Somebodys Gotta Do It

Mike learns the history of lowrider culture from the Fuentes brothers of Homies Hydraulics and gets tricked into competing in a crazy car-jumping contest.

Mike learns the ups and downs of bobblehead making from the folks at Royal Bobble in Atlanta, where he helps make one of the bouncy knick-knacks in his own likeness and gets schooled in global economics. Then Mike helps craftsman Archie Story make two guitars from cigar boxes, and then Cigar Box Guitar Master Bill Abel stops by to play Mike and Archie's creations.

Mike does some serious bird watching at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and assists Lead Ornithologist John Gerwin in teaching the next generation of bird lovers how to capture, tag, and release.

Mike embraces his inner K9 and learns firsthand how dogs get trained by master trainer and owner of Action K9 Sports, Terry Parrish.

Mike visits the Dragon Forge shop where father and son blacksmiths Craig and Rory May teach him how to bend steel using old-time, anvil-banging, heavy metal forging.

In the perfect metaphor for life, ice sculptors Jeanne and Max Zuleta specialize in carving works of art out of a constantly decaying material.

Mike and Linda Watson, known as the Prairie Dog Lady, find and capture prairie dogs from areas where they are pests and relocate them to areas where they will thrive and create a healthy prairie.

Mike visits Wolf Stunt Ranch, where he learns everything there is to know about pyrotechnics, explosives, and gun safety to be used in films and TV, and then he blows things up real good!

Mike joins the Chicago Fire Department, Engine 13 and learns firsthand how they perform ice rescues while swimming in icy waters.

In his hometown of Baltimore, Mike visits the Edgar Allen Poe house and meets Poe impersonator David Keltz, who has committed over 50,000 of Poe's words to memory.

In Madison, Wisconsin Mike stumbles into Steve's Curling Supplies where he gets taught the game of curling by an Olympic coach and competitor, then he tests his skills in a grueling match at the Madison Curling Club.

At Baltimore's Fort McHenry, Mike meets a man who absolutely LOVES his job, Park Ranger, Vince Vaise, otherwise known as the Chief Interpreter. If Vince can't get you interested in learning history, no one can. Vince schools Mike on the Battle of Baltimore where Francis Scott Key wrote the words of the Star-Spangled Banner.

Before dawn, Mike shows up in DeLand, Florida to meet hot air balloon enthusiasts in a club called When Pigs Fly. Mike joins them in their pig-shaped balloon and learns the history of hot air ballooning. Then Mike takes an unscheduled detour to Wallaby Ranch, where he literally learns the ups and downs of hang gliding.

Mike learns to rope and ride at a working cattle ranch in Raymer, Colorado that also caters to tourists. Mike gets to know Tom and Darcy Carr who used to vacation but now own the place!

Mike literally gets schooled by legendary drag racing instructor Roy Hill.

Mike visits the Derby Dolls, a female roller derby club in San Diego, and trains with members "Isabelle Ringer," "Slamuri," and "Bo Toxic," who endow Mike with the skater name "Skid Rowe."

Mike works with Washed Ashore, a not-for-profit that turns trash found washed up on Oregon's beaches into beautiful works of nautical-themed art. Then Mike gets to know the team of brothers that created the not-for-profit Matthew 25 to aid people affected by the horrible 2008 flood in Cedar Rapids, Michigan.

Mike joins adrenaline jockeys Fran Honeywell and Fred Schroeder, co-founders of the Gravity Car Race Club and MISFITS (Maryland Independent Soapbox Federation and Incline Trial Society), and competes in dangerous downhill racing.

Mike spends the day with former political reporter turned professional forager, Hank Shaw who gets his food off the grid by hunting, fishing, and foraging. Then Mike works with the Caltrans team in Ojai, California to remove dangerous boulders from the slopes high above roads in a controlled fashion.

Equestrian and Olympic hopeful Lauren Billys takes Mike through a step-by-step dressage lesson, including dressing him in proper equestrian attire. Then Mike learns everything there is to know about the home of the Kentucky Derby from Corey Lanerie, one of the winningest jockeys there.