The Tom Green Farm (2026) s01e08 Episode Script
Hay Day
1
(piano music)
- Welcome to The Tom Green Farm.
We got a great show today,
thanks for watching.
BizNasty2point0, Biz Nasty I met
when I was performing
standup comedy down
in the United States of America.
A hockey player,
full of energy, in the NHL.
It's pretty cool that
Paul Bissonnette,
who's a real funny guy,
and I knew it right from
the beginning when I met him,
went on to become one of
the biggest podcasters
in sports podcasting.
He's with Barstool Sports now,
and their show Spittin' Chiclets
is one of the predominant
hockey podcasts in the world,
and it was great to have him
pop by the farm
and throw some hay bales
around with us
so we had everything
ready for a good winter.
I am going to try to make
a hockey rink
on the pond this winter.
This has not happened yet.
Amber Marshall popped by
the show, you know,
all my country friends,
all my horse friends
I've got horse friends now.
All they say to me is, man,
I wish you'd told me when
Amber Marshall was coming up.
Amber Marshall,
from the show Heartland,
the longest running television
show in Canadian history,
now in its 19th season.
She's spent her life
on this show,
and it was fun getting
to spend the day
with Amber Marshall, learn about
her, her career, her show.
You never know who's gonna
pop by The Tom Green Farm.
I'm Tom Green, and this
is The Tom Green Farm.
That's how I'm going to say that
from now on.
Gonna say that like that
from now on, okay, Mom?
(Mary Jane): Okay, sounds good.
- Okay, my mom's over there.
She's a producer on the show.
Right, Mom?
- Right.
- Yeah.
(rooster crowing)
(piano music)
This is The Tom Green Farm
It's not
the Green Tom farm ♪
This is my favourite farm ♪
(horse neighs)
Because it is my farm ♪
If this was your farm ♪
You'd probably like it more
than I did ♪
That's just because
it was your farm ♪
But it's not your farm
It's the Tom Green Farm ♪
It's The Tom Green Farm ♪
(birds chirping)
(static)
(guitar music)
Ryan, I was thinking I was
gonna try to saddle up Alora
- Okay.
- Who just got back
from training, and I believe
is safe to ride.
- You believe?
- Not 100% sure, but I believe
she may be safe to ride.
- You haven't tried it yet?
- I have not tried it yet, no.
(Tom): This is my friend
Ryan Conboy,
who comes from a family
with a long history
of making maple syrup.
His family's company has been
producing maple syrup
for generations.
And every spring,
they head into
the sugarbush to tap trees
and boil sap
the traditional way.
(Ryan): Seeing the sap flow
through the lines,
but we're watching for these
air bubbles, and ideally,
what you could have
absolutely no air bubbles,
but we do have some, and they're
moving slow like this,
then we know it's a nice
tight system.
There's no air
leaks on the system.
(Tom): There's something really
special about the whole process.
The steam coming out
of the sugar shack.
The smell of the fire.
The syrup slowly boiling down.
It feels like a real connection
with old Canada.
Ryan's also been helping me
learn a lot about farm life
since moving back home.
Today, he's helping me get up on
Alora, our horse,
who hasn't been ridden
in a while.
So, we're taking it nice
and slow.
You grew up with cows, though?
- I grew up with cows on a farm,
but I never had any experiences
with horses at all, so
- You ever saddle up a cow?
- I've never saddled one, no,
but I've ridden one.
- You have ridden a cow?
- I tried to, yeah.
- That's cool, I was
wondering about that.
I actually rode a cow
into a grocery store
in New Jersey once.
- Actually, I think I saw
that episode.
- It was kind of
spontaneous thing.
- How'd that turn out?
- It turned out good, actually.
- Yeah? Did you milk it
there, too?
- I did milk it as well, yeah.
- You can train them, like,
for 4-H in growing up, right?
Kids all the time,
they go through 4-H,
you don't ride them, but you put
them in a halter,
and you train them to lead them
around the ring, and
- So if I had a cow
that I trained to ride,
I could ride a cow
just like a horse,
and it'd be like
my cow that I ride,
and I'd be like the guy that
rides the cow all the time?
- I think if you practise
with it and got it calm,
there'd be no reason
you couldn't.
- That might even be cooler
than riding a horse, right?
- You can just ride it
bareback, don't put
a saddle on it.
- Could I borrow
one of your cows?
(cheerful guitar music)
(Tom): How's everyone doing?
(man): Good, thanks.
- Biz Nasty, ladies
and gentlemen.
- Hey, pleasure to meet
you boys.
Hey, how you doing?
- Great.
- We're gonna throw
some hay today?
- Sling some hay?
(chuckling)
(Paul): Tom's putting us
to work?
- Oh yeah.
- Cheap labour.
- Oh yeah, absolutely,
I'll just watch.
(chuckling)
(Paul): Are you guys all big
hockey guys?
- Yes.
- Oh, awesome
you guys play at all?
- Ringette.
- Oh yeah?
- No.
(laughter)
- No, no ringette.
(laughing)
- That's okay, no judgment here.
- No, no.
- I might have been better
at that than I was hockey
for Christ's sake, yeah.
(chuckling)
Yeah, that's awesome.
- Well, there's pond hockey.
- Oh, right here?
- Yeah, yeah.
(Tom): Yeah. We're gonna try
to get the pond opened up
this year for that, so
- He says he likes having
non-hockey guys so he feels like
he's actually pretty decent.
- Yeah, yeah, exactly, exactly.
So we gotta get some pros
out here, so I can suck.
(laughter)
(engine rumbling)
Come on.
(Tom): This was sort of a second
hay-baling day here at the farm.
We had moved all the hay earlier
in the summer under a tarp
because we didn't have room in
the barn because we were using
the barn for a podcast studio.
Yeah, that's a normal thing
to do when you have a farm.
Instead we put it under a tarp,
and then we had to reload
some of the hay into
the underside of the barn,
the part of the barn that we
did use.
Wanted to fill that up
for winter.
- Working on a farm is kinda
like being on a hockey team,
isn't it?
- Oh yeah.
- You have your teammates.
(chuckling)
You gotta work together.
- Yeah.
- I don't know if there's much
scrapping going on, though.
- There can be.
(chuckling): Yeah.
This'll put hair
on your nuts.
(laughing)
- Exactly.
- There we go.
(gentle guitar music)
Did you know you were gonna
get into the NHL early?
- No.
- Was there a feeling that
you were gonna get into
the NHL at a certain point?
How's that work?
- I would say before contact
became a thing, I wasn't sure.
My goal was, at that point,
to just become good enough
to maybe get like
a Canadian scholarship,
and help my parents out,
where they wouldn't have to pay
for my schooling, and you know,
then I could get a job
out of there,
no debt, right,
that was the goal.
And that's also what my parents
instilled in me,
like use this as a tool
to get an education.
My mother was
a college professor.
Like, they put me in skating
lessons, which helped too.
As I became a better skater,
it helped me progress to get up
to the single-A
and triple-A levels.
I wouldn't say I was
naturally gifted
as far as the most skilled
person, but I think that my
work ethic and my habits
directed me into that
into that situation,
and then when I really thought
that the NHL could be
a possibility was
the year before my draft year
to the OHL.
And sure enough, I was drafted
in the second round
to the North Bay Centennials.
- Yeah, so you're 16 in the OHL.
Does that mean you're in the OHL
for three years, then?
- I was for four years.
- Four years, okay.
- I played as an underage
and then three more years,
and you're drafted
as a 17-year-old.
- Yeah.
- And I got to play
for Team Ontario my first year
as a 16-year-old in the OHL.
Like after that season was over,
if you got beat out
in the first two rounds,
you could represent Canada again
at the Worlds.
(clears throat)
And the Worlds was like
everybody, other countries,
the best of the best.
I played against
Alexander Ovechkin
when he was
when he was that age.
- Right.
- In Yaroslavl, Russia,
I walk out to the ice, the whole
place just full of people
with the army coats on
and those Russian hats.
- Yeah, yeah.
- They're there to watch
Alexander Ovechkin.
- Sure, sure.
- They beat us 6-3.
- And how do you find out you're
getting drafted in the NHL.
- At the time, I was projected
to go in the second round
- Yeah.
- And normally,
the first three rounds were
on the first day.
So, some of the players,
if you know you're gonna go
in the first round, you show up,
you wear a suit.
I was kind of middle-second
round, where I'm like, okay,
well, worst case,
I'll drop to the third,
no big deal. Well, first round
goes by, second round goes by,
third round goes by,
I don't get drafted on the first
day.
- Uh-huh, uh-huh.
- And it was
it was pretty I cried,
I was disappointed, right?
- Uh-huh, uh-huh.
- I felt that I'd put so much
time and energy, and it's
ingrained in you,
you're like, yes,
I believe what's the scouts
are saying and what
the people judging you are,
I'm gonna be going in the
second, maybe third round.
And you didn't, so I was very
let down,
but I was also grateful for it
because it
it kinda makes you be like,
hey, man,
nothing's gonna be
handed to you.
I was fortunately
drafted the next round,
in the fourth round, the first
round of the second day.
- It was Pheonix?
- No, so I was actually drafted
by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
- Okay, yeah.
- And yeah, you go down and
you meet all the management
- Yeah.
- And you're part of
their organization.
- How long do you
play for them for?
- I played 15 games with them,
but I when I was drafted
there, you know,
you play two more years
of junior,
and then you sign your deal
- Right, okay.
- At 19.
- I see.
- And then you have
a three-year entry level.
- Right.
- So, my whole entry-level
contract, I spent in either
the ECHL,
like the lowest professional
league, and then the AHL
In Wheeling, West Virginia,
and
- West Virginia, I don't think
of hockey
when I think of West Virginia.
- No.
- Do they know what hockey
is down there?
- They do.
- They do--
- Well, just because it's
so close to Pittsburgh.
Actually, when I was 18, when I
went to training camp,
I almost made the team
as an 18-year-old,
as a D-man, I had a great camp.
And Mario Lemieux was in
the training camp,
'cause he was coming back
that year.
- Yeah.
- So, not only did I get to play
those 15 games and be up with
Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin,
Marc-André Fleury, but I got to
do a training camp,
where Mario Lemieux
was on the ice,
and I played an exhibition game
with him, so it was
I mean, that's
- Yeah.
- If not for health reasons,
like, him and Wayne
are neck and neck, right?
- Yeah, absolutely, yeah.
- I'm so grateful for the time
I got to spend there,
and the people that I got
to meet.
- Were you kind of like
a little bit of an enforcer?
- I was more of a player
when I was growing up,
but when you get to a certain
level, you realize,
these guys are world-class
and so talented,
and as good as you thought
that you could get,
it ain't happening
The writing was on the wall.
Like, I wasn't good,
it's like,
what else are you
gonna do to separate yourself
from the pack?
- Yeah.
- And that was something
when the first game,
I walked in, I'll never forget,
I was in the AHL,
and my name was fourth line,
left-wing, and I was like, yep.
And then I started asking guys
to fight.
I got 30 to 32 fights
that year.
And the year after that,
fought 32
And that's not even
pre-season, so
It kinda happened quick,
but if I wouldn't have done
that, I wouldn't have gotten
to make the NHL for as long
as I did,
or even maybe not even
make it at all.
And I love the positive
reinforcement, especially
those the first couple times,
knowing that that was
my new role, where,
if a teammate would get hit,
or somebody would take
a run at him,
and you would go stick up for
a teammate,
it was just a great
feeling personally,
and then you would get in
the locker room and like,
there was this love amongst
the group for you,
where you were like, wow,
I feel like I'm contributing
and I'm really
a part of this, and
- Debatably the best part
of the game for a lot of people?
- Yes.
- Rock 'em, sock'em.
- You were on our pod,
and you played hockey growing
up, I think you sent us
the picture of when you had
the neck brace, neck guard
- Oh yeah.
