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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Episode Transcript
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 somepeople.
Or like reading a book, ortaking a walk with your dog, or
even like jogging, I don't know.
(00:20):
What are some other hobbiesthat people have that are
whatnot?
Bird watching?
What do normal people do, Mom's?
Speaker 2 (00:30):
a huge fan of bird watching.
Is she Mom friend of the show?
But yeah, not something, notextreme.
Yeah, Not a fan of extreme birdwatching.
I don't know what that wouldentail.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Right.
Well, it's like you know, let'stake a mundane thing and take
it to the next level.
I guess is what defines anextreme hobby, apparently.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
I suppose.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
so Well, unusual, extreme hobby yeah, because
extreme sports are differentguys.
We're going to take out themotocross and all the
snowboarding and all thesethings because I guess those are
kind of hobbies to some people.
Right, that would be a hobby, Isuppose.
But these are some things we'regoing to bring to the table
today are just extreme hobbies.
I'm repeating myself a lot onthe beginning of this episode.
(01:17):
That's very extreme.
What happened?
Yeah, exactly.
So I'm just going to get rightto it.
Man, Extreme ironing.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
That's quite a thing.
I have not heard of such thingsuntil well.
You know extreme sports, asColt has mentioned extensively,
but these are not sports, it'sjust a but.
Yes, sorry, continue my friend.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
Yeah, it's okay, they say this unusual sport, they
say it is kind of a sport, butit's not your regular adventure
activity.
Basically it's like people whoiron stuff, like off the side of
a cliff or while bouncing on apogo stick or I don't know.
I see in a video on YouTube,briefly, because I was like what
(02:11):
is this shit?
I don't get it, and this guywas trying to like stand on like
a boogie board while he wasgonna iron and he fell off.
So I don't know how you judgethis successful ironing.
When I was watching the videoof the competition anyway, you
know, maybe if it's you know,not in the sports realm and it
really is more of a hobbysomebody's going to figure out
how to get the job done whilethey're on the side of a cliff,
(02:33):
like like literally like hangingoff a cliff ironing.
I don't get it.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
But so lots of extension cords.
I'm just imagining, like,where's the power source?
Like one must have a powersource right for ironing and
electricity Well old man.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
Yeah, there's a lot of like little battery packs
these days that you can haularound and stuff.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
Oh well, again, you know me and technology.
Yeah, what a world we live in.
Yeah, just wondering.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Hey, thank you for informing me it's a valid, valid
question.
Owen McMichael, the Mick on themic over there In Billings
Montana, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Fabulous Billings Montana.
Oh, they don't call it thatRight Magic City.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
Indeed.
Yeah, you don't iron yourclothes because you get them
done, right you?
Speaker 2 (03:23):
like, just drop them off at a place.
I just buy new shit.
If I'm going somewhere becauseI never go anywhere important
enough I just wear a Pitlock,sublime and Boogie's Bodega
stuff and take it to thelaundromat.
Yeah, there we are.
Yeah, so I don't.
They're just like t-shirts,right, unless I'm going
somewhere nice.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
That's pretty extreme of you, my friend.
So another fun one on this listthat I found amusing is duck
herding.
What the duck?
Yes, what the duck, I don'teven know.
Let me herd this conversationin this direction Move over
sheep.
This article says from theMerge they're herding ducks.
(04:05):
Apparently, duck herding iskind of a weird new hobby and it
can get really competitive.
I imagine they try to herd theminto pens, sort of like
professional dog trials.
When it's like a working dogtrial, you know they have like a
border collie and they timethem on how fast they can hurt a
(04:25):
group of sheep into a specificlittle small pen, and also
they're judged on stuff likecrowd control etc.
You know.
So it's a pretty serious thing.
My grandpa actually raised dogsand did that professionally.
So like I kind of actually knowabout this dog trial, sheep
herding, such things, being asI'm from the great state of
(04:47):
Montana, it's not a shock guys.
Nonetheless, I'm imagining theytry to herd them into a pen and
it's probably really weird.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
My question is can't they just fly off, or is that
very stupid, as their wings havebeen clipped and thus they
could not?
Because if I was a duck, I'mjust thinking some dog.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
Right, okay, here we are.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
People of Montana are trying to chase me around.
I'd probably just be like thefuck I'm out of here.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Just a question they must have their wings clipped.
I guess it's a very valid point.
Owen, Owen the pessimist, I'lljust say it.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Otherwise that'd be really impressive.
It'd be like lassoing a fish inMontana which is illegal.
That's impressive.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
No, so apparently they use the help of train Gosh.
I know, golly, gee willikersOwen, they use the Hellboat
train dogs.
So they do use dogs, my friend.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Well, yeah, no, I knew the dogs part, but I'm like
, wow, yeah, no.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
I don't know.
The duck would still fly awayfrom the dog.
Yeah, I'm assuming their wingsare clipped, bro, that's what I
think.
So one dog to the next, Isuppose.
So we're going to jump rightinto competitive dog grooming.
So apparently that's the thing.
