So last night I was able to catch up on the series premier of Big Giant Swords! I cannot tell a lie, I've instantly become a fan. Let me share with you the Bio of Mike first so you know what we kind of interesting character we are dealing with here.
Born in Ireland in 1982, Mike says his young mind was "corrupted" by that era's fantasy films. He grew up playing nerdy role-play and board games. In 1995 the PlayStation 1 came out. He spent the rest of the decade with no reason to leave his bedroom. Mike always loved building things, and at art college he learned to work with steel. Staying true to his nerdy roots, he used his new skill set to make outlandish fantasy weapons. After college, he practiced welding in an illegal workshop he set up in the basement of a parking structure after bribing the security guards. He also took odd jobs in various welding shops so he could use their equipment after-hours.
On a trip to Boston in 2007, Irish Mike met his wife Amelia at a science fiction/fantasy convention, and they soon settled in a small cottage in the woods, on the island of Martha's Vineyard, MA. There, they raise their children Nova (6) and Christopher (4).
Also in early 2007, Mike was commissioned to construct a ridiculously huge sword. He posted a video on YouTube that depicts him huffing, staggering, and generally demonstrating the impracticality of the weapon. Almost immediately, Mike was inundated with emails from strangers who wanted giant, impractical swords of their own. Mike soon found that "the demand for ridiculously oversized weaponry is very high in the land of the civilian Humvee." With Amelia's support, he has given up normal welding jobs to pursue his dream of making and selling giant swords full-time.
Mike proudly resists adapting to American customs, and he admittedly isnot a people-person. He enjoys living in the woods, working at home, and conducting his business over the Internet.
Source: Discovery.com
The whole show is based around Mike and his ability to make these well... Big Giant Swords. This idea I can only assume came about from his love for Science Fiction/Fantasy, RPG and other nerdy games. This show is idea for anybody in the LARPing community or anyone that is easily entertained, like myself.
Here is my favorite park about this show. Like other shows that are out there such as Treehouse Masters for example, you can tell this guy loves what he does. He has been given a gift to think outside of the box and learned how to express that creativity. He is very clear in the fact that this is what he plans on doing to create a life for him and his family. He goes about making swords as professionally as he can considering how qwerky he is. Seeing the enthusiasm he has about something as simple and ridiculous as a giant sword is what is definitely going to keep me coming back. I commend anyone that goes out on a limb to do something he or she loves to make a living from it.
If you didn't catch the series premiere I'd suggest tuning in next week. New episodes are on Tuesdays at 9PM CST on the Discovery Channel. I'll leave with this quote from the show.
“Life is too short to do something you hate, so I’m going to try and make a living and support my family by making and selling giant swords,” - Irish Mike
