Meet this dreadlocked, hippie capitalist, rust collector from Tappen

They arrive as rust buckets and leave as gleaming, fully restored classic cars.

That's the premise of the Tappen-shot hit reality TV show Rust Valley Restorers, which will have its season 5 premiere tonight at 9 pm on the History Channel.

That concept alone is good TV, especially for classic car junkies.

But, add in a quirky cast of smart-mouthed restoration characters and you have a phenomenon.

And that's exactly what Rust Valley Restorers has become.

NowMedia had the chance to chat with Mike Hall, star of the show and owner of Rust Bros Restoration in Tappen, as he promoted tonight's season 5 premiere.

"We have fans all over the world," said Hall.

"The show has really put Tappen on the map and Tappen has become known as Rust Valley because of the show."

Tappen is the blink-and-you'll-miss-it small town 14 kilometres north of Salmon Arm.

It's also the unlikely home of an international celebrity.

"Thanks to the show also being distributed by Netflix worldwide, everybody knows me and the show," said Hall.

"They even dub the show in all the different languages, so viewers in Mexico think I speak flawless Spanish."

Plus, Hall simply stands out as an eccentric entrepreneur, hippie capitalist, rust collector, restorer and TV personality.

Hall is 67, 6-foot-4-inches tall, sports grey-blond, three-foot-long dreadlocks and speaks in a booming, croaky voice.

Oh ya, he also has a second job as a slope stabilizer and explosives expert, which means he hangs off cliffs and blows up mountain sides for highways and railways to get through.

In fact, reality TV producers first sniffed around Hall for a possible show about rock scaling and explosives.

But that kind of show has too high a liability.

So, producers pivoted when they saw Hall also had hundreds of rust buckets waiting to be restored to their former glory and Rust Valley Restorers was born.

"People from around the world will fly into Vancouver and drive the five hours to Rust Bros just to see the place and meet the guy that's in the show," he said incredulously.

"And at car shows, people will stand in line for hours to meet me. It's crazy."

To make the show work, Hall also has to be a helluva classic car collector and restorer.

He's been collecting since he was a teenager and has amassed hundreds of classic cars at his Rust Bros Restoration yard and shop in Tappen.

They all start as dilapidated and decaying, but Mike has the eye and the expertise, along with his gang of fellow restorers, including his best friend Avery Shoaf and his son, Connor Hall, to turn them into drivable art.

In the first two episodes this season, the Rust cast rebuilds a 1971 International Scout, a 1955 Ford Thunderbird convertible, a 1974 Austin Mini in British Racing Green and a 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner convertible in Curious Yellow with black stripes.

Hall is also expanding his reach with a new YouTube channel -- Rust Bros (Official) -- where the various videos have already been viewed millions of times.