Stuntman rolling film

When it comes to extreme entertainment, Monroe’s Mike “Mr Dizzy” Buse is a game-changer, performing one-of-a-kind stunts never before accomplished by other stuntmen.

The professional thrill-seeker travels frequently throughout the year, performing stunts across the country, and was one of the stars of the 2013 reality television show American Daredevils.

He is currently in production on a new series called Daredevils and Disasters, in which he and a carefully crafted team of stunt professionals embark on a mission to discover today’s greatest daredevils. Through meticulous analysis of feats achieved by the world’s most daring stunt performers, he and his team will determine if they are daredevils or disasters.

The team consists of Buse’s son, Wylee “Dizzy 2.0” Lochmann-Buse, Bob “Short Bus Bob” Wilcox, Corey “The Headache” Howell, Steve “Cowgirl” Getchell and Arron “Blue” Irvin.

Buse released a teaser for the show in late June.

“We’re currently in negotiations with several different networks that have shown interest, but we haven’t decided which one we’re going to go with,” he said.

A world-renowned daredevil, Buse performs stunts several times a year at his home track, Evergreen Speedway, where the 47-year-old former racecar driver eventually figured out he liked crashing cars better than he liked racing them. He watched a stunt driver jump some cars one night at the speedway, and immediately knew he wanted to try it for himself.

He’s been crashing into stuff ever since.

This year’s Independence Day celebration at the speedway featured a never-before-performed stunt by Buse called a bus domino, which involved him catapulting off two ramps in a 31-foot limousine, straight into an upended bus. Bus dominoes have been performed in cars before, said Buse, so he decided to take things up a notch by doing it in a limousine.

“No one’s ever done it with a limo,” he said. “I’m all about doing what’s never been done before.”

Aside from the bus domino, the charismatic Monroe native spent the day as the track announcer, congratulating winners and entertaining the crowd with random trivia contests and prizes. 

Buse arranged the stunt with help from his team, Sam’s Towing and All About Auto Wrecking, which provided the “catch cars” that were positioned at the base of the bus. Catch cars are a crucial part of any jumping stunt, because they cushion the fall for the driver. The stunt was performed on the back side of the speedway, which meant that after making a loop, Buse had to cross the track at a diagonal and approach the ramps after coming around a corner.

“It really hampered my ability to get up higher onto that bus. I wanted to hit that bus about three-quarters of the way up — I hit it about midrange,” Buse said. “I just didn’t have the speed that I wanted.”

The ramps are narrow, at just two-feet wide, so his driving had to be precise. When he takes those ramps in a bus, he said, there is a mere three inches of wiggle room on either side of the tire.

The stunt incorporated a vivid pyrotechnic display set off with help from Owen ter Horst, son of Dashing Dutchman’s Deli owner Ernst ter Horst. Closely supervised by a pyrotechnic team, Owen was permitted to hit the “go” button, setting off the explosion the instant Buse hit the ramps. Fireworks and explosions are a mainstay for Buse, who uses them to enhance his shows. The limo sailed off the ramps and struck the bus about halfway up, knocking it over and coming to rest on the ground below.

The force from the limo caused the roof of the bus to kiss its floor, Buse said, which made the impact as he landed even more jarring. The bus teetered over backward and the limo hit the ground — hard.  

“I saw a little bit of stars when I landed,” Buse said.

Buse’s rise to stardom in the stunt world closely mimicked the bus domino — he hit the ramps just right and soared full speed ahead into the world of performing. Once he began performing stunts professionally, he discovered he had an inherent knack for understanding the intricacies of how a stunt must be accomplished while maintaining a level of safety that enables him to continue doing what he loves — thrilling and exciting his fans. 

“There’s no better feeling than getting out of the car and having all those people screaming,” Buse said. “When I get out and stick my arms up and everybody goes crazy — that’s what I live for.”

