Catch Up With Mike Rowe: The ‘Dirty Jobs’ Host’s Best Quotes About Faith, Fitness and Heroes

He Has A Favorite Bible Scripture

“It’s a toss-up between two proverbs,” says Mike, 63, the former host of Dirty Jobs, in which he traveled the country searching for the most difficult, overlooked jobs and tried them out. “The first is 16:18 — ‘Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.’ It’s inspirational, but it’s cautionary. I also like 11:29 — ‘He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind.’”

The Best Advice Anyone Has Ever Given Him

“Duck!”

He Walks For Body and Mind

“I walk six miles first thing every morning as fast as I can,” says Mike, who isn’t married but has been in a serious relationship for many years. “Usually takes me an hour and a half. I started this a few years ago, mostly for my physical well-being, and lost 40 pounds along the way. But then, I started to realize it was good for my spirit as well. Funny how those two things go hand in hand.”

He Has Real-Life Heros

“For me, it’s regular people in extraordinary situations. I think of the men on Flight 93 [during 9/11], in particular Tom Burnett and Todd Beamer. What kind of courage did it take for them to take control of the aircraft? Obviously, I admire soldiers and first responders and all those men and women who volunteer for risky work on my behalf.”

He Had A Happy Childhood

“I grew up outside Baltimore, Md. We were just a few miles from the city but it felt like a whole different world. Our family’s land bordered 60 acres of woods so there was nobody around. We lived next door to my grandparents in an old farmhouse on eight acres with a barn, horses, a bridge and a babbling brook. Everything I needed for an idyllic childhood.”