(chuckling)
The neck guard, yeah.
- I imagine you weren't
a scrapper.
- No, no, I was not
a scrapper, and I was very,
very skinny. Like, I was same
height as I am now,
but 50 pounds lighter.
145 pounds, 6'3".
But I was playing house league,
so there was no contact, right?
It wasn't until like
maybe I turned 17,
was my first year I played
competitive hockey,
and there was body contact
and checking and stuff,
and that's when I
that was my last year of hockey.
(laughs)
That was my last year of hockey.
Got my arm broken.
- No!
- Yeah.
- Aw.
(gentle guitar music)
- This is Aria's mom.
A little bit more well trained
in some ways on the halter,
but whoa. Maybe a little bit
more wild.
She's seven years old.
- You have ridden her, though?
- I have ridden her a little
bit, but not a lot.
And so I think the idea is
I have to
I have to ride her more often
- Whoa.
- or she'll forget
that she knows how to do that.
Yeah, I'm just gonna saddle her
up, we're gonna sit on her
for a second.
- Okay. What kind of saddle
is that?
- It's a Billy Cook
Western saddle.
- A Western saddle?
- Yeah.
(grunts)
- What's going on?
- You're standing on the strap.
- Okay. Who's the new guy?
There you go. All right.
- That wasn't so bad.
- There you go.
- Ideally, you would get out and
like ride every day with her,
type thing, or?
- Well, ideally,
that she'll be a good companion
riding horse to come along
with Fanny.
So when I ride Fanny,
someone can ride along with us.
We're gonna get her good before
I ask anyone to ride her.
- Okay.
- Again.
- Put on a helmet?
- Long story.
- And a vest, and away you go.
Is there a story?
- I don't wanna get into that.
- Okay.
- It's a fun show,
it's a family show.
Okay, all right, here we go.
(metal clinking)
I used to watch Fraggle Rock
with my family.
- I probably should know what
that is, but I don't.
- It's just like the spin-off
of The Muppet Show.
- Yeah, okay,
so I do know what that is.
- Yeah, it was big in the 80s.
- Not the Care Bears.
- No. I never watched that shit.
- A little different from the
Care Bears?
- I fuckin' hate the Care Bears.
(laughing)
- Come on! Do the Care Bear
countdown!
- No, Care Bear's for losers.
(laughing)
Oh, you watched it?
- I used to watch it.
- I thought it was like a girl's
show or something.
- Guess I can blame parents,
I used to watch it all the time.
- Stay home from school
and watch Care Bears.
- I assumed Care Bears
was for girls,
I didn't know. You actually did,
and you enjoyed it?
- Yeah.
- We're not even gonna use
this part.
- Okay.
- It's got nothing to do with
what we're talking about today.
- Perfect.
- We'll probably use this part.
Okay, so
- Okay.
(laughing)
(cheerful guitar music)
- You're a pretty girl.
(donkey snorts)
Oh, hey, you're eating
my jacket!
What you doing?
- Gimme one sec.
- Fuck!
(low engine rumble)
- Oh, this is a nice one.
Woo!
- Nice. Rate the bale.
- Woo-hoo!
Oh, this one's a fucking tenner.
This one's sloppy.
- Go throw it over the fence.
- I'm gonna go give them
the sloppy one. I know how to do
the sloppy. Watch out!
- All right.
- Look at that!
- And this is what
it's all about,
this is what they eat
all winter, you know?
It's pretty much
their main food,
I'm gonna give them vitamins
and stuff too, but
- You think they get bored
of the taste?
- They don't seem to. They don't
seem to. They seem to
they seem to run for it
every time, like a bag of chips.
(chickens clucking)
(Paul): This is the tightest
one I've seen.
(Tom): Yep. I believe that.
(Paul chuckles)
(laughing)
You fucker.
(chuckling)
You wanna be known for your
tight bales.
- Yes.
- You don't want word spreading
that you got loose bales.
- No.
- That's like a farmer faux-pas.
- Oh, this hay's been handled
a few times,
so it's not as
tight as it once looked.
(Tom chuckles)
- The 20-minute montage of loose
bale jokes will make the
(chuckling)
What year did you start
Biz Nasty and BizNasty2point0
on social media?
- I was very anti-Twitter
because just Charles Barkley
was on TV, saying like, oh,
that Twitter's nonsense,
like you know? And I'm like,
okay, well, if Charles
is saying it's stupid,
I'm not gonna sign up for it.
And after my second or third
year in Pheonix,
I was like, oh,
I'll just try this out,
and I signed on as originally
BizNasty, and then
- Yeah.
- I was saying crazy shit,
and like, definitely things
I wouldn't say now,
and I got myself in a little bit
of trouble with
the original one, and then my
agent called me,
and I was joking about the
Ilya Kovalchuk contract
- Okay.
- And I like said a few things
on there, and somebody must have
forwarded them,
and he goes, you need to get off
of Twitter,
nothing good can
come of this.
And so Rich Nairn, and I was
speaking about him earlier,
he was the one who first gave me
my job out of playing,
and he called and he's like,
hey, we've had a few of our fans
email and basically say,
hey, why did you kick him off
social media,
we enjoy following him,
and he's part of the team,
and like, we like getting
that type of perspective
from a player. And they're like,
we never kicked him off.
So then, I explained to him what
had happened, he's like, okay,
we're gonna get you to re-sign
as the BizNasty2point0,
but we're gonna monitor you.
(laughing)
- Yeah.
- Well, I must have got called
into the office GM's office
probably five, six times
over the next 18 months.
Luckily, in a way,
as silly as it all is,
like I was getting my
early reps.
I became more comfortable
in front of the camera.
Growing a social media
following is important, right?
I think I was the first guy
in the NHL
to reach a million
Twitter followers.
Guys, I was playing two minutes
a game if I was even playing
- Right.
- So it was just very bizarre
times. I was getting
opportunities with Sportsnet.
Hey, during the All-Star break,
obviously you're not playing
in the All-Star Game,
let's go to Vegas
(Tom laughs)
And do a couple silly videos
and push content.
- Now you're on Hockey Night
in Canada, yeah?
- I do a little bit of
Hockey Night,
little bit of Amazon.
I like to just go around
and do different things,
but yeah.
- Okay, it's Amazon
you're on
- But last year, I was doing
Hockey Night in Canada,
I normally do about three,
four a year.
Such an honour, like when
I first did it, and obviously
still do it two, three times
a year, whenever I get in.
Ron MacLean all the OGs
and the people
were Hockey Night in Canada,
I mean
it's such a Canadian tradition.
- I know. I don't understand
why they can't just keep
the opening theme song,
like why can't they get
that back?
I was talking to
George Stroumboulopoulos
about it, he used to be the host
of Hockey Night in Canada
- I know George, yeah.
- And I was saying that maybe,
you know, well, we need to start
a campaign,
as we just get the Government
of Canada, right
- Yeah.
- To just buy it.
(Paul chuckles)
And then just
sign away the copyright rights
and make it
a copyright-free song.
- You should run on
that principle.
- Yeah.
- Would you ever
go into politics?
- No. No. No, no, no.
Well, first of all, 'cause I
would lose,
so then that would be
(laughing)
What's the point of?
You still live in the U.S.?
- I do, yeah.
- It's different down there.
But you like it in the U.S.?
- So, I would say,
in Scottsdale, it's not
you don't feel the chaos.
It's pretty right down
the middle, it's a very peaceful
place to live, and
- That happens a lot when
an athlete goes to a city
to play,
they don't leave the
city when they retire.
- One, it's an incredible place
to live weather-wise,
especially during
the winter, and you also just,
you know the grid.
It's hard moving somewhere,
you're like,
where's everything at?
- So you basically stayed there
'cause you don't get lost.
(chuckling)
- Yeah. Pretty much.
- The Spittin' Chiclets podcast
has become like,
you know, one of the
biggest hockey podcasts,
biggest sports podcasts.
- I think it's one of
the biggest hockey,
and yeah, it's up there as far
as one of the biggest sports,
and I just was very lucky
to fall into that world
and be associated with Barstool
and everything they've been able
to kind of set up,
infrastructure-wise for us,
so, it's been a heck of a run.
I'm just grateful that I'm able
to talk to guys,
and kinda still feel like I'm
in the locker room
when I'm in the podcast.
We had Eddie Shack on.
- Okay, yeah.
- That's
- He must be getting
up there, yeah?
- He passed, unfortunately.
- Well, he's definitely
getting up there, then.
- Yeah.
(chuckling)
- He's way up there.
How old was he when he did
the show, then?
- He was still going, I think
he was in his 70s
and we ended up having
to delete, like, seven minutes,
just 'cause of how, like,
he's old school, right?
- Right, right.
- Like, it'd be like listening
to your grandpa, right?
- Yeah.
- And it's just like, ah,
you can't say those words.
- Or like Don Cherry
or something, you know?
Now, what do you think of that?
Was it a misinterpreted joke?
I mean, it was about
Remembrance Day,
not wearing a poppy
- Not wearing a poppy.
- Stuff like that, so
- He's so passionate
about the military
and the people who kind of
laid the foundation for this
country, and I think that
he felt that maybe the respect
wasn't being shown
the way that it should have.
- Yeah.
- And I definitely don't think
he should have been off-air,
I think that maybe an internal
conversation and whatever,
and it was kind of just all
of a sudden, like,
wasn't there anymore.
- And Spittin' Chiclets,
of course, refers to when
you get your teeth
knocked out--
- Yeah.
- In a fight, you spit
your teeth out,
your teeth look like Chiclets.
- Exactly. And it also it's
kind of like a double entendre,
you know, you get in
a donnybrook on the ice,
you get your tooth knocked in,
and all of a sudden,
you spit it out, but yet,
when you're in the locker room,
and you're joshing, and
everybody's kind of slinging
the slinging the biscuit,
so to speak, and
you know, you can call
that spittin' Chiclets.
- You've had teeth knocked out?
- I've had teeth knocked out.
- Can you like pull
your teeth out?
- No, when I met you,
I could do that.
- I remember that.
- Yeah.
- Was it a fight? Was it a puck?
- It was Matt Greene. I think it
was already dead
already, though,
and I think that that,
just a lack of blood supply
to it,
where Matt Greene from
the LA Kings, it was in Phoenix,
he just got up, and he punched
me with his glove on.
- Mm-hmm.
- And I was like, ah!
And they didn't he didn't
even get a penalty.
So I go over to the ref,
I'm like,
I'm bleeding a little bit and I
got my tooth in my hand,
I said, you saw what happened,
you have to call that!
And he's like, I didn't see
nothing.
- Tough game.
- Tough game, buddy,
I got like, my last season,
I tore both my ACLs.
Typically what you do
anyway with ACL
is you pre-hab it,
which means you let the swelling
get down and you continue to
activate the muscles around it,
so it helps the healing process.
And he says, why don't we
pre-hab, you put a brace on
and see if you can like get
through to the final end
of the season and playoffs
and play on it,
I said, absolutely,
it's my last year,
I'm willing to give
that a shot.
So pre-habbed it for the next
two, two-and-a-half months,
and then in my first game back,
it was probably like three
or four games
before playoffs in San Jose,
it's the second period, I go for
a puck battle
and the left one
- Yeah.
- Whoa, whoa, whoa. No way.
I go to the bench
and I said Mearsy, I said,
I think I just tore my left ACL.
- Yeah.
- At that point, I knew
I was never going
to play another game.
- Man.
- That was my last game.
And I went back out, and I
fought Zack Stortini
(chuckling)
- So you went back out with
a torn ACL?
- I finished the game.
- Okay.
- I played like probably three,
four more shifts,
like if you watch the shifts,
I probably fall two, three times
in each shift
- Mm-hmm.
- And I was like Bambi, but, you
know, I just figured, you know,
why not make myself useful,
take one of their players
off the ice, and you know
- Huh.
