Mike Rowe on reexamining 'Dirty Jobs' amid the COVID-19 pandemic
Mike Rowe returns to the Discovery Channel in brand-new series 'Dirty Jobs: Rowe'd Trip.'
EXCLUSIVE: Mike Rowe is getting his hands, feet and face dirty again.
The recognizable face and voice, who is known for his work taking on the world’s most difficult jobs as well as lending his chops to the “Deadliest Catch” franchise as its narrator, spoke to Fox News about hitting the open road with his original crew as the team packed into a mini-RV on their quest to reconnect with many of the “Dirty Jobs” essential workers Rowe and company have come across in their eight-year run.
“There's all sorts of footage. Our cameras never stopped rolling on 'Dirty Jobs' and we never did a second take. So we just have vaults and vaults of footage that hasn't been seen before,” the Discovery Channel staple said of his reboot series “Dirty Jobs: Rowe’d Trip.”
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“We also have a lot of footage that's become iconic and fan favorites because this show has aired thousands of times,” he continued of the reality program. “Even though we stopped shooting in 2012, the show never really went off the air.”
The 58-year-old said the series will certainly look back at many of the favorite jobs, while Rowe and his longtime crew reminisce and lend insight into “what really happened that day in the sewer or what really happened at the top of the Mackinaw Bridge.”
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“And I think viewers might also be surprised to see what five dudes look like eight years later after spending 15 years together shooting a show like this,” he added through laughter. “I mean, it beat the hell out of us, you know. But we also have our senses of humor and we're all still alive and kicking and we're all still good friends.”
Rowe said the show’s intended purpose was always to capture the moments that would seem bizarre to many but rudimentary to the “jobber” who has made the task a fabric of their everyday life.
Mike Rowe is set to host a brand-new series on Discovery Channel called 'Dirty Jobs: Rowe'd trip' that will expand upon his famed 'Dirty Jobs' brand. (Discovery Channel)
“It was really about that – capturing those moments that hadn't been captured on film before and then just reveling in them and getting to know the jobber, too,” Rowe explained. “This is a really important part of the show. You know, a lot of people figure 'Dirty Jobs' as a show about jobs that are dirty, but it's really a show about the people who do those jobs and as the show progressed and gained in popularity, it shifted and it really became a rumination on work and a reflection on what a good job was.”
Added Rowe: “And there was just so much humor in the show – so many of the people we met.”
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Rowe said he often struggles in defining certain jobs as “essential” or “nonessential” and said based on what he’s witnessed in over a decade scouring the world for the most unique jobs is that there is a sense of “dignity” in any job regardless of skill or trade.
Asked what value he places on the idea of one wanting to develop vocational skills or picking up a trade, Rowe said it's paramount that those who long for work or want to be skilled in something -- consider doing so.
Mike Rowe of 'Dirty Jobs' fame says the term 'essential' and 'nonessential' worker is a 'tricky' word. (Discovery)
“Well, it's priceless. You know, it's priceless for the jobber themselves because once you have mastered a skill, that skill will go with you wherever you go,” said Rowe, who for 12 years through his nonprofit foundation, MikeRowe Works, awards work ethic scholarships to people who want to learn a skill or master a trade.
“To be a skilled worker, to be an essential worker in this day and age is to have a level of job security that I think is going to become a whole lot more desirable than it's ever been before,” Rowe pressed, adding that in July alone, the organization is giving away a million dollars to coincide with the "Dirty Jobs: Rowe'd Trip" and that money will help train 300 or 400 people who want to explore careers in plumbing, steam fitting, pipe fitting, welding and mechanics.
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Rowe maintained that for the 40 million-plus people who have found themselves out of work, they should not be considered nonessential.
“They're doing jobs that are part of a much larger tapestry and when you remove those jobs, well you can see what happens to our economy,” Rowe explained. “So, you know, I think the word essential worker is a little tricky. On the one hand, it's what we're celebrating with 'Dirty Jobs' and it's what I'm known for. On the other hand, in the age of coronavirus, there is no such thing as a nonessential job and when you have 40 million people suddenly out of work, you start to realize that all of these jobs, skilled, unskilled, you know – there's dignity in all work and when you start to separate those jobs and put them into different categories, then you start to create some problems for society overall.”
Added Rowe: “I think the big message is there's dignity in all work but if you have a skill, if you truly have a skill that's in demand, they can't take that away from you and you'll always have a measure of job security.”
Of the past jobs Rowe has been on-hand to witness was one performed by a gentleman by the name of Lawrence Jackson III from season one who works the toughest garbage route in the country, in the tenements of Chinatown in San Francisco, Calif. Rowe said Jackson made the most of what he had to work with given the incredibly narrow alleyways in the area.
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“And what that meant was he's constantly running up 30-degree hills. He's constantly running up five stories in these tenements in Chinatown. And the hallways are so narrow, you can't get a garbage can up there,” said Rowe. “So he carries a burlap sack and he dumps the garbage from the totes up in the hallways into the sack. And then he twirls it around and throws it over his shoulder like Santa Claus."
"Now, no one's ever seen that before, but that's how they collect garbage in Chinatown. They put it in burlap sacks and run it up and down the stairs. So it's little moments like that that really defined the show. And you'll see a lot of them on 'Rowe'd Trip.'”
Mike Rowe speaks during the 'Somebody's Gotta Do It' portion of the 2014 TCA Turner Broadcasting Summer Press Tour Presentation at The Beverly Hilton on July 10, 2014, in Los Angeles, Calif. (Photo by Michael Buckner/WireImage/Getty)
These moments for Rowe define his life and legacy.
“It has turned into something more than I would have hoped for. And it's not just because of 'Dirty Jobs,'” he said. “I mean, I know I've been awfully lucky and blessed to work on shows that people love but the thing that evolved out of 'Dirty Jobs' that consumes most of my time today is MikeRowe Works.”
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“That foundation evolved out of 'Dirty Jobs' and it's a privilege to have that kind of a legacy in my life,” he added. “And part of relaunching the show, honestly, is going to be an opportunity to double down on that.”
“Watching this show is basically – it would be like coming over to my house when I've got the original crew with me and I'm in control of the remote – and we're just looking back at the library of the show and I'm telling you everything you need to know about what it took to make it happen.”
“Dirty Jobs: Rowe’d Trip” premieres July 7 at 9 p.m. EST on Discovery Channel.
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