Mike Crowder (born June 21, 1962) is an American businessman and entrepreneur who focuses on the acquisition and development of metallurgical coal properties, and formerly a character on ''COAL'', the documentary/ realitytelevision series produced by
Original Productions
Original Productions, LLC is a television production company based in Burbank, California. It was founded in 1999 by Thom Beers.Spike TV
Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles.
The channel was o ...
.
Early life
Michael Ray Crowder was born in Bristol, Tennessee, the second of four children to Oneida and Allen Crowder.
Mike was raised in Bristol, but in 1973 his family moved to
New Smyrna Beach, Florida
New Smyrna Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, United States, located on the central east coast of the state, with the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Its population is 30,142 in 2020 by the United States Census Bureau.
The downtown section of ...
. He attended
New Smyrna Beach High School
New Smyrna Beach High School (NSBHS) is a public high school located in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, United States.
About
The school mascot is the Barracuda, commonly referred to as the "Cuda."
The high school opened in 1963 on what is now calle ...
, where he played
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
. After football practice and during the weekends, Mike would work for his father at a tireretread and retail store. Mike graduated high school in 1980, and went to
Ottawa University
Ottawa University (OU) is a private Baptist university with its main campus in Ottawa, Kansas, a second residential campus in Surprise, Arizona, and adult campuses in the Kansas City, Phoenix and Milwaukee metropolitan areas. It was founded in ...
in
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
During his time at ETSU and shortly after, Mike worked as an EMT at the Bristol Life Saving Crew and a
Sheriff
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
's Deputy at the Sullivan County Sheriff's Department.
After his stint as a Sheriff's Deputy, Mike went on to build a successful computer consulting company with international clients. He began investing in real estate, and was either a full-time or part-time owner of five privately held companies.
While he was
CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
of Cobalt Coal LTD., Mike was approached by
Original Productions
Original Productions, LLC is a television production company based in Burbank, California. It was founded in 1999 by Thom Beers.documentary/ realitytelevision series on Cobalt's coal mine located in McDowell County, West Virginia. Mike originally thought he was getting a prank call. Eventually, Mike decided to allow Original Productions access to the mine. The result was the television show ''COAL'', whose first season aired on
Spike TV
Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles.
The channel was o ...
on March 23, 2011.
Personal life
Mike married Caroline Jeter on December 20, 1986. The couple has three sons: Michael (the eldest), Matthew, and Mack.