- Also, it's kinda like, you
know, Zack, he was the guy
who I hit, who tore it, and it's
like, eh, whatever.
I ended up getting surgery
on my left, and I never ended up
fixing the one that I pre-habbed
that I tore first.
- Yeah.
- And it was also kind of like
a poetic ending to I didn't
think that I was gonna
actually end up making the NHL,
like it was always a dream
of mine and a goal of mine,
but once I got switched from
D to forward,
I'm like, oh god, like I've
never even played this position,
really, for an extended period
of time, so I was just
at my arc and how it all
gone from childhood
to where I was at that point
that it was just
yeah, it was
it was emotional,
and it was now time
for the next chapter.
(cheerful guitar music)
(Tom): All right, everybody,
here we go.
- Saddle's on a little loose.
- Whoa. Back up, back up.
Back up. Back up.
Oh yeah. One little ride around,
let's go, come on. Yeah.
- How many times in total
do you think you've ridden her?
- I think this is the third time
I've ridden her.
She's a little small for me,
I'm used to riding Fanny, so
Let's go, up here.
(clicks teeth)
Let's go, come on. That's right.
Over here, let's go this way.
Oh yeah!
- Better than riding your cow
through the supermarket.
- Yeah.
- Prior to moving here,
did you have any
- No. No. Two years ago,
I had no idea, anything about
this stuff.
It's been a quick transition
from the Hollywood Hills
to Ontario horse wrangler.
- I remember like the first time
we were talking about
you getting animals and building
fences and doing the barn
- Yeah.
- Just seemed like such
a crazy idea
- Right.
- at the time, to be honest.
You've done it.
Like, it's amazing.
- Thank you so much
for all the help.
- It's been great.
It's been a lot of fun,
hanging out.
- It's been an incredible time,
I wouldn't be able to do
it without you guys.
- Well, it's given me lots
of different opportunities
that I never, you know, never
would have expected to have,
so it's been fun!
(gentle guitar music)
- Say, hi to my friend.
(making chicken noises)
(chuckling)
(chicken clucks)
(indistinct chatter)
(hay rustling)
- Here you go, bud.
- Is that true?
- Yeah.
- If you feel like you're in
an emergency situation,
like you're gonna go through
the barn--
- Just jump off?
(engine starts)
- Okay, so
(engine rumbling)
- Hey, get out of the way.
(hay rustling)
- Oh, fuck.
Chop wood, carry water.
Great job, boys.
(farmhand): Hey, 13 minutes.
(Tom): Yeah, that's great,
(Paul): That's how long
it took--?
(farmhand): That's the
fastest we've put them in yet,
with the biggest load.
(Paul): No, shit.
Child labour, from Tom.
(chuckling)
- Child labour.
- Yeah, you should file
a complaint.
(laughter)
Get your college paid for.
- Yeah.
(photographer): There you go.
- Awesome, thank you.
- Hey, thank you guys. I know
it's a great day, boys.
Great meeting all you guys.
I actually brought this jersey,
this is the last
team I played for,
and I actually was given
the white and the dark,
and I just wanted to bring Tom
a gift
- Aw, thanks, man.
- And congratulate you on
everything, the farm, obviously
getting married congrats--
- Thank you.
- A lot going on
in your life, buddy,
and you've always been
a great friend to me,
so I appreciate you having me,
and there you go, buddy,
a little memento for your
pond hockey
when we're back in February.
- Absolutely! Oh my god,
that is going to be good!
- Yeah. There you go, buddy.
- Biz Nasty. Thank you, man.
(chuckling)
So you call it a jersey,
now, not a sweater?
- Jersey.
- Yeah?
- Yeah, jersey.
- It used to be sweater
back in the day.
- They got the tie-downs
on there.
- Yeah.
- So like, for fighting. I think
they got one on there, yeah.
(man): Where's the best place to
grab it when you're tilting?
- Usually, like, I don't know,
different guys like different
spots. Like, I liked here,
'cause I liked to jab to kinda
keep my distance
and like throw 'em off.
- So how would you do that,
how would you punch me in the
face if you were gonna do that?
- I like to grab here
that way, I can kind of like
- Okay, not that hard,
not that hard.
- Like, kind of jab you
like that, right?
I just kind of learned how
to do it for more
of like a defensive standpoint.
Some guys, they'll just like
they grab right here.
And then you're just--
- Do it, do it, do it.
Don't punch, but like
- Well, no, then they'll just
kind of exchange, right?
And they'll just go back
and forth, back and forth.
- Right, right.
- I wasn't a big psycho.
(man): Ah, you scored
some goals, so
- I had seven NHL goals.
- Nice.
- Yep.
(man): Drink to that.
- First one, first one
thank you
First one, I was battling with
a guy out of the corner,
I wasn't even looking
at the puck,
and I was skating to the net,
and it hit my skate
and went in, on Carey Price.
- Nice.
- Yeah, that was kind of nice.
Yeah.
- Nice.
- Yeah, it was awesome.
(gentle guitar music)
- You're, you know, a huge,
you know, internet sensation.
Do you get more hockey fans
in Canada, in the city,
than in the U.S.? Or is it
- I would say I definitely
get recognized
more in Canada now.
- Yeah.
- Obviously, 'cause of
the association with Barstool
and the clips that they post.
- Even though there's more
people watching hockey,
probably, in total
in the U.S., maybe
- 350 to 400 million people
in the States,
and half of our demographic,
listeners-wise, is American.
I'm from a small town,
Welland, Ontario,
50,000 people. As much
as I love the gig,
and it's fun to like, you know,
see your fans
and stuff like that,
I tend to really like
my peace now.
You know, you met me at a time
where I was having a lot of fun,
and I was very social
- Mm-hmm.
- As I've aged, you know,
I'm still social
but I don't drink anymore,
I don't like going to bars.
- Yeah. Are people aware
of this,
that you don't drink anymore?
- Yeah, yeah, I would just,
I think that your fans,
or at least the ones you want,
would appreciate some
form of growth.
- Yeah.
- I don't think it has to be,
like, hey, I'm a changed man,
I'm you know,
born-again Christian here,
ah! Like, you know,
listen to me preach
It's just like, hey,
oh, I noticed I wasn't
as productive,
and I didn't sleep as well,
and my skin didn't look as good,
and I wasn't as sharp
for television.
The concussions definitely play
a factor the older I'm getting,
too, where maybe
I'm a little bit, like
like a little foggy up top.
- Did you get a few concussions
playing in the NHL?
I got more playing in the AHL.
When I was just fighting
against like, you know,
30, 35 times a year, there.
- So you'd get the concussions
in the fights?
Or in getting checked?
- Both, both. I bet you,
probably from the start
of my career to now, like,
you're probably thinking
I would say 50.
- Yeah.
- It was weird, though.
I came up in a time
where you would sustain one,
you would go back to the bench,
and you would shake it off, and
then you wouldn't miss a shift.
Nowadays, they have spotters,
and they'll take you out
of the game, they'll probably
give you a couple weeks to get
the swelling down.
They have baseline tests.
Towards the end of my career,
that was a thing,
and even a little bit
in the NHL,
as far as the cognitive,
but I wasn't gonna miss time
when I was in the NHL
for a concussion.
- There hasn't been
a Canadian hockey team
to win the Stanley Cup in a long
time, since what, 94?
- 93, the Montreal Canadiens.
- Which, to me, is like
'cause when I was a kid,
it was all Canadian teams always
won the Stanley Cup every year
for the first, you know,
10, 12 years of my life,
it was always I think the
New York Islanders won
a couple times, maybe.
Is there something that
changed in the rules
or in the way the league's
set up that makes it
harder for Canadian teams
to compete now?
- There's a couple factors
that I consider,
I think that playing
in a Canadian market,
with all the focus and attention
the players get,
you're gonna say, well,
there used to be 50 reporters
in a locker room in Maple Leaf
Gardens when they were,
you know, back 50 years ago
And that's true, but the players
didn't necessarily
have to read the newspaper.
Everybody's on their phones,
right, they're on these
social media apps,
so it's a little bit like
too much in
Canada. Everything's a story
- Oh, wow. So you're
saying psychologically,
it's more difficult playing
on a Canadian team,
'cause you're
- Yes.
- being dragged through
the media?
- Hey, some people love it,
and some people thrive in it,
and they need that and they love
playing in Canada.
I would say that good American
players tend to probably
be like, no, I wanna go play in
my home country, and I'm paying,
in most cases or some cases,
less tax or way less tax.
The way that your family can
live in peace
and not be bothered
- Right.
- because you're, you know,
you're a Toronto Maple Leaf,
everybody knows who you are.
- Which is an unbelievable
thing, I'd never even thought
of that before.
I mean, Canadians probably don't
even realize that,
that their enthusiasm for
the game
is actually making
their team lose.
- It's also, 93, how many
Canadian teams were there
compared to American teams?
- Right, sure.
- So now, all of a sudden,
there's 32 teams
in the league,
only seven Canadian,
so way more American teams
can win it, so
- Right, right.
- There's a lot of factors
working against Canada
to bring a Stanley Cup home.
- Thanks for coming to the farm,
by the way!
- Hey, I'm very happy for you,
not only
with the farm and what
you've been able
to set up here, but recently
getting married,
it seems like you're in
a great place, buddy.
- Thanks, Paul.
- You're an OG
in a lot of categories that,
you know, maybe your demographic
and the people that listen
to you know
what you've accomplished
and the path
that you've set up for others,
but the younger generation
I don't think knows that.
- Yeah. You're an OG now too,
man. We're both OGs, now.
- Once you hit 40?
- Yeah. We're both a couple
of OGs now.
- Fucking right, man,
I'll take that from Tom Green.
Thank you.
- BizNasty2point0,
thank you so much.
- I appreciate you, bud.
- Paul Bissonnette.
Appreciate it.
So it's pretty crazy,
as beautiful as it seems out
here on this lovely
November morning,
well, it's sunset
(laughing)
They say there's gonna be
15 centimetres of snow,
which is seven, eight inches
of snow, you know?
(donkey braying)
Tomorrow morning,
we could wake up and it could
be our first snow,
it's always fun to see
your first snow every year.
- Are you gonna run?
- She loves it,
she gets excited.
- Are you gonna run
through the snow?
(gentle guitar music)
- The snow! Look at that!
(rooster crowing)
Wow.
Hello, good morning. Hello.
(rummaging)
Whoa.
We got our first snowfall today.
It is beautiful out there.
And Amber Marshall is coming.
So what are we gonna do?
Well, I guess we're gonna go
for a ride.
(chickens chirping)
- How was Vietnam?
- Wonderful, it was amazing.
- Good to see you.
(Tom): How are you, Amber?
- I'm so good!
- Thanks for coming.
- Thank you for having
me out here!
- Thanks very much.
Thank you for coming.
Thank you, thank you.
Look who we got here.
- Hi! Aren't you handsome, who's
this?
- Now wait, who is this, Dave?
- This is Jaeger.
- Jaeger, that's right,
this is Jaeger. Figured
you could ride Jaeger today,
and I'm gonna take Fanny.
And you've seen Fanny before--
- Yes, I have, yeah.
- That's so cool.
- So beautiful. And Giant!
- That's so cool.
- Yeah, she's a half
Percheron horse
- Okay. You said that very well.
- And half mammoth donkey.
- Okay.
- Percheron, yes.
Je parle Français un petit peu.
- Ah.
- Parce que je habitais dans
la ville d'Ottawa.
- Wow. You sound
very cultured right now.
- I lived in Ottawa.
Ottawa's pretty French.
(chuckling)
But, um
but I have to saddle
Fanny up.
- Let's go meet her!
- She's a good girl, too,
she's 11 years old
12 years old now?
12 years old now.
- You can tell she's a
very gentle soul.
- Yes.
- She's just kind.
- Isn't she neat?
- Yeah. Beautiful eyes.
- Hello.
- You're so nice!
