Holmes hitting on all 8 cylinders

TV show host talks fame, teaching his kids to drive, reggae, diesel, and his new `chariot'

Oct 20, 2007

Special to the Star

Mike Holmes has a new truck. It's a Ford Super Duty F-350, with the new Power Stroke diesel, the King Ranch leather package, and a one of a kind PTO-driven generator that Ford installed just for the HGTV superstar.

Holmes says he loves it and while the truck is nice, I'm more amazed at the fact that this is his first sponsored vehicle. "I owned some Dodges, but I paid for those," he laughs.

Now going into its seventh season, HGTV's Number 1 show, Holmes on Homes, is carried in the U.S. on Discovery and also airs in New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom and South Africa. Holmes' show is viewed in some 45 million homes.

You could say Holmes is hitting on all eight cylinders – enough to attract the attention of the Ford Motor Co. of Canada: The result is the truck we're sitting in, talking about the second thing any contractor needs to do well: drive.

Q: Who taught you to drive?

A: I'm absolutely self-taught . . . I got my licence the day I turned 16.

So, nobody taught you how to drive?

No, my father taught me how to drive and from there, being a con-tractor, you know what does a contractor (also do)? Drive. At least three or four hours a day, every day. From there I bumped up to bigger trailers. (For) me it's easy backing up a trailer – I don't care how big it is – even if it's a hundred feet.

How long did it take you to learn though?

No time, no time.

Okay, but you must have smacked into something at some point.

Never.

Okay, we'll let that lie go.

Never man. Hey, if I did it, I'd say I did.

What was your first car?

Believe it or not my first car was a (Chevrolet) Celebrity station wagon, and I actually did renovations with it. I had kids young, so I had to have something for work and personal (use). A nice little blue station wagon, but after a while, I beat the crap out of it.

Kept overloading it?

Oh yeah, and eventually I ended up giving the car to my dad and buying a van. Then I moved up to trucks. The van was great but then I realized that it became a pain in the butt because you try to turn it into a mini-shop on wheels and I think that is what most contractors do. So I moved up to trucks and also bought my first trailer. And that ended up working very well to the point where I became so successful that I (bought) a couple of box vans.

I don't want to ruin my beautiful truck anymore – I just want it to be my chariot.

Well, you could call this truck a chariot. Have you got a nickname for it yet?

I just call it my building.

You're driving a building?

I'm driving my building.

Is that all you need?

You know people say to me, "Why don't you buy a Porsche or a Vette, don't you want one?" And you know, I honestly don't. I get into a smaller car and I have to roll out. It's so foreign to me. I'm comfortable getting in the truck, I don't hit my head, and getting out of it is easy.

So, I guess that means you don't own any toys?

No.

Do you own any other vehicles?

Pickup trucks, box vans, the trailers, my chef's van – but those are all part of the business. Five, six – no about eight. I bought my daughter a vehicle, and a company run-around vehicle.

Do you work on your own cars?

Well, no. In school I took auto mechanics and I got a 100 per cent. But I'm so wrapped up in my world that I don't have time. Besides, I preach ``bring it to the pros'' so I'd rather bring my vehicle to the pros.

You've said you'd like to have a Hummer. Of course, people would probably want to crucify you for driving it.

I thought about that. The vehicle has enticed me, it's impressed me. It's the look of it – the bulk – it's powerful. And there is the other side: is it really efficient? I think that's the reason I never did end up buying one. I may be tempted one day to get a fun little car – maybe. But at this point I'm too busy.

Have you had a diesel prior to this new truck?

Absolute first diesel, and I thought it was time to try a diesel. I (hauled) with gas engines and I see a drastic difference with the diesel.

I never liked diesel because I always thought they were too loud and that bothered me. I want comfort. Then Ford showed me this one and I said, "that's not bad, it's not loud," and I agreed to play with it.

I did see better mileage and I did feel a better pull. Everything about it seemed to be better – better for my world.

You know, few people look at diesels as being a green solution.

I have to agree with that.

Much like contractors, for many years it got a bad name – that bad name said it wasn't efficient, it was loud – everything about it was not green. But it is.

And the best part about it is that they have even increased that efficiency and if we are paying more attention to the environment, we should pay more attention to the changes that have been made.

I have to say, I'm impressed.

What do you listen to when you are in a vehicle?

I listen to two things actually. I listen to soft music, usually when the traffic is nuts because there is no sense in trying to ...

It calms you down?

Yes it calms me down. And the other music would be reggae.

Reggae, really?

Yes, I love reggae. I know people do not expect that – people think I'm a rock-and-roller, but I'm not.

If you ever did have a project car what would it be?

That has been a desire all my life.

Yeah, which way do you lean? What interests you?

A Chevy, a coupe. Yeah, for some reason it's that car I've seen in movies, the beach movies and when I was a kid, it attracted me. In fact, I almost bought (a 1954 Chevy coupe) in the last six months.

Would you restore it to stock or would you do modifications?

I think I'd do minor modifications.

You know being young and foolish, no different than anyone else, I was an Evel Knievel when I was a kid.

Thank God, I never killed anyone or myself and I learned how to be a very good driver probably because of that. Enough to teach my kids not to go there and to teach them defensive driving. I'm proud that my kids can drive well.

And that they paid attention to you?

Yes, they paid attention. You know I don't hide anything from them, I let them know that I've been there and done that – so don't think you can surprise me. I'll teach defensive driving so you understand what your vehicle can do and what you have to do in case there is an issue – and how to avoid an accident and also how to keep your licence.

And staying safe?

Staying safe is the most important thing of all.

Toronto Star