The man with horns

THROUGOUT the History Con 2017 weekend, Michael ‘Horny Mike’ Henry cut an imposing figure. Not only was he a large man but the horns he sported on his head made him somewhat menacing in appearance.
However, one must not judge a person by the looks and while Mike may be a tad loud in appearance but when he speaks, he is like a gentle guy next door.
Horny Mike’s skills as an airbrush artist is one of the reasons many tune in to History Channel’s (Astro Channel 555 / 575) Counting Cars.
Counting Cars takes place in Count’s Kustoms, where Danny ‘The Count’ Koker acquires, restores and customises classic cars and motorcycles using his crew, which includes Horny Mike. Koker then ‘flips’ them to sell for a profit.
We caught up with Mike at the recent History Con held at Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang, where he showcased his skills as an airbrush artist to eager fans over the weekend.
During the interview session, we asked if his nickname was something that came with the show.
With a smile, Mike said: “Unfortunately, I had it before the show. It obviously came when I invented horns for helmets. My logo actually had the word horny, before it says helmet accessories.
“I knew everyone would remember horny. If you see the word ‘horny’ on a package, you can’t help but remember it.
“Unfortunately, it became a dirty word which it’s not. That’s how I became [known as] Horny Mike.”
Horns have become his trademark, whether they are the ones he sports on his head or in his airbrush creation. Why horns?
“The biggest thing is, why not? You remember those stick-on mohawks on helmets? They were literally suction cups on helmets.
“I was thinking [that] if people would suction cup a Mohawk in their helmet, why wouldn’t they double stick tape horns to their helmet?
“I started going and now I got my products. I patented them and it went right through because nobody thought of doing this before which I find kind of amazing. Even my patent attorney said ‘dude, I never saw a patent go right through’ [????]. I am the only one thinking about this stuff.”
Not that he is a devil worshiper or anything. “No, no, it has nothing to do with that. Unfortunately, I do get the misconception of either ‘dirty, or the devil’ when it has got nothing to do with it. It is great fun helmets to ride with.”
I asked about Roli Szabo, the detailer at Count’s Kustoms, who has a very thick Hungarian accent. Many viewers wonder how it hasn’t thinned out after all his years of living in America. Is Szabo just putting it on?
“I have said the same thing. He has been there for 30-something years and you would think that his accent would have toned down in all those years. But no.”
Mike said Roli still uses his accent to get out of things by saying: “I don’t understand”.
There are a lot of strong personalities in Counting Cars. It is surprising that they have kept things together for seven seasons and counting.
He explained: “Actually, it is kind of easy. We are a lot like brothers actually. I think that is the biggest thing, we have got to be friends.
“It is really Danny who holds us all together. He treats us like a brother and he is kind of like our dad. He makes sure everyone stays in line and no one gets too big in the head.
“He would just say, ‘Don’t think just because you are on TV, you are anybody. Get back to work!’ Danny keeps us all straight.”