I Tell Stories
I Tell Stories Podcast covers a wide range of topics discussed by Colt Draine and Owen "The Mic" McMichael. From the scourge on humanity of violent business hippies and Scott Baio to peculiar Serbian Mother's Day traditions,the boys offer their unique perspective. Revolutionary artists,legends of folklore and bizzare following of fast food items are just a few of the subjects touched on. I Tell Stories aims to bring attention to individuals and occerrences that are too interesting to be forgotten. Two long time friends who keep each other laughing give listeners their take on the world. Everyone has a story, these are ours and those of many others.
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I Tell Stories
Extreme Hobbies: Is this Irony?
Have you ever felt that reading books or taking walks just doesn't provide enough excitement? You're not alone. Welcome to the fascinating world of extreme hobbies, where ordinary activities transform into extraordinary adventures.
Our journey begins with extreme ironing - yes, you read that correctly. Picture enthusiasts pressing clothes while hanging off cliffs or balancing on boogie boards in water. It's not just about completing the chore; it's about conquering the impossible while armed with an iron and wrinkled fabric. The logistics of power sources and equipment become part of the extreme challenge.
The animal kingdom isn't exempt from extreme enthusiasm. Duck herding competitions mirror professional dog trials, with participants and their trained canines guiding ducks into designated pens with precision and skill. Meanwhile, competitive dog grooming elevates pet care to artistic expression, with elaborate designs transforming furry companions into living canvases. From stone skipping championships to the strategic mathematics of extreme couponing where practitioners actually receive money back on purchases, everyday activities become arenas for serious competition.
Internationally, the extreme hobby landscape reveals cultural fascinations like beetle fighting in Japan and Thailand, where enthusiasts raise rhinoceros beetles with specialized diets for pushing competitions. Urban spaces become canvases for yarn bombers who transform street furniture with elaborate crochet installations. Perhaps most surprisingly, underwater pumpkin carving combines scuba diving with seasonal artistry, challenging participants to create intricate designs while submerged.
These unusual pursuits aren't just quirky pastimes; they're windows into human creativity and our desire to transform the mundane into something extraordinary. Whether you're fascinated by these extreme hobbies or prefer more conventional activities, they remind us that passion and dedication can elevate any interest into something remarkable. What everyday activity might you take to the extreme?
Share your thoughts with us on Instagram @italestoriespodcast, check out our merch at pitlocksupply.com, and let us know what extreme hobby you'd consider trying!
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Oh, ahoy, ahoy, oh ahoy to you, my friend. Yeah, hey, I don't even know, bro, why is like building a model car too boring for some people. Or like reading a book, or taking a walk with your dog, or even like jogging, I don't know. What are some other hobbies that people have that are whatnot? Bird watching? What do normal people do, Mom's?
Speaker 2:a huge fan of bird watching. Is she Mom friend of the show? But yeah, not something, not extreme. Yeah, Not a fan of extreme bird watching. I don't know what that would entail.
Speaker 1:Right. Well, it's like you know, let's take a mundane thing and take it to the next level. I guess is what defines an extreme hobby, apparently.
Speaker 2:I suppose.
Speaker 1:so Well, unusual, extreme hobby yeah, because extreme sports are different guys. We're going to take out the motocross and all the snowboarding and all these things because I guess those are kind of hobbies to some people. Right, that would be a hobby, I suppose. But these are some things we're going to bring to the table today are just extreme hobbies. I'm repeating myself a lot on the beginning of this episode. That's very extreme. What happened? Yeah, exactly. So I'm just going to get right to it. Man, Extreme ironing.
Speaker 2:That's quite a thing. I have not heard of such things until well. You know extreme sports, as Colt has mentioned extensively, but these are not sports, it's just a but. Yes, sorry, continue my friend.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's okay, they say this unusual sport, they say it is kind of a sport, but it's not your regular adventure activity. Basically it's like people who iron stuff, like off the side of a cliff or while bouncing on a pogo stick or I don't know. I see in a video on YouTube, briefly, because I was like what is this shit? I don't get it, and this guy was trying to like stand on like a boogie board while he was gonna iron and he fell off. So I don't know how you judge this successful ironing. When I was watching the video of the competition anyway, you know, maybe if it's you know, not in the sports realm and it really is more of a hobby somebody's going to figure out how to get the job done while they're on the side of a cliff, like like literally like hanging off a cliff ironing. I don't get it.
