The Man Behind the Dirt

If any of you have ever watched Dirty Jobs on the Discovery Channel, or a multitude of other Discovery Channel programs you are probably familiar with the name Mike Rowe. Now up until about a month ago I just thought he was some funny guy that became the host of a TV show to show off some really funny jobs. That is until I, by happenstance, stumbled upon mikeroweWORKS.com. I was immediately enthralled for over an hour searching around this website dedicated to promoting “hard work.”

As I continued to look into it more I continued to be very impressed. As it turns out Mike himself was the one that had the idea to start what has now become Dirty Jobs, and he is no host. Instead, he is the apprentice; the people doing every Dirty Job are the hosts. Every show starts with an entry by Mike:

“My name's Mike Rowe, and this is my job. I explore the country looking for people who aren't afraid to get dirty — hard-working men and women who earn an honest living doing the kinds of jobs that make civilized life possible for the rest of us. Now, get ready to get dirty.”

And that is exactly what he does. He has spent the last five years traveling all 50 states doing over 200 jobs that most of us hardly ever even think of, and he jumps right in. The real draw of the show is the people that he meets and the interactions that he has with them. Mike has a great ability to interact with the workers and get them to show off their passion for the work that they are doing.

Now why am I praising the TV host? Well, the more I dig, the more I find that he has started a movement. A little over two years ago he finally welled up enough information and fortitude to launch mikeroweWORKS.com. His goal was to spread awareness and promotion of skilled workers. The website is full of information to help people that are looking to become skilled workers; articles, blogs, discussion boards, and the list goes on. He has used his persona to raise awareness for a noble cause.

Mike Rowe has found a way to make skilled labor respectable, and fun. That is not an easy task, and his movement is building. There are a lot of companies that are beginning to align with him to spread the word and encourage people to become involved. I don’t think there is any doubt in my mind that between the diminishing infrastructure in our country, the growing population in the world, and the increased attention to environmental stability around the world there is an increased need for awareness and promotion of skilled workers.

So this is my salute to you Mike Rowe, you have truly taken the initiative to help people. We need more people like you, especially in such high profile places.

Here is a link to his website. So, get ready to get dirty... www.mikeroweWORKS.com