Read More

PRESS RELEASE   Here’s a link to a captivating video that confirms the information in the aforementioned press release. I have indeed partnered with my friends at CAT© Footwear on a line of boots and shoes made primarily from the hides of buffaloes.   As you can plainly see, buffaloes are tough and rugged creatures.  They are more than happy to roll around in the mud, fight with a lion, and make love out in the open. They are in my opinion, an ideal creature from which to make a truly tough boot.   Here by comparison, is the creature most Read More

I’d like to take a minute and tell you about Kimberly-Clark, a modest little operation in Wisconsin that’s been cleaning up our bodily fluids for the last hundred years, and mrW’s latest supporter. Kimberly-Clark makes everything from Kleenex to Kotex. (Alphabetically of course, there isn’t much between Kleenex and Kotex, but you get the idea.) They manufacture safety equipment, medical supplies, paper towels, toilet paper, and a truly comprehensive line of diapers, including Huggies, Depends, Little Swimmers, Goodnights and something called Poise, which Whoopi Goldberg is very excited about. (They make lots and lots of diapers.) In addition to making diapers for Read More

From Mike’s forum on Discovery: Q: Mike – I’m not on the Crumbling Infrastructure Bandwagon. It’s very much a case of a buzzword becoming truth, and like the now discredited Global Warming farce, naysayers are branded as ignorant clods. They are pitied as being blind to Undeniable Truths. Speaking from the perspective of the uneducated prol, here’s how I see it: The American Society of Civil Engineers is hardly an objective observer in this matter. Civil Engineers do a great many things, but most make their living designing, building and maintaining, what? Infrastructure! There are three problems here. First, of Read More

From the MRW Water Cooler: Q: Mike, I’m a public school teacher in Texas, one of the lowest ranking states in education. I’m doing what I can one 8th grader at a time. Would it be offensive to the people who go out and work these dirty jobs every day (yes I know I need them to keep my cozy little world running!) to reference some of the ones I’ve seen as a “stay in school” message? It’s my job to use what kids like to try and motivate them, and they love this show. I’m not all about political Read More

October 10, 2010 Finally home, and man am I tired. Frankly, I don’t remember the last time I felt this whipped. Then again, I don’t remember the last time I’ve been this old. Coincidence? Probably not. Looking back, I can see now that each of the last ten days required a separate part of my brain. Which is probably why nothing got my undivided attention. Started in Peoria, where I got to know the big shots over at Caterpillar, and some of the smaller shots as well. Really an amazing company and a very nice bunch of regular folks. They Read More