Speaker 2:But so lots of extension cords. I'm just imagining, like, where's the power source? Like one must have a power source right for ironing and electricity Well old man.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there's a lot of like little battery packs these days that you can haul around and stuff.
Speaker 2:Oh well, again, you know me and technology. Yeah, what a world we live in. Yeah, just wondering.
Speaker 1:Hey, thank you for informing me it's a valid, valid question. Owen McMichael, the Mick on the mic over there In Billings Montana, I don't know.
Speaker 2:Fabulous Billings Montana. Oh, they don't call it that Right Magic City.
Speaker 1:Indeed. Yeah, you don't iron your clothes because you get them done, right you?
Speaker 2:like, just drop them off at a place. I just buy new shit. If I'm going somewhere because I never go anywhere important enough I just wear a Pitlock, sublime and Boogie's Bodega stuff and take it to the laundromat. Yeah, there we are. Yeah, so I don't. They're just like t-shirts, right, unless I'm going somewhere nice.
Speaker 1:That's pretty extreme of you, my friend. So another fun one on this list that I found amusing is duck herding. What the duck? Yes, what the duck, I don't even know. Let me herd this conversation in this direction Move over sheep. This article says from the Merge they're herding ducks. Apparently, duck herding is kind of a weird new hobby and it can get really competitive. I imagine they try to herd them into pens, sort of like professional dog trials. When it's like a working dog trial, you know they have like a border collie and they time them on how fast they can hurt a group of sheep into a specific little small pen, and also they're judged on stuff like crowd control etc. You know. So it's a pretty serious thing. My grandpa actually raised dogs and did that professionally. So like I kind of actually know about this dog trial, sheep herding, such things, being as I'm from the great state of Montana, it's not a shock guys. Nonetheless, I'm imagining they try to herd them into a pen and it's probably really weird.
Speaker 2:My question is can't they just fly off, or is that very stupid, as their wings have been clipped and thus they could not? Because if I was a duck, I'm just thinking some dog.
Speaker 1:Right, okay, here we are.
Speaker 2:People of Montana are trying to chase me around. I'd probably just be like the fuck I'm out of here.
Speaker 1:Just a question they must have their wings clipped. I guess it's a very valid point. Owen, Owen the pessimist, I'll just say it.
Speaker 2:Otherwise that'd be really impressive. It'd be like lassoing a fish in Montana which is illegal. That's impressive.
Speaker 1:No, so apparently they use the help of train Gosh. I know, golly, gee willikers Owen, they use the Hellboat train dogs. So they do use dogs, my friend.
Speaker 2:Well, yeah, no, I knew the dogs part, but I'm like, wow, yeah, no.
Speaker 1:I don't know. The duck would still fly away from the dog. Yeah, I'm assuming their wings are clipped, bro, that's what I think. So one dog to the next, I suppose. So we're going to jump right into competitive dog grooming. So apparently that's the thing. I can kind of see that it's probably as it sounds and I imagine, like, think like some weird show on A&E or whatever channel plays that shit these days. You know what I'm saying? Is A&E still around? I don't know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't know either. But yeah, I don't know. I don't know what, to where you're going with that, okay, thank you Nonetheless, yes, nevertheless.
Speaker 1:Fresh, yes, hey, so I think it's just like a weird hair show. You know, think about it like that. But for dogs and that's an extreme hobby I could see that Lots of bows and glitter and poor little dogs being dyed or something, I'm sure. So that's a thing. Stone skipping is on this list that I was looking at and I don't understand that's not that weird.
Speaker 2:That seemed like something everybody did. I'm not very good at it. I would have tried extensively, it's not. This is my great confession. Like I tried to skip stone. It was an extreme hobby and I failed. But no, I mean, I can get it to go like a couple, but like some people are like watch, I got it to go five and I'm just like Okay, like I hope that.
Speaker 1:You know, as I read on through this, I'm starting to understand also that most of these end up in some sort of semi-professional competition setting. You know, the duck herding they do the duck herding was for seniors and stuff like that and they're competing. And then so with the stone skipping which I don't know, I guess if you grew up in like the desert or something, maybe you're, you know, you're not privy you know what I'm saying, but like nonetheless, you just, who doesn't?
