Rust Valley Restorers has returned for a second season on History. Filmed primarily in Tappen, the show also features several Shuswap locales and characters, including Mike Hall, the shop鈥檚 owner, and Avery Shoaf.
With the show鈥檚 renewal and premiere happening this week, KTW caught up with the two to see what鈥檚 in the coming episodes.
KTW: What should viewers expect in season two?
Mike: More of the same s鈥�-show as last time.
Avery: They can expect to see me cleaning up after my messes and upsetting Mike.
M: Basically it鈥檚 just a continuation of last year. We had some really great builds and told some really great stories. If you enjoyed season one you will enjoy season two.
KTW: Mike. You started last season with about 400 cars. After all of this publicity from the first season, have you managed to sell some of them off?
A: He鈥檚 got about 550 now! What happens is he sells one and he gets a little bit more money and he goes and buys three. It鈥檚 working out not bad for him. They are kind of like rabbits. They are populating quite well.
M: I have a problem.
KTW: Has the show attracted more sellers or buyers?
M: Now that we have this exposure, I鈥檝e got people from all over the planet trying to sell me stuff.
A: And the thing about that is he buys it! Now, instead of buying stuff within a 200-mile radius, he鈥檚 got about an 8,000-mile radius.
M: Oh, it鈥檚 not that bad. Well, a couple thousand鈥� Saskatchewan is the farthest I鈥檝e gone so far.
KTW: Avery. In season one we see you get on Mike鈥檚 nerves a little and even fight. Has there ever been a point you pushed him too far? How do you two remain friends?
M: Well, because we are friends. Boys will be boys. All girls become women. Guys can get mad at each other, flip out, wig out, even get to punches, but the next day you鈥檙e still friends.
A: Yeah. It is what it is. You鈥檒l see a little bit this season of me getting upset with Mike and me starting to do some things in my own shop, giving us a little breathing room for each other. But my son is introduced to the show and you can see me argue with him and take the role I have with Mike.
M: Friends are friends. I鈥檓 sure you鈥檝e flipped out on some of your friends. But what do you do? You know what they say. If you take your thumb and your finger and squish them together really tight 鈥� that鈥檚 the difference between love and hate, that distance.
KTW: How much has putting cameras in front of you guys amped things up between you? Do you push each other a little further?
A: I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 changed anything, do you, Mike?
M: 奥别濒濒鈥�
A: If it鈥檚 done anything, it鈥檚 increased our patience.
M: Yeah. You鈥檝e got to have the patience of Job if you want to be on TV. They always say the first time is the best, but once you鈥檝e done it three or four times, you wonder if the quality is improving. A lot of our show is totally spontaneous, but it is TV, so. People meet us and say, 鈥楪ee, you guys are just the same on TV as you are in real life,鈥� and there鈥檚 a reason for that 鈥� we鈥檙e not actors.
KTW: Mike. You and your son Connor come off as a father/son duo where you鈥檝e got the passion and the money and he鈥檚 got the business sense. How accurate is that in reality and off-camera?
M: He gives me s鈥�- all the time for spending his inheritance. Let鈥檚 put it that way. He has way more common sense than me. I鈥檝e done my 40 years. This is basically my retirement gig. My construction company is still going strong, but Connor runs it for me. What you see on TV is him flipping on me whenever I buy another car. But whatever. I have a problem.
KTW: We have seen father/son conflict on a shop reality show before, as if that is something that just happens in those kinds of environments. But how much are your real fights like what we see on the show?
M: It鈥檚 exactly鈥� It鈥檚 the same. When I lose it on him, I lose it on him. Nobody can push you to the brink like your wife and your kids.
A: I thought I got pretty close that one time.
M: But you know what I mean. I expect a lot out of him. Maybe too much. It鈥檚 give and take. But when I lose it on him, it鈥檚 because I鈥檓 actually losing it on him. You鈥檒l see some footage coming up that I鈥檓 not too proud of, but that鈥檚 the way it happened.
A: I don鈥檛 know if I鈥檓 allowed to talk about this or not, but when we started the show back in the day, there was a memo sent that said, 鈥楬ey, please tell these guys to stop acting. They shouldn鈥檛 be acting for the show.鈥� And a message was sent back to the powers that be that said, 鈥楿h, no, that鈥檚 who these guys are.鈥� And they came out to see if we are who we are. One hundred per cent we are real.
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KTW: You tend to feature a lot of Canadian cars on the show, like the 1966 Beaumont Sport Deluxe and the 1970 Dodge Dart Swinger. What is it about classic Canadian cars that appeals to you guys?
M: It鈥檚 Canadian and it鈥檚 rare. When you build an Acadian sport coupe, like in 鈥�66 or 鈥�67, they made 557 of them. In the States, they might have made 20,000 of the Nova SS [super sport].
A: There鈥檚 enough American stuff out there. Some of the Canadian stuff should be showcased and shown to the rest of the world.
M: The Beaumont SC [sport coupe], that was pretty cool. We have a lot of stuff up here nobody else has. I like all of the American muscle cars, as well, but if we can get a Canadian one鈥� even that pink Swinger we did in season one, it was built in Canada and exported to California, but it was built in Canada.
KTW: It鈥檚 quite a notable show for the area. Tappen hasn鈥檛 exactly featured much in the reality TV scene. Has the fame gone to your heads at all?
M: I鈥檓 not letting it change who I am. I hope I never become a TV star. That鈥檚 not who I am. Some people when we first started airing, people said, 鈥楧on鈥檛 tell them where you鈥檙e from, Mike. You鈥檒l ruin the Shuswap!鈥�
A: To answer that question a little bit differently. We鈥檙e dealing with the same people we鈥檝e always dealt with for the past, probably, 20 or 30 years. We stay in our same circle. We go to the same coffee shops, we see the same people we鈥檝e always seen. We still talk about what our kids are doing or what aggravates us. It really hasn鈥檛 changed that much.
M: We鈥檙e not jet-setters yet. We鈥檙e not travelling around the world polluting the planet. We鈥檙e just doing our own little gig here and people get to watch it. If they don鈥檛 like it, they don鈥檛 have to watch, right? We鈥檙e doing our best. I know we don鈥檛 meet everybody鈥檚 expectations. You know what they say, if you can鈥檛 please everybody you might as well please yourself.
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