I can kind of see that it'sprobably as it sounds and I
(06:17):
imagine, like, think like someweird show on A&E or whatever
channel plays that shit thesedays.
You know what I'm saying?
Is A&E still around?
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Yeah, I don't know either.
But yeah, I don't know.
I don't know what, to whereyou're going with that, okay,
thank you Nonetheless, yes,nevertheless.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Fresh, yes, hey, so I think it's just like a weird
hair show.
You know, think about it likethat.
But for dogs and that's anextreme hobby I could see that
Lots of bows and glitter andpoor little dogs being dyed or
something, I'm sure.
So that's a thing.
Stone skipping is on this listthat I was looking at and I
(07:00):
don't understand that's not thatweird.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
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 Ifailed.
But no, I mean, I can get it togo like a couple, but like some
people are like watch, I got itto go five and I'm just like
(07:25):
Okay, like I hope that.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
You know, as I read on through this, I'm starting to
understand also that most ofthese end up in some sort of
semi-professional competitionsetting.
You know, the duck herding theydo the duck herding was for
seniors and stuff like that andthey're competing.
And then so with the stoneskipping which I don't know, I
guess if you grew up in like thedesert or something, maybe
(07:51):
you're, you know, you're notprivy you know what I'm saying,
but like nonetheless, you just,who doesn't?
who hasn't skipped a fuckingrock across water or seen
somebody or whatever?
I mean like to me, anytime.
I got a chance to do it, I didit, and once I learned how it's
like, well, that's cool.
And then you just do it everytime, right.
So does that make me an extremeenthusiast of stone skipping?
(08:13):
I don't know, I guess not, butthese people probably seek
places out, they count theirskips, keep score, they have
message boards, I'm assuming,and Facebook groups, guys, yeah.
And on the list also was extremecouponing, which I did see a
show once about that, and that'spretty crazy.
I mean, there's people whoactually get money back.
(08:35):
They go so hardcore on thisshit, you know, just using up
all the stuff that nobody elseuses 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, 12packs of um, damn, whatever
(08:59):
their off-brand.
Uh, seltzer water is the krogerwater.
Yeah, with some coupons,coopins, coopins, yeah, I got
something interesting for you onthis next one here.
I think this is something wemight have to get involved in.
I don't know.
I could just see it being athing, bro, beetle fighting, so
(09:23):
Beetlejuice, move over, unlessyou're leaving it all over the
ring for beetle fighting.
It's an unusual way to raiseand 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 andThailand.
Does that surprise you, owen?
Speaker 2 (09:42):
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 (09:50):
Merge, yeah, the Merge, okay cool cool yeah, yeah
, no, it's definitelyinteresting.
They use like they usuallyselect, like stronger species,
apparently like rhinocerosbeetles, which I don't know.
Whatever, I think I've probablyseen them in something or not.
They're pretty big and stagbeetles, so it's not your dung
beetle you might see aroundBillings Montana, my friend.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
So uh, you're out of luck, that's good.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Or the meth beetle, the meth beetle Rolling drop
bindles down the street.
Oh no, oh no, um, nonethelessguys.
Uh yeah, but they even likereally are like strict on these
Beatles, like diets and stufflike that, and they apparently
(10:37):
push and flip their opponentsover.
So it's not not like I thoughtit was going to be like extreme
Beatle fighting where they likebite each other's heads off.
You know, like Right, they justflip each other over, right.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Yeah, that's it.
That's the win that you knowlike they just flip each other
over right.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
Yeah, that's it, that's the win.
That's like, oh good, yeah,like mini sumo wrestling.
Yeah, mini sumos, I'm gettingout of this, and you know, like
back in the day, I'm sure theystill do it over there.
I've seen it in a Bruce Leemovie once, guys, Okay, but they
fight praying mantises andstuff like that, and that's a
real thing actually.
I did look that up one time.
So there we are.
(11:12):
There we are Yarn bombing.
Boom In your face.
You got yarn bombed.
Okay, it's like a style ofgraffiti.
It does not sound like it wouldbe, but like bombing, like a
tag, that's what graffitiartists call it.
Like, when they tag something,they bomb the area, what you
(11:37):
know graffiti artists call itlike 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, whichsounds weird.
You want to go gorilla knitting, sure, dog?
It's a vibrant, vibrant form ofstreet art.
So apparently they're like kindof crochet creations, like, uh,
I don't know they're, they'renot permanent or whatever,
because, like, what they do isthey'll crochet like a thing
that would fit, like a streetlamp or something, and then they
(11:59):
like put it up around itovernight and stuff, and so they
, like yarn, bomb it I guess.
So wow, yeah, I don't know, itdoes seem like it might be an
interesting thing.
I did see a couple pictures ofit and it's kind of cool.
I mean I sort of get it.
You know, they just knit abunch of neat patterns.
It's definitely they're good atwhat they do.
(12:19):
Yeah, no that's awesome.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
I don't think I'm going to be joining their Right.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
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 thishere it says if you're looking
to develop useless skills toimpress people, you might want
to consider yarn bombing guys.