American Daredevils coined Buse “The Natural,” for his unique abilities as a professional stuntman. Somehow, he said, he is able to visually gauge a stunt and navigate its successful execution before ever even attempting it in a vehicle.

Safety is always his number one priority, he said, to the point where he and his stunt team even engineered their own custom jump pods, which help keep him stabilized during stunts.  

He holds numerous world records, occasionally coming back to beat his old ones. His first world record, set in 2008, was for the longest distance jumped in a limousine — a total of 107.6 feet. He surpassed that during his Crash Factory Live series at the speedway in 2012, with a 127.6-foot jump that has yet to be topped.

He set an auto domino world record in 2010, by plowing straight into a row of upended vehicles positioned like dominos, knocking over 13 cars. The record has since been beat by a stunt driver in Finland who knocked over 15 cars, but has yet to be beat in the United States. Buse now looks forward to setting a new world record, and has his sights set on a 20-car domino. 

His other two world records involved complex spiral jumps that have never been successfully accomplished by any other stunt driver.   

“I’ve spiraled a bus and a limo,” Buse said. “I’m the only one in the world to be able to do that.”

It takes a total of three ramps raised 18-feet to achieve a school bus spiral, with at least 30 catch cars. His speed is crucial — too little, and he may not be able to complete the spiral. Too much, and he overshoots the catch cars and smashes into the unforgiving pavement. The trick of twisting a bus while in mid-air was something he was able to visualize after learning that other drivers had tried and failed.

“If somebody says they can’t do it, I’m the guy that says ‘I can do that,’” Buse said. “I just have to figure it out.”

Stunt performing is always intense, Buse said, because of its sheer unpredictability. He’s had things go wrong while en route to a jump, including flat tires and blown motors, and been faced with the split-second decision of whether to follow through.

“You have to make that choice — are you going to put on a show or are you going to back out of it?” Buse said. “I put on a show. I have to — it’s what they paid for. It’s what they came to see.”

In addition to performing dynamic feats of vehicular acrobatics at racetracks across the country with Mr Dizzy Motorsports, Buse serves as the president of the Monroe Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and operates local heating and air conditioning business Genesis Refrigeration & HVAC. He is a strong advocate for small businesses and a supporter of local nonprofit organizations.

“Mike’s not just a successful businessperson,” said Monroe Mayor Geoffrey Thomas. “Mike is someone who gives so much to our community through the chamber, sponsorships, mentoring other business people and just plain old community service.”

He is known for his kindness and willingness to help those in need.

Evergreen Speedway operator Traci Hobbs recalled a time when she and her husband, Doug, had a freezer destroyed by vandalism. It was during the fair, and the freezer was packed with 12-days’ worth of ice cream, hamburgers and hotdogs. After discovering the damage, they called Buse, hoping to rely on his refrigeration expertise. Buse was all the way up in Bellingham when they called, she said.     

“He had just gotten to a place where they were going to camp for the weekend, and he immediately turned around and drove down and helped us save most of our stuff,” Hobbs said. “He dropped everything and drove back two hours to fix our freezer and save the day.” She added, “He’ll always help out a friend. He’s a good guy.”

Buse is a strong supporter of the faith community. He recently set himself on fire with the help of his stunt team at Monroe’s Rock Church, to bring life to a sermon given by lead pastor Jeff Knight. 

Being a positive role model is really what it’s all about, Buse said. The most rewarding and meaningful part of his career, he said, is the opportunity to use his talents as a stuntman to help bring people to Jesus. A Rock Church parishioner, Buse cheerfully admits his son tricked him into attending a Christmas Eve church service around six years ago — the experience was transformational.

“It changed my life,” Buse said. “I decided that I didn’t want to miss another day of that.”  

For more information about Buse, visit mrdizzy.com. To view the new Daredevils or Disasters teaser, visit https://vimeo.com/172487903. Buse’s next stunt at Evergreen Speedway takes place Sunday, Sept. 4.