Heavy duty jobs no match for the Barriere stars of ‘Underdog Inc’

Dale Kristensen does dangerous jobs operating heavy machinery, recovering vehicles from backroads and going on urgent hot shot missions in all kinds of weather in the North Thompson Valley.

Standing four-foot-two inches tall, the Barriere resident proves every day that Little People can do tough jobs.

He and his nine-year-old son Cooper Kristensen, who is also a Little Person, are the stars of an inspirational docuseries Underdog Inc that debuted in July.

“Dale is a handyman and mechanic making a living fixing trucks and pulling people out of ditches, he’s a ‘Dale of All Trades,’” said publicist for Underdog Inc, Sharon Warren.

“He has a great relationship with his son and shows him that Little People can do the same jobs as big people. His life and work is very inspiring.”

Dale works on his family farm in Barriere where he owns a skid steer business and his dad runs a backhoe service. The docuseries follows Dale and his son as they work on the farm, help in vehicle recoveries and make friends along the way. It is fast-paced with some trials and errors, and a lot of humour. 

“Growing up on a farm, fixing things on my own is in my blood,” Dale told iNFOnews.ca. “A lot of people come to me with their vehicle problems knowing if I can’t fix it maybe my dad can. If we can’t fix it, we know the people who can.”

Themes emerging from the docuseries include Dale’s role as a father, his positive outlook on life and how he manages heavy duty jobs despite his smaller stature.

“It’s from all the different jobs I’ve had in my life. Being an excavator operator, I’ve seen so much rigging and how to lift so many things,” he said. “I’ve learned many creative ways of lifting, pulling and doing things.”

He welcomed the film opportunity to help get exposure for his son, who wants to be a cameraman when he grows up. The pair share a close bond made clear on the show.

“I’m trying to raise a son that is very proud of himself and teaching him everything I can,” Dale said. “Part of that is to be of good character and treat other people with respect, and having a positive outlook. We have to have that in this world right now.

“It makes my jaw drop what Cooper is able to do on the farm at the age of nine. He is kind, capable and mature. I’m very proud of him.”

Dale’s film career started during the COVID pandemic when he appeared on Backroad Truckers, a Canadian reality TV series that premiered in 2021 on History Canada. It follows a group of truckers, one of which is Dale, who operate on dangerous backroads in northern BC.

He got the gig after being interviewed by the show’s producer Matthew Shewchuk, who is also the producer behind the hit series Rust Valley Restorers, a hit Canadian reality TV series on car restoration based in Tappen in the Shuswap.  

“Matt was blown away when I mentioned what I did for a living, hot shotting in particular and he wanted a show on it. We went up to Yellowknife and drove on the ice roads. The first season of Backroad Truckers was challenging due to pandemic restrictions but we got ‘er done.”

It took two years for the second season to be completed and while waiting to see if a third one was in the works, Dale was approached by the producer to star in Underdog Inc. 

The first season of Underdog has eight episodes and stars Dale and Cooper with a few side characters appearing.

One character that appears often is Gripp, a friend of Dale’s who is a tow truck operator and also has a couple of disabilities.

“We thought he’d be good at rigging and hooking stuff up, and he’s a great person to do recoveries with,” Dale said.

Also making appearances on the show are Mike Hall and Avery Shoaf, the stars of Rust Valley Restorers.

“Mike and Avery are really good friends, we often help each other out working on vehicles,” Dale said. “Mike is just a genuine and warm character who takes an interest in what others are doing. He owns property in Barriere and his shop in Tappen isn’t far away.”

Dale is receiving a lot of fan fare and inspiring comments from viewers of the show.

“I’m stunned at the inspirational comments with some saying they’ve decided to do a life change because they’ve seen what I’m doing,” he said. “I’m pretty humble. I was never in acting classes and never thought I’d be in front of a camera in my life.”

It has been confirmed season two is in the works.

Underdog Inc is produced by Big Time Decent Productions, a Vancouver-based production company, in partnership with AMI, a media company that entertains and empowers Canadians with disabilities through various broadcasting services.

Underdog Inc airs Fridays on AMI-tv. You can stream episodes anytime, for free, on AMI+.