And you, I am sorry.
Did I forget you?
(chuckling)
- So you live in Alberta.
- I do.
- But you didn't grow up
in Alberta, or?
- No, so I'm from Ontario.
- Yeah.
- And born and raised in London,
and I always wanted to live
in the country, out west
I didn't really know Alberta
was my place until I got there.
- Yeah. But you rode horses
before you were
on Heartland, right?
- Yeah, so I had horses
from five on.
- Uh-huh.
- And we leased ponies,
my parents leased ponies for me
when I was a kid,
and then I got my first
horse when I was 12, so
I was around horses most of my
life, and then, I think that's
probably why I was given
the role of Amy Fleming,
the horse whisperer
- Yeah.
- 'cause I had some of that
experience before, and then,
soon as I got out to Alberta,
I just, I fell in love.
I fell in love with the people,
the culture, the landscape,
being able to get on my horse
and just ride.
Sort of like what you have
out here, just ride forever.
(cheerful guitar music)
(Tom): Ready to go for a little
ride around the farm here?
(Amber): I would love to.
- Awesome, how's Jaeger feeling?
- Jaeger's great! Jaeger's
ready to go.
- Jaegerbomb.
- Yep.
- All right, cool, well
let's go link up
with our horse cam, and I'll
show you around.
(Tom): Amanda designed
the kitchen.
(Amber): I love it.
That's why it's so beautiful.
- I got married. We're married.
- Congratulations!
- Just got married like
four weeks ago.
- Mm, but we're in a house
that was built in 1857?
- 1857, yeah.
- That's remarkable.
- And you just noticed that
the old wood stove
is a Heartland stove.
- It is.
- Just like your show.
- It's true.
- Your show Heartland.
- I thought you placed
that there just for me today.
- We did.
(Amber laughs)
We brought that stove in
just for you.
- Thank you. Thank you.
- As a sort of a tip of
the hat to your
- It's the little things
that count.
- Is this the longest
running show in Canada?
- One of them.
- 'Cause they always talked
about The Beachcombers being
the longest running show.
- Yeah, we've surpassed them.
- You beat
The Beachcombers, huh?
- Mm-hmm. Yeah, we're neck
and neck with Murdoch Mysteries,
who are also on their
19th season, but our air date
was before them.
- Ah.
- So that's how we get away
with the language.
We technically started
before they did.
- Yeah, that is amazing.
How was the ride? Did you
- It was beautiful.
- It was a nice day, wasn't it?
- I love snow. I'm Canadian,
I've always loved snow.
But there's something
very peaceful and magical
about the first snowfall.
And this is no just ordinary
first snowfall,
it was a little unexpected,
but it's also,
there's a lot of snow out there.
- As we talked about
on our ride,
I'm new to the equine universe.
- Mm-hmm.
- So I learned a lot on
this ride. Every time I get
to go ride with somebody who's,
you know, an equestrian
who knows what they're doing,
I ask a lot of questions.
Did I ask too many questions?
- You asked great questions.
- Okay.
- I love when someone's still
continuing to learn
and willing to learn,
'cause you can't teach
someone who knows everything.
- Mm-hmm.
- And a lot of time,
the person who says they
know everything, doesn't.
Your questions were very unique
because I could tell
that you understood
the partnership
between you and Fanny.
- Mm-hmm.
- And you understood that
there was a few weaknesses
- Mm-hmm.
- And how do you
build upon that and create
a better partnership?
- You know, I still kinda can't
believe that
I'm actually doing it.
- Mm-hmm.
- Constantly, the thoughts
going through my head are like,
what the heck is going on,
how did this happen?
(laughing)
- But it is, you trust
that animal,
and you trust that
partnership and that friendship.
And you're not new to Fanny,
she's not new to you,
but that also comes with
some problems.
Because she understands you,
and you're starting
to understand her.
- Mm-hmm.
- And she knows exactly
what you're asking but might
not want to comply
because she understands
that it's not always
followed through.
And that was one thing
we talked about today,
and I'm continually learning
with everyone that I talk to
and that I ride with,
and that includes people
such as yourselves,
because I'll see things,
and I'll say, do I do that?
- Hmm.
- And sometimes,
it's not just about riding
with the best,
and I'm not saying you're
the worst,
by any means
- No, no.
- Sometimes it's about riding--
- You saw like 150 things
to not do today.
(laughing)
- But you understand them when
you see them,
and I think that's
what's important.
That's what I love about
the dynamic of you and Fanny,
she's very smart, and she knows
what she wants to do.
- Mm-hmm.
- And sometimes she says,
really, is this what
we're doing?
I think we should do this.
- Mm-hmm.
- And I think that building
that relationship,
and understanding her in your
wants and your asks
are really gonna help
your partnership.
(gentle guitar music)
(engine rumbling)
(clanging)
- It's kind of slippery, we'll
get your sled out
(engine rumbling)
(loud scraping)
- When you started the
show Heartland,
you rode horses already.
- Yeah. It really helped.
I can tell you that,
because I started riding when
I was five years old,
and I've been around horses
most of my life,
and so to be on a set with,
you know, I was number one
with a whole lot of lines
to memorize, and lot going on,
I was in almost every scene
If I had been fearful of horses,
or even just new to them,
it would've been quite
a challenge.
So here I was in an
unfamiliar place,
I'm from Ontario, I'd moved out
to Alberta for the show
didn't know anyone.
I was young and inexperienced,
and having horses on set
and as my co-stars set the tone.
- Mm-hmm.
- And it really allowed me
just to relax into my role
because I did feel comfortable.
I feel comfortable around
animals probably moreso
than humans, and that was
the case back then,
that's still the case today.
It's a very different atmosphere
on the Heartland set than some
other films and television sets,
because you have to be quiet,
you have to be calm,
or the horses are not going
to feel comfortable,
and they're not going to work.
- Yeah.
- Everybody comes in
with a very
level-headed approach
because you have to.
- Do you think that if you had
not done the show Heartland,
would you have been as
involved with horses,
or did that sort of
accentuate your, you know--
- Yeah.
- what you were already doing
when you were young. Did that
change your life? In a way?
- Oh, 100 %. I think about
what my life
would have looked like
without Heartland,
and I had just been accepted
into Ryerson's
radio and television program
- Oh, cool. Yeah, my mother
took journalism at Ryerson.
- There you go.
- Yeah.
- At the time, I was also
working in a vet clinic,
so I was with animals every day.
I thought I was gonna be
a veterinarian for a while,
didn't quite have the grades,
thought, you know,
how can I incorporate animals
into my life and my work
and still do things I love?
And as all this is going through
my head,
Heartland presents itself.
And I audition, and I get
the role, and I thought,
what could get better than this?
I'm working with animals
and acting.
- Mm-hmm.
- The two things that I love
the most are coming together.
But again, it was a pilot,
and I thought, mm,
I'm probably never gonna see
these people again.
And then we were renewed
for season one, and I thought,
this is really cool, I get to do
this for another year.
But never in a million years,
did I think that
we would be continuing
this series 19 years later.
- You've started working with
your actual horse on the show
- Yeah.
- To sub in for the original
horse that played the character
that your horse is playing now.
- So in the very beginning
of Heartland,
which was 19 years ago,
the main character horse
was Spartan.
- Mm-hmm.
- And he was played by
a four-year-old Quarter Horse
at the time, named Stormy.
And that's very young,
for a four-year-old horse
is very young to be on set.
Usually we wait until they're
a little bit more mature,
eight or nine years old,
they've settled into things,
and Stormy was just an old soul.
He was a wonderful companion
for many, many years.
He was my co-star, up until
season 14.
And he started to show signs
of arthritis.
I started to notice that he was
becoming unhappy being there.
And so, I went to our producers
and our team, and I said,
I think we need to retire
Stormy. And everyone said,
but we can't kill Spartan,
'cause that's the character.
- Mm-hmm.
- So I said, okay, we're not
ready to kill Spartan yet
- Yeah, I didn't mean kill!
I didn't mean kill it.
- Yeah, and that's okay, yeah,
we're not gonna kill him.
But can we sub in a new horse?
That is happy to be there?
- It looks similar.
- It looks the same.
- But people notice,
though, that there's
has anyone noticed?
- That are a few, yes.
- The ears a little different.
- Oh yeah. Yeah.
The shape. Every horse
is a little bit different.
- Mm-hmm.
- So at the time,
my horse Hawk, who looked
very similar to Stormy,
he's just quiet and easygoing
and I already had a relationship
with him, I knew he was
a good boy, and he would just be
good on set for me. So I put his
name in the hat and they said,
yeah, okay. Stormy is still
alive, by the way.
- Mm-hmm, yeah.
- He's still fine, but
- Retired.
- He's retired. And he's living
out his leisurely days.
(gentle guitar music)
(scraping)
- Oh yeah!
(sticks clacking)
- Yeah!
(gentle guitar music)
- You know, it was interesting
talking about the way the camera
stuff works. Maybe this is
a little me geeking out
on the camera stuff.
(chuckles)
But like, you know, how
what are some of the tricks
you do to film horse riding?
- So you talked a little bit
about the ATV
or the side-by-side going
with the gimbal on it
- Yeah.
- We utilize that all the time.
So we have a specific
side-by-side,
where it's fully equipped
with camera gear,
and everybody can ride on it
and ride along those shots
where there might be some
characters running fast
through a field that
it wouldn't be possible
to get that otherwise. We also
use drones.
So, we talked a little bit about
how we have to specifically
pick horses that are comfortable
with drones.
You have to know
the horses that are around,
you have to know which ones
are gonna be okay
with certain things.
We also use GoPros.
- Mm-hmm, yeah.
- And so, we'll position GoPros
under a jump or behind a tree
or somewhere where that horse
is gonna run by,
and we'll get something cool
as it's going by.
- I feel like Fanny,
when we did a little bit of,
you know, this
follow-the-gimbal-truck
shooting this summer
- Mm-hmm.
- The first time we
did it, she was like,
what's that thing on the truck?
And the first couple times,
she was a little
hesitant about it,
but then all of a sudden,
to me it seemed like she kinda
liked it, and started wanting
to do it,
and would start to run
beside the truck almost
without me even telling her.
- Horses love a job.
- Yeah.
- And when there's a clear
direction of what you're asking,
and she understands it,
she becomes
proud of herself
when she completes it.
- Even just when we were,
sort of, trying to, you know,
learn to what was I,
trying to canter or something?
- Mm-hmm.
- Sort of towards the end of it,
she seemed to kind of
loop around--
- Yeah, she understood
- She oh, we're practising
going fast now.
- Mm-hmm.
- So when people watch
Heartland,
do they know that it's filmed
in Canada
when they're watching
around the world?
- I think so.
- Yeah?
- Yeah, and that's one
thing I'm really proud of,
is that we have created
a Canadian show
that is based in Canada,
because there's lots of shows
that are filmed in Canada that
we pretend are Smalltown, USA.
- Right, yeah.
- And we are very
adamant about having that
Canadian background,
and we don't try to hide it.
- Why does being west correlate
with riding horses?
Is it because it's more wide
open out there?
There's a history of it,
people had to take horses
to get around, or?
- That's probably part of it.
It's also very large cattle
country.
- Right.
- Now, Ontario is
there's a tonne of cows here,
but they're mostly dairy cattle.
- Mm-hmm.
- And in smaller parcels,
so to speak. In Alberta,
it's very vast.
Saskatchewan, Alberta
you're dealing with cows
over thousands of acres, and so,
for years and generations,
you needed horses in order
to keep your cows.
And a lot of the places where
the cows graze
is in the forestry
and government land,
and you can't access it by ATV
or motorized vehicle.
So you have to have a horse
to gather your cows.
It's physically impossible
to do it any other way.
- So, and you live on
a farm now?
- Mm-hmm, it's nice, I have
plenty of space for my animals.
