Did You Know?
A few nut-and-bolt facts about Canada’s fix-it guru.
By Oliver Kensington
Early start
Mike’s taste and flair for renovation was sparked shadowing his father doing odd jobs around the house from the age of three. Under the watchful eye of papa Holmes, Mike actually re-wired the entire electrical system of his family home when he was just six years old, had mastered plumbing by the age of 12 and started his own construction company at 19. Beyond teaching him hands-on tricks of the trade, Mike credits his father for gifting him with a sound work ethic. “He taught me that if I was going to do something, I should do it right the first time. That is the most important lesson he taught me and I live by it to this day,” stated Mike.
Tattoo trademark
Mike is not messing when he says that he lives by his ‘don’t cut corners’ construction mantra. Not only has he trademarked the phrase ‘Make It Right’ for all his business affairs, he also has the slogan tattooed on his rather beefy right bicep, right above a tatt of a bulldog – fierce!
Good sport
Although Mike is extremely guarded regarding his ‘Make It Right’ trademark, he is prepared to share it for a worthy cause. In 2007, Hollywood god, Brad Pitt, set up a charity by the same name to help rebuild homes in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Mike not only gave Brad the thumbs up to use the slogan, but also proposed that they ‘Make It Right’ together and signed up to build a prototype LEED-certified environmentally-friendly home for grandmother Gloria Guy in the lower 9th ward area and supervise the construction of five similar builds in just ten week – half the time a task of such scale would normally require. The project was filmed for a special ‘Holmes in New Orleans’ programme, and documents Mike and his crew braving torrential rain and soaring temperatures in order to complete the builds to deadline.
Trusted kudos
Canadian folk have quite an astonishing level of confidence in ‘Make It Right’ Mike. In a 2010 poll conducted by ‘Reader’s Digest’ magazine, he was named the second most widely trusted person in the entire country!
Holmes schooling
In addition to making a positive dent on the Canadian landscape by fixing, renovating and erecting homes with his own fair hands, Mike is also extremely instrumental in supplying his native country’s construction industry with new generations of top-notch talent. In 2006, he launched The Holmes Foundation, a landmark initiative that supports the training of young adults in the skilled trades via apprenticeships, scholarships and bursaries.
Sexual equality
Mike may look every inch the stereotypical macho man, but he is a far cry from the wolf-whistling construction workers that have tarnished the building trade with a sexist reputation. In fact, he is a man that champions women entering all manner of manual trades. “Women are very under-represented in most trades, and I would love to see that change. If women don’t enter the trades, they are missing out on the chance to have a creative, lucrative and rewarding career,” declared Mike, who has a strong team of women as part of the permanent ‘Holmes on Homes’ construction crew and proactively encourages females to apply to The Holmes Foundation.
Key kit
Mike owns a staggering 26 pairs of overalls, but says that he is way to busy banging up homes to laundry them himself – he has them service washed instead. And he cites his trusty five-pack cordless tool set with reciprocating saw, skill saw, drill, jigsaw and flashlight as the most treasured item in his tool set, recommending that any homeowner or wannabe DIY wizard should invest in a similar good-quality set too.
Patience please!
Having been around the block (and built a few) in his time, Mike knows the ups and downs of his trade, and claims that punters with zero patience are the biggest downer of all. “People have no patience. We don't have patience anymore. People don't have the patience to wait for a contractor. They don't have the patience to deal with a contractor. They don't have the patience to do it right. There's no patience,” ranted Mike. So take heed and hold fire with the ‘not finished yet?’ quips if you’ve got builders in – happy contractors build happy homes!
Family affair
Mike is a divorced father of three, all of whom have followed in his professional footsteps in some shape or form. His only son and youngest child, Mike Holmes Jr., has been a permanent member of the ‘Holmes on Homes’ labourer task force since season six, and he is regularly joined by his sister Sherry, who decided to make construction her career after enjoying grafting on the ‘Holmes in New Orleans’ project. Mike’s eldest offspring, Amanda, isn’t so hands-on as her siblings, but works behind-the-scenes in administration. Bill Bell (known as Uncle Billy), who works as a truck driver and general equipment manager on the show, is also Mike’s real-life uncle.
Animated superhero
Aside from the sacks of fan mail he receives from folk that find him rather easy on the eye, Mike is always surprised by the volume of correspondence he receives from kids that hold him in heroic high esteem. “Something that blows me away is the e-mails I receive from four to twelve year olds, and how they want to be the next Mike Holmes. I guess, in a way, I’m their hero,” gushed Mike, who is currently in the process of developing a superhero version of himself for an inspirational carton series especially for his young followers.
Bathrooms, floors and a nickname
Mike – or Holmsey as he’s affectionately known to his inner circle – states that his favourite room to renovate are bathrooms. He’s also keen to warn anyone laying new floors to be extra cautious of cowboy contractors as badly made underfoot surfaces are the most common botch jobs that he is asked to fix.
