TV's Horny Mike mingles with fans at Ribfest motorcycle rally (16 PHOTOS)

If Mike Henry has a favourite NFL team, it’s probably the Minnsota Vikings.

Better known to his legions of Counting Cars fans as Horny Mike, there’s not much the History Channel star won’t adorn his trademark horns to these days.

“It’s not really an infatuation, it’s my business,” he said on Saturday, on his way to a Red River Road motorcycle rally being held in conjunction with the increasingly popular Ribfest, and event drawing tens of thousands of people to Thunder Bay’s downtown north core.

“They’re stick-on horns for helmets. So basically it came down to this – do I want to walk around with a helmet on all the time trying to show people them, or let’s stick them on everything I own. That way I’ve got them on my headband, I’ve literally got them on everything.

“Now it’s just become more fun.”

As the airbrush specialist at Count’s Kustoms in Las Vegas, Mike plays friend and foil to shop owner Danny (Count) Koker, who purchases classic cars and motorcycles and flips them for profit, from tricked-up Corvettes to souped-up Harleys.

Having cameras follow him around has been a blast, Horny Mike said.

“We’re doing really well. We’re in our sixth season and we’re getting ready to start our seventh, which means no breaks for me,” he said, chuckling, finding it hard to believe he’s getting paid to follow his lifelong dream.

“First of all, Danny’s got to be the coolest boss around. And I like to get under my boss’s skin because I’m talented. I figure it like this – I can be talented somewhere else, but I don’t want to leave there. He’s good people, it’s a good place to work for and he gets it. He gets what hot rods are supposed to be.”

As for the inspiration of his work, Horny Mike said it all comes from within.

While he’ll listen to what a client wants, too much input can spoil the design process.

It’s give and take, he said. But mostly give.

“A good airbrush design is done by the artist. When customers come in and tell me too much to do, or they have a very fine line of what you need to follow, that’s usually the worst pain. It’s going to come out bad,” he said.

“If you were good at airbrushing, you’d already know how to do it. Listen to the artist is what I’m saying.”

His fans weren’t disappointed with his visit.

“We met Horny Mike Vegas and he’s awesome,” said Dennis Hoard. “We met a couple of other guys there and we’ve got a Harley entered here today. And we’re big fans.”

Horny Mike will be greeting fans on Saturday and Sunday afternoon from noon until 3 p.m. – though he warned he’ll be taking a break or two to sample a few racks of ribs along the way.

Ribfest continues through Sunday at the Thunder Bay Casino parking lot.