I've got horses and cows and
chickens and ducks and peacocks
and dogs and cats and just
a little bit of everything.
- Wow. It's kinda neat getting
up in the morning
and having to go out
and feed the chickens.
- Mm-hmm.
- And, you know, feed the horses
and check their water,
and get the hay to them,
and it just gives you sort of
a sense of purpose.
- Yeah. I'm glad you said that,
because it is something
that I think people have
to experience to understand
the reward of that
and how that feels.
It's a nice way of living.
And I think for anyone who
has lived in a city
for a long period of time,
you just become almost numb
to that way of life.
You just, you have your routine
and you go day in, day out,
this is what we do, but when you
have, like you said, purpose,
when you have a reason to leave
your house and to spend time
out with your animals there's
something that happens to you,
and I don't know if you felt it,
but it's this shift of
I always feel like, I feel very
balanced and very centred
when I'm out with my animals.
- Mm-hmm. So what happens
at like is there anything,
like, do you know
where the story's gonna go?
- I don't.
And the biggest thing
about Heartland,
and I think a lot of
people don't realize
when they're watching the show,
because they fall in love
with the family,
they fall in love with
the characters,
but we are working actors
on a television show.
We're not a real family.
And so, for certain characters
that wanna go and pursue
other things
- Right.
- We have to find ways
to either kill them off,
send them off to Texas
whatever it might be,
we have to be creative
but also honour the fans
who believe in these
characters and don't want
these characters to leave.
But overall, the writers try to
arc the seasons so that we know
where we're going
the year after and the year
after that,
so that there is a general
roadmap, a plan,
I guess you could say.
- That's amazing.
Thank you so much, Amber.
- My pleasure.
It was a lot of fun!
- Yes. So cool,
we got to
it was great that we got to go
for a ride, and I learned a lot,
and I look forward to watching
another 20 years of Heartland.
(laughs)
- Season 40, here we come!
- Yeah, thank you.
- Thank you.
- Cheers.
(gentle guitar music)
- If you're to binge-watch
20 years of a show
(chuckling)
How long does that take?
- Depends how dedicated you are.
- How many hours of shows
- There's 275 hours, plus,
there's a little more than that.
- Wow.
- So that's a lot of time.
- So you could just watch it
straight through for
- You could.
- I'm not good at math,
but 275 let's just say--
- You're hurting my head.
- 240
(laughing)
- Basically.
- But you'd be watching
for a long time.
What a show.
What a day. Thanks for watching!
You're watching
The Tom Green Farm.
I'm Tom Green.
(dog barking)
This is The Tom Green Farm.
(gentle guitar music)
(piano music)
- Welcome to The Tom Green Farm.
We got a great show today,
thanks for watching.
BizNasty2point0, Biz Nasty I met
when I was performing
standup comedy down
in the United States of America.
A hockey player,
full of energy, in the NHL.
It's pretty cool that
Paul Bissonnette,
who's a real funny guy,
and I knew it right from
the beginning when I met him,
went on to become one of
the biggest podcasters
in sports podcasting.
He's with Barstool Sports now,
and their show Spittin' Chiclets
is one of the predominant
hockey podcasts in the world,
and it was great to have him
pop by the farm
and throw some hay bales
around with us
so we had everything
ready for a good winter.
I am going to try to make
a hockey rink
on the pond this winter.
This has not happened yet.
Amber Marshall popped by
the show, you know,
all my country friends,
all my horse friends
I've got horse friends now.
All they say to me is, man,
I wish you'd told me when
Amber Marshall was coming up.
Amber Marshall,
from the show Heartland,
the longest running television
show in Canadian history,
now in its 19th season.
She's spent her life
on this show,
and it was fun getting
to spend the day
with Amber Marshall, learn about
her, her career, her show.
You never know who's gonna
pop by The Tom Green Farm.
I'm Tom Green, and this
is The Tom Green Farm.
That's how I'm going to say that
from now on.
Gonna say that like that
from now on, okay, Mom?
(Mary Jane): Okay, sounds good.
- Okay, my mom's over there.
She's a producer on the show.
Right, Mom?
- Right.
- Yeah.
(rooster crowing)
(piano music)
This is The Tom Green Farm
It's not
the Green Tom farm ♪
This is my favourite farm ♪
(horse neighs)
Because it is my farm ♪
If this was your farm ♪
You'd probably like it more
than I did ♪
That's just because
it was your farm ♪
But it's not your farm
It's the Tom Green Farm ♪
It's The Tom Green Farm ♪
(birds chirping)
(static)
(guitar music)
Ryan, I was thinking I was
gonna try to saddle up Alora
- Okay.
- Who just got back
from training, and I believe
is safe to ride.
- You believe?
- Not 100% sure, but I believe
she may be safe to ride.
- You haven't tried it yet?
- I have not tried it yet, no.
(Tom): This is my friend
Ryan Conboy,
who comes from a family
with a long history
of making maple syrup.
His family's company has been
producing maple syrup
for generations.
And every spring,
they head into
the sugarbush to tap trees
and boil sap
the traditional way.
(Ryan): Seeing the sap flow
through the lines,
but we're watching for these
air bubbles, and ideally,
what you could have
absolutely no air bubbles,
but we do have some, and they're
moving slow like this,
then we know it's a nice
tight system.
There's no air
leaks on the system.
(Tom): There's something really
special about the whole process.
The steam coming out
of the sugar shack.
The smell of the fire.
The syrup slowly boiling down.
It feels like a real connection
with old Canada.
Ryan's also been helping me
learn a lot about farm life
since moving back home.
Today, he's helping me get up on
Alora, our horse,
who hasn't been ridden
in a while.
So, we're taking it nice
and slow.
You grew up with cows, though?
- I grew up with cows on a farm,
but I never had any experiences
with horses at all, so
- You ever saddle up a cow?
- I've never saddled one, no,
but I've ridden one.
- You have ridden a cow?
- I tried to, yeah.
- That's cool, I was
wondering about that.
I actually rode a cow
into a grocery store
in New Jersey once.
- Actually, I think I saw
that episode.
- It was kind of
spontaneous thing.
- How'd that turn out?
- It turned out good, actually.
- Yeah? Did you milk it
there, too?
- I did milk it as well, yeah.
- You can train them, like,
for 4-H in growing up, right?
Kids all the time,
they go through 4-H,
you don't ride them, but you put
them in a halter,
and you train them to lead them
around the ring, and
- So if I had a cow
that I trained to ride,
I could ride a cow
just like a horse,
and it'd be like
my cow that I ride,
and I'd be like the guy that
rides the cow all the time?
- I think if you practise
with it and got it calm,
there'd be no reason
you couldn't.
- That might even be cooler
than riding a horse, right?
- You can just ride it
bareback, don't put
a saddle on it.
- Could I borrow
one of your cows?
(cheerful guitar music)
(Tom): How's everyone doing?
(man): Good, thanks.
- Biz Nasty, ladies
and gentlemen.
- Hey, pleasure to meet
you boys.
Hey, how you doing?
- Great.
- We're gonna throw
some hay today?
- Sling some hay?
(chuckling)
(Paul): Tom's putting us
to work?
- Oh yeah.
- Cheap labour.
- Oh yeah, absolutely,
I'll just watch.
(chuckling)
(Paul): Are you guys all big
hockey guys?
- Yes.
- Oh, awesome
you guys play at all?
- Ringette.
- Oh yeah?
- No.
(laughter)
- No, no ringette.
(laughing)
- That's okay, no judgment here.
- No, no.
- I might have been better
at that than I was hockey
for Christ's sake, yeah.
(chuckling)
Yeah, that's awesome.
- Well, there's pond hockey.
- Oh, right here?
- Yeah, yeah.
(Tom): Yeah. We're gonna try
to get the pond opened up
this year for that, so
- He says he likes having
non-hockey guys so he feels like
he's actually pretty decent.
- Yeah, yeah, exactly, exactly.
So we gotta get some pros
out here, so I can suck.
(laughter)
(engine rumbling)
Come on.
(Tom): This was sort of a second
hay-baling day here at the farm.
We had moved all the hay earlier
in the summer under a tarp
because we didn't have room in
the barn because we were using
the barn for a podcast studio.
Yeah, that's a normal thing
to do when you have a farm.
Instead we put it under a tarp,
and then we had to reload
some of the hay into
the underside of the barn,
the part of the barn that we
did use.
Wanted to fill that up
for winter.
- Working on a farm is kinda
like being on a hockey team,
isn't it?
- Oh yeah.
- You have your teammates.
(chuckling)
You gotta work together.
- Yeah.
- I don't know if there's much
scrapping going on, though.
- There can be.
(chuckling): Yeah.
This'll put hair
on your nuts.
(laughing)
- Exactly.
- There we go.
(gentle guitar music)
Did you know you were gonna
get into the NHL early?
- No.
- Was there a feeling that
you were gonna get into
the NHL at a certain point?
How's that work?
- I would say before contact
became a thing, I wasn't sure.
My goal was, at that point,
to just become good enough
to maybe get like
a Canadian scholarship,
and help my parents out,
where they wouldn't have to pay
for my schooling, and you know,
then I could get a job
out of there,
no debt, right,
that was the goal.
And that's also what my parents
instilled in me,
like use this as a tool
to get an education.
My mother was
a college professor.
Like, they put me in skating
lessons, which helped too.
As I became a better skater,
it helped me progress to get up
to the single-A
and triple-A levels.
I wouldn't say I was
naturally gifted
as far as the most skilled
person, but I think that my
work ethic and my habits
directed me into that
into that situation,
and then when I really thought
that the NHL could be
a possibility was
the year before my draft year
to the OHL.
And sure enough, I was drafted
in the second round
to the North Bay Centennials.
- Yeah, so you're 16 in the OHL.
Does that mean you're in the OHL
for three years, then?
- I was for four years.
- Four years, okay.
- I played as an underage
and then three more years,
and you're drafted
as a 17-year-old.
- Yeah.
- And I got to play
for Team Ontario my first year
as a 16-year-old in the OHL.
Like after that season was over,
if you got beat out
in the first two rounds,
you could represent Canada again
at the Worlds.
(clears throat)
And the Worlds was like
everybody, other countries,
the best of the best.
I played against
Alexander Ovechkin
when he was
when he was that age.
- Right.
- In Yaroslavl, Russia,
I walk out to the ice, the whole
place just full of people
with the army coats on
and those Russian hats.
- Yeah, yeah.
- They're there to watch
Alexander Ovechkin.
- Sure, sure.
- They beat us 6-3.
- And how do you find out you're
getting drafted in the NHL.
- At the time, I was projected
to go in the second round
- Yeah.
- And normally,
the first three rounds were
on the first day.
So, some of the players,
if you know you're gonna go
in the first round, you show up,
you wear a suit.
I was kind of middle-second
round, where I'm like, okay,
well, worst case,
I'll drop to the third,
no big deal. Well, first round
goes by, second round goes by,
third round goes by,
I don't get drafted on the first
day.
- Uh-huh, uh-huh.
- And it was
it was pretty I cried,
I was disappointed, right?
- Uh-huh, uh-huh.
- I felt that I'd put so much
time and energy, and it's
ingrained in you,
you're like, yes,
I believe what's the scouts
are saying and what
the people judging you are,
I'm gonna be going in the
second, maybe third round.
And you didn't, so I was very
let down,
but I was also grateful for it
because it
it kinda makes you be like,
hey, man,
nothing's gonna be
handed to you.
I was fortunately
drafted the next round,
in the fourth round, the first
round of the second day.
- It was Pheonix?
- No, so I was actually drafted
by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
- Okay, yeah.
- And yeah, you go down and
you meet all the management
- Yeah.
- And you're part of
their organization.
- How long do you
play for them for?
- I played 15 games with them,
but I when I was drafted
there, you know,
you play two more years
of junior,
and then you sign your deal
- Right, okay.
- At 19.
- I see.