Speaker 1:who hasn't skipped a fucking rock across water or seen somebody or whatever? I mean like to me, anytime. I got a chance to do it, I did it, and once I learned how it's like, well, that's cool. And then you just do it every time, right. So does that make me an extreme enthusiast of stone skipping? I don't know, I guess not, but these people probably seek places out, they count their skips, keep score, they have message boards, I'm assuming, and Facebook groups, guys, yeah.
Speaker 1:And on the list also was extreme couponing, which I did see a show once about that, and that's pretty crazy. I mean, there's people who actually get money back. They go so hardcore on this shit, you know, just using up all the stuff that nobody else uses up because people don't really use coupons. You know that's a thing, guys. You know they do work. I don't know. I've gotten that fred meyer, fred ricos, as I call it, just for fun. Uh, I've gotten free, uh, 12 packs of um, damn, whatever their off-brand. Uh, seltzer water is the kroger water. Yeah, with some coupons, coopins, coopins, yeah, I got something interesting for you on this next one here.
Speaker 1:I think this is something we might have to get involved in. I don't know. I could just see it being a thing, bro, beetle fighting, so Beetlejuice, move over, unless you're leaving it all over the ring for beetle fighting. It's an unusual way to raise and train your beetles. I guess it's very popular. I have no beetle. Yeah, I don't either. No, no beetles. It's popular in Japan and Thailand. Does that surprise you, owen?
Speaker 2:No, and this is off of that one. You sent me right the article. I forget what the source was. The merge, yeah, the merge, Okay one. You sent me that the article. I forget what the source was, the.
Speaker 1:Merge, yeah, the Merge, okay cool cool yeah, yeah, no, it's definitely interesting. They use like they usually select, like stronger species, apparently like rhinoceros beetles, which I don't know. Whatever, I think I've probably seen them in something or not. They're pretty big and stag beetles, so it's not your dung beetle you might see around Billings Montana, my friend.
Speaker 2:So uh, you're out of luck, that's good.
Speaker 1:Or the meth beetle, the meth beetle Rolling drop bindles down the street. Oh no, oh no, um, nonetheless guys. Uh yeah, but they even like really are like strict on these Beatles, like diets and stuff like that, and they apparently push and flip their opponents over. So it's not not like I thought it was going to be like extreme Beatle fighting where they like bite each other's heads off. You know, like Right, they just flip each other over, right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's it. That's the win that you know like they just flip each other over right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's it, that's the win. That's like, oh good, yeah, like mini sumo wrestling. Yeah, mini sumos, I'm getting out of this, and you know, like back in the day, I'm sure they still do it over there. I've seen it in a Bruce Lee movie once, guys, Okay, but they fight praying mantises and stuff like that, and that's a real thing actually. I did look that up one time. So there we are. There we are Yarn bombing. Boom In your face. You got yarn bombed.
Speaker 1:Okay, it's like a style of graffiti. It does not sound like it would be, but like bombing, like a tag, that's what graffiti artists call it. Like, when they tag something, they bomb the area, what you know graffiti artists call it like when they tag something, they bomb the area, you know, whatever, it's not a terrorist thing, guys, okay. So nonetheless, apparently, clarify, well, it's also known as gorilla knitting, which sounds weird. You want to go gorilla knitting, sure, dog? It's a vibrant, vibrant form of street art.
Speaker 1:So apparently they're like kind of crochet creations, like, uh, I don't know they're, they're not permanent or whatever, because, like, what they do is they'll crochet like a thing that would fit, like a street lamp or something, and then they like put it up around it overnight and stuff, and so they, like yarn, bomb it I guess. So wow, yeah, I don't know, it does seem like it might be an interesting thing. I did see a couple pictures of it and it's kind of cool. I mean I sort of get it. You know, they just knit a bunch of neat patterns. It's definitely they're good at what they do. Yeah, no that's awesome.
Speaker 2:I don't think I'm going to be joining their Right.
Speaker 1:No Faction Yard bombers At the end of the thing. I don't know. Yeah, I don't know either. My friend At the end of this here it says if you're looking to develop useless skills to impress people, you might want to consider yarn bombing guys. So that's something you can do, owen, with your free time over there in Billings, montana. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yes, well, I'll consider it. Then you also saw the underwater pumpkin carving. Oh my goodness. Yes, you sent me this article too, so I briefly glossed over stuff. I imagine this is around Halloween, or is this just like a year long? I think this is what people do. I have questions.
