Dirty Jobs's Mike Rowe Learns to 'Manscape'

Mike Rowe has performed 279 truly icky jobs since launching his hit Discovery Channel show Dirty Jobs eight years ago – but no task has been quite so intimate as learning to wax his friend's chest.

The man who gets waxed is Dave Barsky. He's the show's lead cameraman and actually (sort of) came up with the idea for the segment, which will air on the show's new season, debuting Oct. 19.

Barsky "pointed out there was a salon on the island [where we were filming another segment]," says Rowe, who ribbed his pal about wanting a pedicure. "Someone at some point said [to Barsky], 'You're a hairy little son of a gun. Why don't we strap you down and rip the hair off your chest?' And he said, 'OK.' "

In the clip, Rowe takes great glee in "manscaping" his hirsute crewman, including ripping out his nose hair and removing all the hair from Barsky's chest with wax.

"The viewer will have an up close and undeniable understanding of what it's like to have the hair removed from your chest if you're a 40-year-old dude," says Rowe, laughing. "You learn some stuff – and most importantly I get the chance to forcibly remove some hair from my friend's nipples."

This isn't the first time Barsky has suffered for the show: During a recent taping in which Rowe helps remove 4,000 head lice from a woman, Barsky accidentally got lice himself.

"So we did the only sensible thing, which was to put him in the chair and shave him bald," says Rowe. "So, last year Dave had all the hair removed from his chest and this year he got all the hair removed from his head. He's on a roll."

But Rowe's job isn't all head lice and manscaping: Through the show, he's gotten the chance to meet working men and women all over the U.S., and he spoke to members of Congress last week for the launch of the national grassroots campaign, "I Make America," to promote America, manufacturing jobs.