- And then you have
a three-year entry level.
- Right.
- So, my whole entry-level
contract, I spent in either
the ECHL,
like the lowest professional
league, and then the AHL
In Wheeling, West Virginia,
and
- West Virginia, I don't think
of hockey
when I think of West Virginia.
- No.
- Do they know what hockey
is down there?
- They do.
- They do--
- Well, just because it's
so close to Pittsburgh.
Actually, when I was 18, when I
went to training camp,
I almost made the team
as an 18-year-old,
as a D-man, I had a great camp.
And Mario Lemieux was in
the training camp,
'cause he was coming back
that year.
- Yeah.
- So, not only did I get to play
those 15 games and be up with
Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin,
Marc-André Fleury, but I got to
do a training camp,
where Mario Lemieux
was on the ice,
and I played an exhibition game
with him, so it was
I mean, that's
- Yeah.
- If not for health reasons,
like, him and Wayne
are neck and neck, right?
- Yeah, absolutely, yeah.
- I'm so grateful for the time
I got to spend there,
and the people that I got
to meet.
- Were you kind of like
a little bit of an enforcer?
- I was more of a player
when I was growing up,
but when you get to a certain
level, you realize,
these guys are world-class
and so talented,
and as good as you thought
that you could get,
it ain't happening
The writing was on the wall.
Like, I wasn't good,
it's like,
what else are you
gonna do to separate yourself
from the pack?
- Yeah.
- And that was something
when the first game,
I walked in, I'll never forget,
I was in the AHL,
and my name was fourth line,
left-wing, and I was like, yep.
And then I started asking guys
to fight.
I got 30 to 32 fights
that year.
And the year after that,
fought 32
And that's not even
pre-season, so
It kinda happened quick,
but if I wouldn't have done
that, I wouldn't have gotten
to make the NHL for as long
as I did,
or even maybe not even
make it at all.
And I love the positive
reinforcement, especially
those the first couple times,
knowing that that was
my new role, where,
if a teammate would get hit,
or somebody would take
a run at him,
and you would go stick up for
a teammate,
it was just a great
feeling personally,
and then you would get in
the locker room and like,
there was this love amongst
the group for you,
where you were like, wow,
I feel like I'm contributing
and I'm really
a part of this, and
- Debatably the best part
of the game for a lot of people?
- Yes.
- Rock 'em, sock'em.
- You were on our pod,
and you played hockey growing
up, I think you sent us
the picture of when you had
the neck brace, neck guard
- Oh yeah.
(chuckling)
The neck guard, yeah.
- I imagine you weren't
a scrapper.
- No, no, I was not
a scrapper, and I was very,
very skinny. Like, I was same
height as I am now,
but 50 pounds lighter.
145 pounds, 6'3".
But I was playing house league,
so there was no contact, right?
It wasn't until like
maybe I turned 17,
was my first year I played
competitive hockey,
and there was body contact
and checking and stuff,
and that's when I
that was my last year of hockey.
(laughs)
That was my last year of hockey.
Got my arm broken.
- No!
- Yeah.
- Aw.
(gentle guitar music)
- This is Aria's mom.
A little bit more well trained
in some ways on the halter,
but whoa. Maybe a little bit
more wild.
She's seven years old.
- You have ridden her, though?
- I have ridden her a little
bit, but not a lot.
And so I think the idea is
I have to
I have to ride her more often
- Whoa.
- or she'll forget
that she knows how to do that.
Yeah, I'm just gonna saddle her
up, we're gonna sit on her
for a second.
- Okay. What kind of saddle
is that?
- It's a Billy Cook
Western saddle.
- A Western saddle?
- Yeah.
(grunts)
- What's going on?
- You're standing on the strap.
- Okay. Who's the new guy?
There you go. All right.
- That wasn't so bad.
- There you go.
- Ideally, you would get out and
like ride every day with her,
type thing, or?
- Well, ideally,
that she'll be a good companion
riding horse to come along
with Fanny.
So when I ride Fanny,
someone can ride along with us.
We're gonna get her good before
I ask anyone to ride her.
- Okay.
- Again.
- Put on a helmet?
- Long story.
- And a vest, and away you go.
Is there a story?
- I don't wanna get into that.
- Okay.
- It's a fun show,
it's a family show.
Okay, all right, here we go.
(metal clinking)
I used to watch Fraggle Rock
with my family.
- I probably should know what
that is, but I don't.
- It's just like the spin-off
of The Muppet Show.
- Yeah, okay,
so I do know what that is.
- Yeah, it was big in the 80s.
- Not the Care Bears.
- No. I never watched that shit.
- A little different from the
Care Bears?
- I fuckin' hate the Care Bears.
(laughing)
- Come on! Do the Care Bear
countdown!
- No, Care Bear's for losers.
(laughing)
Oh, you watched it?
- I used to watch it.
- I thought it was like a girl's
show or something.
- Guess I can blame parents,
I used to watch it all the time.
- Stay home from school
and watch Care Bears.
- I assumed Care Bears
was for girls,
I didn't know. You actually did,
and you enjoyed it?
- Yeah.
- We're not even gonna use
this part.
- Okay.
- It's got nothing to do with
what we're talking about today.
- Perfect.
- We'll probably use this part.
Okay, so
- Okay.
(laughing)
(cheerful guitar music)
- You're a pretty girl.
(donkey snorts)
Oh, hey, you're eating
my jacket!
What you doing?
- Gimme one sec.
- Fuck!
(low engine rumble)
- Oh, this is a nice one.
Woo!
- Nice. Rate the bale.
- Woo-hoo!
Oh, this one's a fucking tenner.
This one's sloppy.
- Go throw it over the fence.
- I'm gonna go give them
the sloppy one. I know how to do
the sloppy. Watch out!
- All right.
- Look at that!
- And this is what
it's all about,
this is what they eat
all winter, you know?
It's pretty much
their main food,
I'm gonna give them vitamins
and stuff too, but
- You think they get bored
of the taste?
- They don't seem to. They don't
seem to. They seem to
they seem to run for it
every time, like a bag of chips.
(chickens clucking)
(Paul): This is the tightest
one I've seen.
(Tom): Yep. I believe that.
(Paul chuckles)
(laughing)
You fucker.
(chuckling)
You wanna be known for your
tight bales.
- Yes.
- You don't want word spreading
that you got loose bales.
- No.
- That's like a farmer faux-pas.
- Oh, this hay's been handled
a few times,
so it's not as
tight as it once looked.
(Tom chuckles)
- The 20-minute montage of loose
bale jokes will make the
(chuckling)
What year did you start
Biz Nasty and BizNasty2point0
on social media?
- I was very anti-Twitter
because just Charles Barkley
was on TV, saying like, oh,
that Twitter's nonsense,
like you know? And I'm like,
okay, well, if Charles
is saying it's stupid,
I'm not gonna sign up for it.
And after my second or third
year in Pheonix,
I was like, oh,
I'll just try this out,
and I signed on as originally
BizNasty, and then
- Yeah.
- I was saying crazy shit,
and like, definitely things
I wouldn't say now,
and I got myself in a little bit
of trouble with
the original one, and then my
agent called me,
and I was joking about the
Ilya Kovalchuk contract
- Okay.
- And I like said a few things
on there, and somebody must have
forwarded them,
and he goes, you need to get off
of Twitter,
nothing good can
come of this.
And so Rich Nairn, and I was
speaking about him earlier,
he was the one who first gave me
my job out of playing,
and he called and he's like,
hey, we've had a few of our fans
email and basically say,
hey, why did you kick him off
social media,
we enjoy following him,
and he's part of the team,
and like, we like getting
that type of perspective
from a player. And they're like,
we never kicked him off.
So then, I explained to him what
had happened, he's like, okay,
we're gonna get you to re-sign
as the BizNasty2point0,
but we're gonna monitor you.
(laughing)
- Yeah.
- Well, I must have got called
into the office GM's office
probably five, six times
over the next 18 months.
Luckily, in a way,
as silly as it all is,
like I was getting my
early reps.
I became more comfortable
in front of the camera.
Growing a social media
following is important, right?
I think I was the first guy
in the NHL
to reach a million
Twitter followers.
Guys, I was playing two minutes
a game if I was even playing
- Right.
- So it was just very bizarre
times. I was getting
opportunities with Sportsnet.
Hey, during the All-Star break,
obviously you're not playing
in the All-Star Game,
let's go to Vegas
(Tom laughs)
And do a couple silly videos
and push content.
- Now you're on Hockey Night
in Canada, yeah?
- I do a little bit of
Hockey Night,
little bit of Amazon.
I like to just go around
and do different things,
but yeah.
- Okay, it's Amazon
you're on
- But last year, I was doing
Hockey Night in Canada,
I normally do about three,
four a year.
Such an honour, like when
I first did it, and obviously
still do it two, three times
a year, whenever I get in.
Ron MacLean all the OGs
and the people
were Hockey Night in Canada,
I mean
it's such a Canadian tradition.
- I know. I don't understand
why they can't just keep
the opening theme song,
like why can't they get
that back?
I was talking to
George Stroumboulopoulos
about it, he used to be the host
of Hockey Night in Canada
- I know George, yeah.
- And I was saying that maybe,
you know, well, we need to start
a campaign,
as we just get the Government
of Canada, right
- Yeah.
- To just buy it.
(Paul chuckles)
And then just
sign away the copyright rights
and make it
a copyright-free song.
- You should run on
that principle.
- Yeah.
- Would you ever
go into politics?
- No. No. No, no, no.
Well, first of all, 'cause I
would lose,
so then that would be
(laughing)
What's the point of?
You still live in the U.S.?
- I do, yeah.
- It's different down there.
But you like it in the U.S.?
- So, I would say,
in Scottsdale, it's not
you don't feel the chaos.
It's pretty right down
the middle, it's a very peaceful
place to live, and
- That happens a lot when
an athlete goes to a city
to play,
they don't leave the
city when they retire.
- One, it's an incredible place
to live weather-wise,
especially during
the winter, and you also just,
you know the grid.
It's hard moving somewhere,
you're like,
where's everything at?
- So you basically stayed there
'cause you don't get lost.
(chuckling)
- Yeah. Pretty much.
- The Spittin' Chiclets podcast
has become like,
you know, one of the
biggest hockey podcasts,
biggest sports podcasts.
- I think it's one of
the biggest hockey,
and yeah, it's up there as far
as one of the biggest sports,
and I just was very lucky
to fall into that world
and be associated with Barstool
and everything they've been able
to kind of set up,
infrastructure-wise for us,
so, it's been a heck of a run.
I'm just grateful that I'm able
to talk to guys,
and kinda still feel like I'm
in the locker room
when I'm in the podcast.
We had Eddie Shack on.
- Okay, yeah.
- That's
- He must be getting
up there, yeah?
- He passed, unfortunately.
- Well, he's definitely
getting up there, then.
- Yeah.
(chuckling)
- He's way up there.
How old was he when he did
the show, then?
- He was still going, I think
he was in his 70s
and we ended up having
to delete, like, seven minutes,
just 'cause of how, like,
he's old school, right?
- Right, right.
- Like, it'd be like listening
to your grandpa, right?
- Yeah.
- And it's just like, ah,
you can't say those words.
- Or like Don Cherry
or something, you know?
Now, what do you think of that?
Was it a misinterpreted joke?
I mean, it was about
Remembrance Day,
not wearing a poppy
- Not wearing a poppy.
- Stuff like that, so
- He's so passionate
about the military
and the people who kind of
laid the foundation for this
country, and I think that
he felt that maybe the respect
wasn't being shown
the way that it should have.
- Yeah.
- And I definitely don't think
he should have been off-air,
I think that maybe an internal
conversation and whatever,
and it was kind of just all
of a sudden, like,
wasn't there anymore.
- And Spittin' Chiclets,
of course, refers to when
you get your teeth
knocked out--
- Yeah.
