When the Discovery Channel announced their latest competition series involving heavy equipment challenges, they didn't have to look far for their first contestant. Tom Gardocki has been on big machines since he was a kid. Now he's the foreman and an operator for Interstate Landscape Company, a family-owned hardscape and paving business in Londonderry, NH. On YouTube, Tom is the renowned BobcatNINJA. His Beer Bottle Excavator Trick video has received well over a million views, and it caught the attention of a few TV show producers.
Machines of Glory premieres this Sunday (December 30th) on the Discovery Channel beginning at 4:00PM. Hosted by Johnny Littlefield from "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (ABC) fame, the pilot series features three crews of highly-skilled machine operators who test their precision, speed, and smarts in outrageous challenges using excavators, loaders, and skid steers. The two crews with the most points after three rounds will go head to head in one final challenge.
While not revealing any details or spoilers, red team member BobcatNINJA said that he definitely drew on his years of experience and skill. He added, "One of the hardest things was we had no idea what equipment we would be using in the challenges until about an hour before the challenge was to be filmed. And we only had about 5 minutes to try out the equipment before we actually started the challenge."
Professionals and wanna be's alike will enjoy the show. Tune in to the Discovery Channel this Sunday for Machines of Glory.
