Lifestyle
Accidental Celebrity
VICKI GILHULA
Fall 2009 |
In 2006 when Nestlé Canada was launching a new brand of Nescafé instant coffee and looking for a pitchman, it commissioned a poll asking Canadians about the people they trusted. Mike Holmes, the host of HGTV’s Holmes on Homes,™ topped the list.
“When they approached me about the commercial, I said if they can relate the commercial to what I do and keep it real, I’d say yes to it, because the real truth is I drink Nescafé and have for years,” he says.
Keep It Real. Make It Right™. Holmes, 46, lives by these words. He has “Make It Right™” tattooed on his right bicep, and has trademarked the phrase in Canada and the United States.
The ruggedly handsome television personality with an expertise in home repairs and renovations will be the special guest at the Sudbury Living Lifestyle and Home Show Sunday, Oct. 18 at the Radisson Hotel.
There will be lots of time to ask Holmes questions during his presentations, which will be held in the Rainbow Cinemas, at 1 and 3 pm. Tickets for his presentations must be purchased in advance and are $30 plus GST. The presentation ticket includes admission to the lifestyle show, which is $8.
Holmes will be speak about the things he has a passion about including eco-friendly homes.
“To me, it is about green. It is something I believe so much in. We need to understand more about it.”
Holmes on Homes™ was first aired on HGTV in 2001. There will be no new episodes produced, except for some specials, but it will continue to be seen in reruns. A new program called Holmes Inspection will air on HGTV starting Oct 1.
“The (new) show is really simple. If you bought a house, had it inspected, then things are going upside down, and you don’t know why, I’m going to come in and do a ‘Holmes’ inspection’ and we’re going to help make it right.
Too many people don’t hire the qualified people to do the inspection of their home before they move in because they don’t want to spend the money and this can be a costly mistake.
“We need to pay the right money for the right person to get the right advice,” Holmes says.
He describes his new show as “Holmes on Homes meets CSI.” He loves the special effects that will be used to help to illustrate the points he is trying to make.
Holmes has two new books in the works--his first book Make It Right™ was a bestseller-- and a new magazine called Holmes will appear on newsstands in November. The magazine will be published by Dauphin Media Group (Canadian Architecture & Design magazine) and The Holmes Group. The editorial will provide details on building homes and home renovations and have a section dedicated to eco-friendly advice. Though the magazine will have its own editorial staff, Holmes will get to approve the content.
“The magazine may just knock the socks off a lot of other magazines,” he says.
In his book, Make It Right™, Holmes writes his father, “a true jack of all trades,” started teaching him about repairs and renovations when he was a pre-schooler. He did his first basement renovation when he was 12. At the age of 19, Holmes was hired to run a renovation company, with a crew of 14. Two years later he started his own company.
“The most important lesson I learned from my father....was about doing it right” the first time,” he says.
Holmes on Homes™ was first broadcast in 2001. It airs on airs on HGTV Canada and BBC Canada as well as in the United States, New Zealand, Australia, Britain, Germany and South Africa.
Holmes has appeared on programs such as Canada AM, Marketplace, Corner Gas, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. He was a judge on the HGTV reality show Handyman Superstar Challenge. In addition to the coffee commercials, he is the spokesperson for SOS Children’s Villages. Then there are his books and the new magazine.
Still he doesn’t consider himself a celebrity. “My life is the same. I am always going to be me. I’ve never looked at myself as a celebrity. I am a contractor who gives advice. I became a producer by accident.
“Holmes on Homes™ is real. I don’t read a script. We don’t make it up. Holmes Inspection is along the same lines. I think real television works.”
