‘The Pitbull’ Rife on ‘Heirs to the Dare’

CINDY WOOD/independent feature writer

Truth or Dare, Henry Rife? Never mind … we already know the answer.

Henry “The Pitbull” Rife, a 1986 graduate of Van Wert High School, is undoubtedly Van Wert County’s most daring daredevil and, soon enough, the entire nation will be witness to his need for speed.

Rife is a featured daredevil in the upcoming Discovery Channel’s “Heirs to the Dare,” an hour-long show depicting the dangerous and daring lives of three very different daredevils who are all chasing the same dream.

It’s a dream that has been with Rife since he was a doe-eyed 5-year-old completely captivated by ABC’s “Wide World of Sports”.

“We only had three networks then and for an entire month, they would advertise Evil Knievel jumps, and I swear it was like murder for me,” Rife said. I would just drive people absolutely crazy talking about it and counting down the days … it was almost more exciting to me than Christmas. I mean, there was all this red, white and blue and a really cool motorcycle and I just knew that was what I wanted to do.”

And for 40 years, he’s been doing exactly that. He can oftentimes be found performing stunt shows at local festivals, as well as regular events at the Van-Del Drive-In. While his dream might not yet be fully realized, he’s well on his way to daredevil superstardom and he has already held the world record for longest ATV jump.

He’s hoping the upcoming Discovery Channel show garners enough ratings that it will be turned into a series. For that to happen, though, he needs the local community’s support in helping to drive viewership.

“We’re hoping to keep at least 60 percent of the ‘Fast and Loud’ audience,” Rife said, adding that the show “Fast and Loud” will precede “Heirs to the Dare,” which begins at 9 p.m. Monday, March 10. “If the show rates pretty good, we’ll more than likely be talking about a series. The production company told me that even if Discovery decides not to go for a series, they are shopping it to other networks.”

It’s all a little surreal for Rife, who is hoping to get enough exposure from the show to finally park his big rig, give up his trucking job, and be a full-time daredevil. But that’s not exactly how it went after he performed in front of a national audience on CBS’s “The David Letterman Show.”

“That was shown all over the world and got so much attention and I remember thinking that it was going to go off like a bomb,” Rife said, adding disappointedly, “it was more like a firecracker.”

Rife spent weeks preparing for the jump after being invited by the production crew to perform a segment for the show. “They asked if I could jump a certain number of taxis in a certain amount of space, and I said ‘yep, sure I can.’ Well then I started wondering if I could really make it.”

After a phone call and vote of encouragement from Robbie Knievel, whom Rife calls a personal friend, he began practicing in a parking lot. “I taped it off and tried it in a parking lot and promptly broke my arm,” Rife said with a laugh, adding “and that was just three weeks before I had to go on ‘Letterman’.”

Still, he was determined to make it happen. After several more attempts, Rife finally nailed the jump and the film was sent to Letterman’s producers.

Rife and his crew chief Russ Belt made their way to New York for The Pitbull’s national debut. Despite a number of difficulties, including a broken arm and his quad being smashed up in a jump practice, the jump went off as planned. “We set the ramps up and everything was ready to go and we did a practice run and I broke my arm again,” Rife said. “So the biggest jump of my life at that time wasn’t going to happen. I heard the producers in my ear bud telling them to take the cameras down. I taped a wrench to my arm to keep it secure and told them they can film or not film, but I was going through with the jump.”

Fortunately, Rife had taken a second quad with him and successfully landed the jump over numerous New York City taxicabs. Prior to the jump, Rife received some encouraging words from Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx. “He hugged me and told me he wished he could stand right there on the street and watch me jump,” Rife said, adding that Fox said he was amazed at how calm Rife appeared.

“When I started out, I would get this knot in my stomach and just be absolutely terrified,” Rife said, adding “but I’ve just done this so much now that I feel none of it. Once I put the leathers on, I just get excited for the challenge. I know it’s time to go make the donuts.”

Although he’s calm, cool and collected, the danger element is still very real and Rife has had his share of mishaps. Put aside the broken toes, broken leg, ripped-up nose, broken wrists and broken ribs, and Rife is good to go. “I’ve been hurt a lot, but I’m always relaxed before a jump. A couple of years ago I crashed indoors in Ft. Wayne and it beat me up bad, but it would have been a lot worse had I not been so relaxed. You just have to trust yourself that you know what you’re doing.”

Apparently, he knows what he’s doing, and producers of “Heirs to the Dare” thought so too. Rife was contacted by producers in November of 2012 and after a Skype session during which he was interviewed and judged on his performance in front of a camera, he was asked to participate in the show in January 2013. Soon after, crews arrived in Van Wert to begin filming footage for the show. Rife also traveled to New York and Marion, Ind. where he was filmed.

Rife is especially proud of one scene in the show, and added that viewers will definitely appreciate seeing his mother, Janet, on camera. “First of all, let me say my mom makes Carol Brady look like nothing,” he said, adding “she is just such a quiet, sweet and gentle person, and I really wanted everyone to see what an awesome mom I have.”

Sitting around his mother’s kitchen table, producers filmed a number of scenes of the two bantering back and forth. “She didn’t really want to be in the show and honestly, she had no idea the cameras were rolling,” Rife said, adding, “she was just beating herself up and wringing her hands because she was so nervous. So we told her we were going to practice. Forty minutes later, they had what they needed and I slapped my hand on the table and said ‘Guess what, Mom, you’re going to be a star!’”

As the days dwindle down, Rife is looking forward to watching the show at a preview party at Fricker’s that evening. Leading up to the show, Rife will make an appearance at Lee Kinstle’s, which has consistently been a strong supporter of the hometown hero. Rife is urging community members to tune in the night of the show, or set the DVR to record it. “I hope people just check it out. It’s a great show. I’m kind of pinching myself these days, but we had a great time filming and the crew was so good to work with. I’ve got so much respect for those guys.”

For more information about Rife’s pre-show appearances, or preview party, call Lee Kinstle’s at 419.238.5902.