- In a fight, you spit
your teeth out,
your teeth look like Chiclets.
- Exactly. And it also it's
kind of like a double entendre,
you know, you get in
a donnybrook on the ice,
you get your tooth knocked in,
and all of a sudden,
you spit it out, but yet,
when you're in the locker room,
and you're joshing, and
everybody's kind of slinging
the slinging the biscuit,
so to speak, and
you know, you can call
that spittin' Chiclets.
- You've had teeth knocked out?
- I've had teeth knocked out.
- Can you like pull
your teeth out?
- No, when I met you,
I could do that.
- I remember that.
- Yeah.
- Was it a fight? Was it a puck?
- It was Matt Greene. I think it
was already dead
already, though,
and I think that that,
just a lack of blood supply
to it,
where Matt Greene from
the LA Kings, it was in Phoenix,
he just got up, and he punched
me with his glove on.
- Mm-hmm.
- And I was like, ah!
And they didn't he didn't
even get a penalty.
So I go over to the ref,
I'm like,
I'm bleeding a little bit and I
got my tooth in my hand,
I said, you saw what happened,
you have to call that!
And he's like, I didn't see
nothing.
- Tough game.
- Tough game, buddy,
I got like, my last season,
I tore both my ACLs.
Typically what you do
anyway with ACL
is you pre-hab it,
which means you let the swelling
get down and you continue to
activate the muscles around it,
so it helps the healing process.
And he says, why don't we
pre-hab, you put a brace on
and see if you can like get
through to the final end
of the season and playoffs
and play on it,
I said, absolutely,
it's my last year,
I'm willing to give
that a shot.
So pre-habbed it for the next
two, two-and-a-half months,
and then in my first game back,
it was probably like three
or four games
before playoffs in San Jose,
it's the second period, I go for
a puck battle
and the left one
- Yeah.
- Whoa, whoa, whoa. No way.
I go to the bench
and I said Mearsy, I said,
I think I just tore my left ACL.
- Yeah.
- At that point, I knew
I was never going
to play another game.
- Man.
- That was my last game.
And I went back out, and I
fought Zack Stortini
(chuckling)
- So you went back out with
a torn ACL?
- I finished the game.
- Okay.
- I played like probably three,
four more shifts,
like if you watch the shifts,
I probably fall two, three times
in each shift
- Mm-hmm.
- And I was like Bambi, but, you
know, I just figured, you know,
why not make myself useful,
take one of their players
off the ice, and you know
- Huh.
- Also, it's kinda like, you
know, Zack, he was the guy
who I hit, who tore it, and it's
like, eh, whatever.
I ended up getting surgery
on my left, and I never ended up
fixing the one that I pre-habbed
that I tore first.
- Yeah.
- And it was also kind of like
a poetic ending to I didn't
think that I was gonna
actually end up making the NHL,
like it was always a dream
of mine and a goal of mine,
but once I got switched from
D to forward,
I'm like, oh god, like I've
never even played this position,
really, for an extended period
of time, so I was just
at my arc and how it all
gone from childhood
to where I was at that point
that it was just
yeah, it was
it was emotional,
and it was now time
for the next chapter.
(cheerful guitar music)
(Tom): All right, everybody,
here we go.
- Saddle's on a little loose.
- Whoa. Back up, back up.
Back up. Back up.
Oh yeah. One little ride around,
let's go, come on. Yeah.
- How many times in total
do you think you've ridden her?
- I think this is the third time
I've ridden her.
She's a little small for me,
I'm used to riding Fanny, so
Let's go, up here.
(clicks teeth)
Let's go, come on. That's right.
Over here, let's go this way.
Oh yeah!
- Better than riding your cow
through the supermarket.
- Yeah.
- Prior to moving here,
did you have any
- No. No. Two years ago,
I had no idea, anything about
this stuff.
It's been a quick transition
from the Hollywood Hills
to Ontario horse wrangler.
- I remember like the first time
we were talking about
you getting animals and building
fences and doing the barn
- Yeah.
- Just seemed like such
a crazy idea
- Right.
- at the time, to be honest.
You've done it.
Like, it's amazing.
- Thank you so much
for all the help.
- It's been great.
It's been a lot of fun,
hanging out.
- It's been an incredible time,
I wouldn't be able to do
it without you guys.
- Well, it's given me lots
of different opportunities
that I never, you know, never
would have expected to have,
so it's been fun!
(gentle guitar music)
- Say, hi to my friend.
(making chicken noises)
(chuckling)
(chicken clucks)
(indistinct chatter)
(hay rustling)
- Here you go, bud.
- Is that true?
- Yeah.
- If you feel like you're in
an emergency situation,
like you're gonna go through
the barn--
- Just jump off?
(engine starts)
- Okay, so
(engine rumbling)
- Hey, get out of the way.
(hay rustling)
- Oh, fuck.
Chop wood, carry water.
Great job, boys.
(farmhand): Hey, 13 minutes.
(Tom): Yeah, that's great,
(Paul): That's how long
it took--?
(farmhand): That's the
fastest we've put them in yet,
with the biggest load.
(Paul): No, shit.
Child labour, from Tom.
(chuckling)
- Child labour.
- Yeah, you should file
a complaint.
(laughter)
Get your college paid for.
- Yeah.
(photographer): There you go.
- Awesome, thank you.
- Hey, thank you guys. I know
it's a great day, boys.
Great meeting all you guys.
I actually brought this jersey,
this is the last
team I played for,
and I actually was given
the white and the dark,
and I just wanted to bring Tom
a gift
- Aw, thanks, man.
- And congratulate you on
everything, the farm, obviously
getting married congrats--
- Thank you.
- A lot going on
in your life, buddy,
and you've always been
a great friend to me,
so I appreciate you having me,
and there you go, buddy,
a little memento for your
pond hockey
when we're back in February.
- Absolutely! Oh my god,
that is going to be good!
- Yeah. There you go, buddy.
- Biz Nasty. Thank you, man.
(chuckling)
So you call it a jersey,
now, not a sweater?
- Jersey.
- Yeah?
- Yeah, jersey.
- It used to be sweater
back in the day.
- They got the tie-downs
on there.
- Yeah.
- So like, for fighting. I think
they got one on there, yeah.
(man): Where's the best place to
grab it when you're tilting?
- Usually, like, I don't know,
different guys like different
spots. Like, I liked here,
'cause I liked to jab to kinda
keep my distance
and like throw 'em off.
- So how would you do that,
how would you punch me in the
face if you were gonna do that?
- I like to grab here
that way, I can kind of like
- Okay, not that hard,
not that hard.
- Like, kind of jab you
like that, right?
I just kind of learned how
to do it for more
of like a defensive standpoint.
Some guys, they'll just like
they grab right here.
And then you're just--
- Do it, do it, do it.
Don't punch, but like
- Well, no, then they'll just
kind of exchange, right?
And they'll just go back
and forth, back and forth.
- Right, right.
- I wasn't a big psycho.
(man): Ah, you scored
some goals, so
- I had seven NHL goals.
- Nice.
- Yep.
(man): Drink to that.
- First one, first one
thank you
First one, I was battling with
a guy out of the corner,
I wasn't even looking
at the puck,
and I was skating to the net,
and it hit my skate
and went in, on Carey Price.
- Nice.
- Yeah, that was kind of nice.
Yeah.
- Nice.
- Yeah, it was awesome.
(gentle guitar music)
- You're, you know, a huge,
you know, internet sensation.
Do you get more hockey fans
in Canada, in the city,
than in the U.S.? Or is it
- I would say I definitely
get recognized
more in Canada now.
- Yeah.
- Obviously, 'cause of
the association with Barstool
and the clips that they post.
- Even though there's more
people watching hockey,
probably, in total
in the U.S., maybe
- 350 to 400 million people
in the States,
and half of our demographic,
listeners-wise, is American.
I'm from a small town,
Welland, Ontario,
50,000 people. As much
as I love the gig,
and it's fun to like, you know,
see your fans
and stuff like that,
I tend to really like
my peace now.
You know, you met me at a time
where I was having a lot of fun,
and I was very social
- Mm-hmm.
- As I've aged, you know,
I'm still social
but I don't drink anymore,
I don't like going to bars.
- Yeah. Are people aware
of this,
that you don't drink anymore?
- Yeah, yeah, I would just,
I think that your fans,
or at least the ones you want,
would appreciate some
form of growth.
- Yeah.
- I don't think it has to be,
like, hey, I'm a changed man,
I'm you know,
born-again Christian here,
ah! Like, you know,
listen to me preach
It's just like, hey,
oh, I noticed I wasn't
as productive,
and I didn't sleep as well,
and my skin didn't look as good,
and I wasn't as sharp
for television.
The concussions definitely play
a factor the older I'm getting,
too, where maybe
I'm a little bit, like
like a little foggy up top.
- Did you get a few concussions
playing in the NHL?
I got more playing in the AHL.
When I was just fighting
against like, you know,
30, 35 times a year, there.
- So you'd get the concussions
in the fights?
Or in getting checked?
- Both, both. I bet you,
probably from the start
of my career to now, like,
you're probably thinking
I would say 50.
- Yeah.
- It was weird, though.
I came up in a time
where you would sustain one,
you would go back to the bench,
and you would shake it off, and
then you wouldn't miss a shift.
Nowadays, they have spotters,
and they'll take you out
of the game, they'll probably
give you a couple weeks to get
the swelling down.
They have baseline tests.
Towards the end of my career,
that was a thing,
and even a little bit
in the NHL,
as far as the cognitive,
but I wasn't gonna miss time
when I was in the NHL
for a concussion.
- There hasn't been
a Canadian hockey team
to win the Stanley Cup in a long
time, since what, 94?
- 93, the Montreal Canadiens.
- Which, to me, is like
'cause when I was a kid,
it was all Canadian teams always
won the Stanley Cup every year
for the first, you know,
10, 12 years of my life,
it was always I think the
New York Islanders won
a couple times, maybe.
Is there something that
changed in the rules
or in the way the league's
set up that makes it
harder for Canadian teams
to compete now?
- There's a couple factors
that I consider,
I think that playing
in a Canadian market,
with all the focus and attention
the players get,
you're gonna say, well,
there used to be 50 reporters
in a locker room in Maple Leaf
Gardens when they were,
you know, back 50 years ago
And that's true, but the players
didn't necessarily
have to read the newspaper.
Everybody's on their phones,
right, they're on these
social media apps,
so it's a little bit like
too much in
Canada. Everything's a story
- Oh, wow. So you're
saying psychologically,
it's more difficult playing
on a Canadian team,
'cause you're
- Yes.
- being dragged through
the media?
- Hey, some people love it,
and some people thrive in it,
and they need that and they love
playing in Canada.
I would say that good American
players tend to probably
be like, no, I wanna go play in
my home country, and I'm paying,
in most cases or some cases,
less tax or way less tax.
The way that your family can
live in peace
and not be bothered
- Right.
- because you're, you know,
you're a Toronto Maple Leaf,
everybody knows who you are.
- Which is an unbelievable
thing, I'd never even thought
of that before.
I mean, Canadians probably don't
even realize that,
that their enthusiasm for
the game
is actually making
their team lose.
- It's also, 93, how many
Canadian teams were there
compared to American teams?
- Right, sure.
- So now, all of a sudden,
there's 32 teams
in the league,
only seven Canadian,
so way more American teams
can win it, so
- Right, right.
- There's a lot of factors
working against Canada
to bring a Stanley Cup home.
- Thanks for coming to the farm,
by the way!
- Hey, I'm very happy for you,
not only
with the farm and what
you've been able
to set up here, but recently
getting married,
it seems like you're in
a great place, buddy.
- Thanks, Paul.
- You're an OG
in a lot of categories that,
you know, maybe your demographic
and the people that listen
to you know
what you've accomplished
and the path
that you've set up for others,
but the younger generation
I don't think knows that.
