Bobby Bones was ready for new adventures, and he found them in his new series Breaking Bobby Bones. The 41-year-old radio personality travels all across America and meets people with very unique jobs, skills, and abilities. Many of these adventures are actually quite dangerous, including hanging above the Grand Canyon and commercial diving. Bobby told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY that there were no broken bones, but he did get hurt while filming!
“I only really got injured one time. I was hurt a few times,” Bobby said.”I had to chill out for a bit, but I didn’t have to quit. Only once in an episode where I was climbing to the top of trees and trimming the top of trees to keep fires from spreading I had to stop the show because I hurt myself so bad. So no bones [were broken]. I did have a hip get messed up and a groin get messed up. There was a neck situation. No bones broken, luckily, this season. So I consider it a success. I’m just now healing up from the last episode.”
In one episode, he finds out what it takes to be a stuntman for a film and has to takes a big fall for a scene. “I hurt my neck falling back so many times learning how to fall,” Bobby told HollywoodLife. “There’s a pad, but that pad is only okay. If you don’t fall right on the pad, it still hurts really badly. My neck was in really bad shape ever that episode to the point where when it came to shoot the final scene, I was anxious to be burned because that meant I’d already fallen off the house and that falling off the house was really tough.”
Bobby will be the first to tell you that he’s not an “adrenaline junkie.” He revealed that the scariest adventure was “hanging over the Grand Canyon [at] 4000 feet.” He continued, “There’s one part where my leg is shaking, and I can’t control my leg. I hate heights. I mean, it’s the worst to me, and they’re about to put me out over it. There’s a point when you just have to let go and hope that rope holds you 4000 feet above the earth. My leg and my foot were uncontrollably moving. I feel it again right now even talking about it. I hated it. But I did it. I hope that people watching the show… maybe there’s something in their life they’re scared of, but you got to do it. If you want things to change, you’ve got to tackle change. Change is not going to fall down in front of you. I’m proud of myself for that episode, but I would never do it again. It’s hard for me to even watch it.”
Breaking Bobby Bones is more than an adventure series, it’s about everyday local heroes. The American Idol in-hour mentor gets to know these people and hears their moving and tear-jerking stories.
“If anything, it was just cemented more into me, just how similar we all are,” Bobby told HollywoodLife about what he learned filming the show. “Regardless of what part of the country you’re from, what political affiliation you are… There are people trying to divide us. Politics tries to divide us. That’s the name of the game. They want to divide us, and then use us for what they’re trying to do. By going out and being with everyone in so many places, of all different backgrounds, all different political views, once you’re with people, that seems to go away. We’re not being divided. We’re trying to help each other out. Sure, we’re slightly not the same. But mostly, we’re the same, trying to get the same things, trying to accomplish the same goals. We’re all trying to be loved. We’re trying to help others. We’re trying. With that being said, what was really reinforced to me was the fact that we are in this together. As Americans, as humans, we’re in this thing together. It’s just trying not to let those dividers divide us any more than they already are if not less than. I left the show really having a new sense of humanity. I left the show after filming all these episodes believing more so that you have to be uncomfortable to grow. I felt like I grew a little bit as far as what I was scared of. I’m still scared of it. I’m still scared of heights. I’m still scared of cold. But I know I can get through it. As physically beat up as I was after five months or six months of shooting the show, I’m very proud of it.” Breaking Bobby Bones will air Mondays at 10 p.m. on National Geographic.