¶ Introduction to Extreme Hobbies
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 ?
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 .
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 .
I suppose .
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 .
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 .
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
¶ Extreme Ironing and Duck Herding
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 .
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 .
Yeah , there's a lot of like little battery packs these days that you can haul around and stuff .
Oh well , again , you know me and technology . Yeah , what a world we live in . Yeah , just wondering .
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 .
Fabulous Billings Montana . Oh , they don't call it that Right Magic City .
Indeed . Yeah , you don't iron your clothes because you get them done , right you ?
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 .
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 .
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 .
Right , okay , here we are .
People of Montana are trying to chase me around . I'd probably just be like the fuck I'm out of here .
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 .
Otherwise that'd be really impressive . It'd be like lassoing a fish in Montana which is illegal . That's impressive .
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 .
Well , yeah , no , I knew the dogs part , but I'm like , wow , yeah , no .
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 .
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 .
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
¶ Competitive Hobbies and Stone Skipping
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 .
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 .
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 ? 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 . 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 . 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 ?
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 .
Merge , yeah , the Merge , okay cool cool yeah , yeah , no , it's definitely interesting . They use like they usually select , like stronger species , apparently
¶ Beetle Fighting and Yarn Bombing
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 .
So uh , you're out of luck , that's good .
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 .
Yeah , that's it . That's the win that you know like they just flip each other over right .
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 . 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 .
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 .
I don't think I'm going to be joining their Right .
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 .
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 .
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 .
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 ?
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 .
No offense .
No one's that impressed
¶ Underwater Pumpkin Carving and More
.
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 .
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 .
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 .
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 .
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 .
Yeah , journalistic yeah .
Continue , my friend , it's okay .
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
¶ Dumpster Diving and Final Thoughts
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 .
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 .
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 .
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 ?
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 .
Much love everybody , Thank you .