Mike Rowe Answers Your Questions

Mike Rowe Answers Your Questions

Q: Are there any dirty jobs the producers want you to do that you have turned down? How much weight does your willingness to do a job really hold?

A: The producers of Dirty Jobs hate to hear the word "no." I can say this with certainty, because I am one of them. Therefore, I say "yes" more often than not, even when I am quietly repelled by the task at hand. Truth is, finding interesting jobs that are unusual and dirty is not all that easy. The producers, researchers and network types all collaborate about the show in general.

I am assured that from time to time, my opinions are considered.

Q: How did you end up in nothing more than a pair of boxers while on the sidewalks of San Francisco in the sewer inspector episode?

A: Well, it happened like this:

I was in San Francisco with two sewer inspectors, standing in the middle of Ellis Street, preparing to descend into the bowels of hell. Before doing so, I was instructed to don the proper wardrobe and safety gear, which required me to essentially strip. For city workers, this transformation can often occur in broad daylight, sometimes in heavy traffic. I merely took my cue from the work crew, and suited up. In fact, the segment originally opened with me standing in traffic, wearing very little, and saying to the camera, "Sewer inspectors don't get a dressing room." That scene was later removed. The brief outtake you saw was a remnant.

Q: When you were down in the sewer pits you had your mask off. Isn't it dangerous to inhale the bacteria and fumes in those sewers?

A: I spaced. To be honest, the situation was so horrific down there, and the heat was so suffocating, the thought of putting something over my face didn't occur to me. If I had it to do over again, I'd don the mask.

Actually, I wouldn't do it over again.

Q: Those pigs sure make a huge mess! How did you like working with pigs as experienced in the Pig Farmer episode? I understand that if given enough room, hogs will choose not to excrete waste where they eat and sleep. Confinement challenges that. Semi-confined hogs and pasture-raised hogs will not be as dirty as confined hogs.

A: The smell was indescribable. And the myth that pigs are actually a "clean" animal is a myth.

You're right, though. I don't mean to suggest that the pigs are to blame for their appearance or bouquet. As one who has been smeared with poo from many species, they have my empathy in that regard.

Q: I saw the Teutuls on CNBC the week of the Pig Farmer episode. They had nothing but good things to say about you, Mike. Are you acquainted with them?

I've been doing the opening voice-over on American Chopper from the beginning — those Teutuls had better be nice ...