Speaker 1:I don't know. I'm an inquisitive kind of guy. I don't see any dates on this Owen here. Apparently they just get underwater and they're submerged. They have different techniques and have to do different things. You know, wouldn't it like kind of start, not like melting underwater, but the pumpkin would eventually start falling apart? Yeah, so it's pretty much what you think. Okay, you're just underwater with like a scuba tank carving a pumpkin.
Speaker 2:So there we are, guys, that's a new one, all right, that seems like we've covered that well, so I came up with a few ones that why have people not I'm not saying I'm going to, but magic bean collecting?
Speaker 1:Okay, jack. Yeah, no, that's a thing I guess. I mean, whatever Collecting is on here. There was like an extreme collecting type thing, but I glossed over it Because it didn't seem as interesting as some of these. Quarter piercing, which sounds illegal, guys, don't do it. Yeah, quarter piercing involves we don't support illegal activities. Never in life, not anymore, not anymore, not these days, guys. So apparently, like, quarter piercing involves drilling holes into quarters and other coins to create unique jewelry. It's kind of a niche hobby that blends craftsmanship and whatnot with creativity apparently. So you're just drilling holes in quarters for jewelry, guys. Doesn't sound that impressive.
Speaker 2:No offense.
Speaker 1:No one's that impressed.
Speaker 2:Yeah, sorry, I lost interest in this Sorry all our quarter-drilling listeners but find a new hobby. Just saying there's stuff out there, guys, I know who am I to tell someone to find a new hobby.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know, I know I would never discourage anybody from doing stuff like this. I mean, I don't know If you love it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, as long as you're not doing anything like horrible and like. That's all I suppose. But you might want to think about chewing tinfoil in the process, because somebody probably has a. I bet, as silly as human beings can be, that might be like a festival or something Like hey, let's all chew tinfoil, yeah tinfoil chewers club.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, there is people who probably like to do that stuff. You know what I just realized? It's on this list, bro. Billings Montana Is like number one hobby and it's like you just see it all the time. Everybody in Billings Montana is doing like number one hobby and it's like you just see it all the time. Everybody in Billings Montana is doing it dumpster diving.
Speaker 2:I'll be damned. Oh, I thought you were going to go meth cycling. I'm like man, we've hit it big. I guess they actually mentioned the sport that we have reported on.
Speaker 1:Yeah, journalistic yeah.
Speaker 2:Continue, my friend, it's okay.
Speaker 1:It's okay, it's exciting. I'm surprised they don't mention Billings in this article. No, as far as weird hobby goes, this one kind of saves you money. These people go and they just try to retrieve items. Everybody knows what dumpster diving is. You look for something that's thrown away, that's reusable or of value or you can fix it. There's a lot of stuff like that. People can, or you know people throw away dumb shit and you can collect scrap metal and stuff, which is why a lot of people in Billings, montana probably go dumpster diving is they're looking for cans and things of that nature, which is not uncommon to most cities. It's just prolific there, guys. So I figure it's one of the biggest hobbies in the area. Nonetheless, off onto something else. Another one was ant keeping, which, whatever. That's kind of cool, I guess. I don't know. I had an ant farm when I was a kid and I also appreciate, you know, know, when Alien Ant Farm sampled that Michael Jackson thing. I actually think that's kind of cool, oh yeah, yeah, that was very good.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's all I know of them really. Yeah, me too, honestly, that band, that's about it, but it was good yeah, it's definitely a good song, guys.
Speaker 1:High five from over here. Anyway, you know, if you want, drop your extreme hobbies in some comments on wherever we're found, which is Instagram, at italestoriespodcast, pitlocksupplycom, where you can check out our shirts and all these things and other links that we have for things we've got going on. You can also if you're in Billings, montana, the beautiful, magic city right under the rims there to an extent, is Boogie's Bodega on First Avenue North, where you can catch Owen the McMichael in person at his shop where he sells a lot of things, I don't know. I hope everybody's having a good day. This is kind of weird. I don't plan on trying any of these.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't either. I also was thinking about another one String cheese braiding. Yeah, alright. Yeah, I don't think that would go that well. If it did, you'd probably sell it to yuppies?
Speaker 1:Yeah, you probably could. It's a thing. Yeah, string cheese brain guys. On that note, I hope everybody out there has a good date.
Speaker 2:Much love everybody, Thank you.