So that's something you can do,owen, with your free time over
(12:50):
there in Billings, montana.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
Yes, well, I'll consider it.
Then you also saw theunderwater pumpkin carving.
Oh my goodness.
Yes, you sent me this articletoo, so I briefly glossed over
stuff.
I imagine this is aroundHalloween, or is this just like
a year long?
(13:14):
I think this is what people do.
I have questions.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
I don't know.
I'm an inquisitive kind of guy.
I don't see any dates on thisOwen here.
Apparently they just getunderwater and they're submerged
.
They have different techniquesand have to do different things.
You know, wouldn't it like kindof start, not like melting
underwater, but the pumpkinwould eventually start falling
apart?
Yeah, so it's pretty much whatyou think.
(13:43):
Okay, you're just underwaterwith like a scuba tank carving a
pumpkin.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
So there we are, guys , that's a new one, all right,
that seems like we've coveredthat well, so I came up with a
few ones that why have peoplenot I'm not saying I'm going to,
but magic bean collecting?
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Okay, jack.
Yeah, no, that's a thing Iguess.
I mean, whatever Collecting ison here.
There was like an extremecollecting type thing, but I
glossed over it Because itdidn't seem as interesting as
some of these.
Quarter piercing, which soundsillegal, guys, don't do it.
Yeah, quarter piercing involveswe don't support illegal
(14:28):
activities.
Never in life, not anymore, notanymore, not these days, guys.
So apparently, like, quarterpiercing involves drilling holes
into quarters and other coinsto create unique jewelry.
It's kind of a niche hobby thatblends craftsmanship and
whatnot with creativityapparently.
(14:49):
So you're just drilling holesin quarters for jewelry, guys.
Doesn't sound that impressive.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
No offense.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
No one's that impressed.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Yeah, sorry, I lost interest in this Sorry all our
quarter-drilling listeners butfind a new hobby.
Just saying there's stuff outthere, guys, I know who am I to
tell someone to find a new hobby.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
Yeah, I know, I know I would never discourage anybody
from doing stuff like this.
I mean, I don't know If youlove it.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
Yeah, as long as you're not doing anything like
horrible and like.
That's all I suppose.
But you might want to thinkabout chewing tinfoil in the
process, because somebodyprobably has a.
I bet, as silly as human beingscan be, that might be like a
festival or something Like hey,let's all chew tinfoil, yeah
(15:42):
tinfoil chewers club.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
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 numberone hobby and it's like you
just see it all the time.
Everybody in Billings Montanais doing like number one hobby
and it's like you just see itall the time.
Everybody in Billings Montanais doing it dumpster diving.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
I'll be damned.
Oh, I thought you were going togo meth cycling.
I'm like man, we've hit it big.
I guess they actually mentionedthe sport that we have reported
on.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
Yeah, journalistic yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Continue, my friend, it's okay.
Speaker 1 (16:19):
It's okay, it's exciting.
I'm surprised they don'tmention Billings in this article
.
No, as far as weird hobby goes,this one kind of saves you
money.
These people go and they justtry to retrieve items.
Everybody knows what dumpsterdiving is.
You look for something that'sthrown away, that's reusable or
of value or you can fix it.
(16:40):
There's a lot of stuff likethat.
People can, or you know peoplethrow away dumb shit and you can
collect scrap metal and stuff,which is why a lot of people in
Billings, montana probably godumpster diving is they're
looking for cans and things ofthat nature, which is not
uncommon to most cities.
It's just prolific there, guys.
So I figure it's one of thebiggest hobbies in the area.
(17:04):
Nonetheless, off onto somethingelse.
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 akid and I also appreciate, you
know, know, when Alien Ant Farmsampled that Michael Jackson
thing.
I actually think that's kind ofcool, oh yeah, yeah, that was
(17:26):
very good.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
Yeah, that's all I know of them really.
Yeah, me too, honestly, thatband, that's about it, but it
was good yeah, it's definitely agood song, guys.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
High five from over here.
Anyway, you know, if you want,drop your extreme hobbies in
some comments on wherever we'refound, which is Instagram, at
italestoriespodcast,pitlocksupplycom, where you can
check out our shirts and allthese things and other links
that we have for things we'vegot going on.
You can also if you're inBillings, montana, the beautiful
(17:59):
, magic city right under therims there to an extent, is
Boogie's Bodega on First AvenueNorth, where you can catch Owen
the McMichael in person at hisshop where he sells a lot of
things, I don't know.
I hope everybody's having agood day.
This is kind of weird.
I don't plan on trying any ofthese.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
Yeah, I don't either.
I also was thinking aboutanother one String cheese
braiding.
Yeah, alright.
Yeah, I don't think that wouldgo that well.
If it did, you'd probably sellit to yuppies?
Speaker 1 (18:38):
Yeah, you probably could.
It's a thing.
Yeah, string cheese brain guys.
On that note, I hope everybodyout there has a good date.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Much love everybody, Thank you.
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