- Yeah. You're an OG now too,
man. We're both OGs, now.
- Once you hit 40?
- Yeah. We're both a couple
of OGs now.
- Fucking right, man,
I'll take that from Tom Green.
Thank you.
- BizNasty2point0,
thank you so much.
- I appreciate you, bud.
- Paul Bissonnette.
Appreciate it.
So it's pretty crazy,
as beautiful as it seems out
here on this lovely
November morning,
well, it's sunset
(laughing)
They say there's gonna be
15 centimetres of snow,
which is seven, eight inches
of snow, you know?
(donkey braying)
Tomorrow morning,
we could wake up and it could
be our first snow,
it's always fun to see
your first snow every year.
- Are you gonna run?
- She loves it,
she gets excited.
- Are you gonna run
through the snow?
(gentle guitar music)
- The snow! Look at that!
(rooster crowing)
Wow.
Hello, good morning. Hello.
(rummaging)
Whoa.
We got our first snowfall today.
It is beautiful out there.
And Amber Marshall is coming.
So what are we gonna do?
Well, I guess we're gonna go
for a ride.
(chickens chirping)
- How was Vietnam?
- Wonderful, it was amazing.
- Good to see you.
(Tom): How are you, Amber?
- I'm so good!
- Thanks for coming.
- Thank you for having
me out here!
- Thanks very much.
Thank you for coming.
Thank you, thank you.
Look who we got here.
- Hi! Aren't you handsome, who's
this?
- Now wait, who is this, Dave?
- This is Jaeger.
- Jaeger, that's right,
this is Jaeger. Figured
you could ride Jaeger today,
and I'm gonna take Fanny.
And you've seen Fanny before--
- Yes, I have, yeah.
- That's so cool.
- So beautiful. And Giant!
- That's so cool.
- Yeah, she's a half
Percheron horse
- Okay. You said that very well.
- And half mammoth donkey.
- Okay.
- Percheron, yes.
Je parle Français un petit peu.
- Ah.
- Parce que je habitais dans
la ville d'Ottawa.
- Wow. You sound
very cultured right now.
- I lived in Ottawa.
Ottawa's pretty French.
(chuckling)
But, um
but I have to saddle
Fanny up.
- Let's go meet her!
- She's a good girl, too,
she's 11 years old
12 years old now?
12 years old now.
- You can tell she's a
very gentle soul.
- Yes.
- She's just kind.
- Isn't she neat?
- Yeah. Beautiful eyes.
- Hello.
- You're so nice!
And you, I am sorry.
Did I forget you?
(chuckling)
- So you live in Alberta.
- I do.
- But you didn't grow up
in Alberta, or?
- No, so I'm from Ontario.
- Yeah.
- And born and raised in London,
and I always wanted to live
in the country, out west
I didn't really know Alberta
was my place until I got there.
- Yeah. But you rode horses
before you were
on Heartland, right?
- Yeah, so I had horses
from five on.
- Uh-huh.
- And we leased ponies,
my parents leased ponies for me
when I was a kid,
and then I got my first
horse when I was 12, so
I was around horses most of my
life, and then, I think that's
probably why I was given
the role of Amy Fleming,
the horse whisperer
- Yeah.
- 'cause I had some of that
experience before, and then,
soon as I got out to Alberta,
I just, I fell in love.
I fell in love with the people,
the culture, the landscape,
being able to get on my horse
and just ride.
Sort of like what you have
out here, just ride forever.
(cheerful guitar music)
(Tom): Ready to go for a little
ride around the farm here?
(Amber): I would love to.
- Awesome, how's Jaeger feeling?
- Jaeger's great! Jaeger's
ready to go.
- Jaegerbomb.
- Yep.
- All right, cool, well
let's go link up
with our horse cam, and I'll
show you around.
(Tom): Amanda designed
the kitchen.
(Amber): I love it.
That's why it's so beautiful.
- I got married. We're married.
- Congratulations!
- Just got married like
four weeks ago.
- Mm, but we're in a house
that was built in 1857?
- 1857, yeah.
- That's remarkable.
- And you just noticed that
the old wood stove
is a Heartland stove.
- It is.
- Just like your show.
- It's true.
- Your show Heartland.
- I thought you placed
that there just for me today.
- We did.
(Amber laughs)
We brought that stove in
just for you.
- Thank you. Thank you.
- As a sort of a tip of
the hat to your
- It's the little things
that count.
- Is this the longest
running show in Canada?
- One of them.
- 'Cause they always talked
about The Beachcombers being
the longest running show.
- Yeah, we've surpassed them.
- You beat
The Beachcombers, huh?
- Mm-hmm. Yeah, we're neck
and neck with Murdoch Mysteries,
who are also on their
19th season, but our air date
was before them.
- Ah.
- So that's how we get away
with the language.
We technically started
before they did.
- Yeah, that is amazing.
How was the ride? Did you
- It was beautiful.
- It was a nice day, wasn't it?
- I love snow. I'm Canadian,
I've always loved snow.
But there's something
very peaceful and magical
about the first snowfall.
And this is no just ordinary
first snowfall,
it was a little unexpected,
but it's also,
there's a lot of snow out there.
- As we talked about
on our ride,
I'm new to the equine universe.
- Mm-hmm.
- So I learned a lot on
this ride. Every time I get
to go ride with somebody who's,
you know, an equestrian
who knows what they're doing,
I ask a lot of questions.
Did I ask too many questions?
- You asked great questions.
- Okay.
- I love when someone's still
continuing to learn
and willing to learn,
'cause you can't teach
someone who knows everything.
- Mm-hmm.
- And a lot of time,
the person who says they
know everything, doesn't.
Your questions were very unique
because I could tell
that you understood
the partnership
between you and Fanny.
- Mm-hmm.
- And you understood that
there was a few weaknesses
- Mm-hmm.
- And how do you
build upon that and create
a better partnership?
- You know, I still kinda can't
believe that
I'm actually doing it.
- Mm-hmm.
- Constantly, the thoughts
going through my head are like,
what the heck is going on,
how did this happen?
(laughing)
- But it is, you trust
that animal,
and you trust that
partnership and that friendship.
And you're not new to Fanny,
she's not new to you,
but that also comes with
some problems.
Because she understands you,
and you're starting
to understand her.
- Mm-hmm.
- And she knows exactly
what you're asking but might
not want to comply
because she understands
that it's not always
followed through.
And that was one thing
we talked about today,
and I'm continually learning
with everyone that I talk to
and that I ride with,
and that includes people
such as yourselves,
because I'll see things,
and I'll say, do I do that?
- Hmm.
- And sometimes,
it's not just about riding
with the best,
and I'm not saying you're
the worst,
by any means
- No, no.
- Sometimes it's about riding--
- You saw like 150 things
to not do today.
(laughing)
- But you understand them when
you see them,
and I think that's
what's important.
That's what I love about
the dynamic of you and Fanny,
she's very smart, and she knows
what she wants to do.
- Mm-hmm.
- And sometimes she says,
really, is this what
we're doing?
I think we should do this.
- Mm-hmm.
- And I think that building
that relationship,
and understanding her in your
wants and your asks
are really gonna help
your partnership.
(gentle guitar music)
(engine rumbling)
(clanging)
- It's kind of slippery, we'll
get your sled out
(engine rumbling)
(loud scraping)
- When you started the
show Heartland,
you rode horses already.
- Yeah. It really helped.
I can tell you that,
because I started riding when
I was five years old,
and I've been around horses
most of my life,
and so to be on a set with,
you know, I was number one
with a whole lot of lines
to memorize, and lot going on,
I was in almost every scene
If I had been fearful of horses,
or even just new to them,
it would've been quite
a challenge.
So here I was in an
unfamiliar place,
I'm from Ontario, I'd moved out
to Alberta for the show
didn't know anyone.
I was young and inexperienced,
and having horses on set
and as my co-stars set the tone.
- Mm-hmm.
- And it really allowed me
just to relax into my role
because I did feel comfortable.
I feel comfortable around
animals probably moreso
than humans, and that was
the case back then,
that's still the case today.
It's a very different atmosphere
on the Heartland set than some
other films and television sets,
because you have to be quiet,
you have to be calm,
or the horses are not going
to feel comfortable,
and they're not going to work.
- Yeah.
- Everybody comes in
with a very
level-headed approach
because you have to.
- Do you think that if you had
not done the show Heartland,
would you have been as
involved with horses,
or did that sort of
accentuate your, you know--
- Yeah.
- what you were already doing
when you were young. Did that
change your life? In a way?
- Oh, 100 %. I think about
what my life
would have looked like
without Heartland,
and I had just been accepted
into Ryerson's
radio and television program
- Oh, cool. Yeah, my mother
took journalism at Ryerson.
- There you go.
- Yeah.
- At the time, I was also
working in a vet clinic,
so I was with animals every day.
I thought I was gonna be
a veterinarian for a while,
didn't quite have the grades,
thought, you know,
how can I incorporate animals
into my life and my work
and still do things I love?
And as all this is going through
my head,
Heartland presents itself.
And I audition, and I get
the role, and I thought,
what could get better than this?
I'm working with animals
and acting.
- Mm-hmm.
- The two things that I love
the most are coming together.
But again, it was a pilot,
and I thought, mm,
I'm probably never gonna see
these people again.
And then we were renewed
for season one, and I thought,
this is really cool, I get to do
this for another year.
But never in a million years,
did I think that
we would be continuing
this series 19 years later.
- You've started working with
your actual horse on the show
- Yeah.
- To sub in for the original
horse that played the character
that your horse is playing now.
- So in the very beginning
of Heartland,
which was 19 years ago,
the main character horse
was Spartan.
- Mm-hmm.
- And he was played by
a four-year-old Quarter Horse
at the time, named Stormy.
And that's very young,
for a four-year-old horse
is very young to be on set.
Usually we wait until they're
a little bit more mature,
eight or nine years old,
they've settled into things,
and Stormy was just an old soul.
He was a wonderful companion
for many, many years.
He was my co-star, up until
season 14.
And he started to show signs
of arthritis.
I started to notice that he was
becoming unhappy being there.
And so, I went to our producers
and our team, and I said,
I think we need to retire
Stormy. And everyone said,
but we can't kill Spartan,
'cause that's the character.
- Mm-hmm.
- So I said, okay, we're not
ready to kill Spartan yet
- Yeah, I didn't mean kill!
I didn't mean kill it.
- Yeah, and that's okay, yeah,
we're not gonna kill him.
But can we sub in a new horse?
That is happy to be there?
- It looks similar.
- It looks the same.
- But people notice,
though, that there's
has anyone noticed?
- That are a few, yes.
- The ears a little different.
- Oh yeah. Yeah.
The shape. Every horse
is a little bit different.
- Mm-hmm.
- So at the time,
my horse Hawk, who looked
very similar to Stormy,
he's just quiet and easygoing
and I already had a relationship
with him, I knew he was
a good boy, and he would just be
good on set for me. So I put his
name in the hat and they said,
yeah, okay. Stormy is still
alive, by the way.
- Mm-hmm, yeah.
- He's still fine, but
- Retired.
- He's retired. And he's living
out his leisurely days.
(gentle guitar music)
(scraping)
- Oh yeah!
(sticks clacking)
- Yeah!
(gentle guitar music)
- You know, it was interesting
talking about the way the camera
stuff works. Maybe this is
a little me geeking out
on the camera stuff.
(chuckles)
But like, you know, how
what are some of the tricks
you do to film horse riding?
- So you talked a little bit
about the ATV
or the side-by-side going
with the gimbal on it
- Yeah.
- We utilize that all the time.
So we have a specific
side-by-side,
where it's fully equipped
with camera gear,
and everybody can ride on it
and ride along those shots
where there might be some
characters running fast
through a field that
it wouldn't be possible
to get that otherwise. We also
use drones.
So, we talked a little bit about
how we have to specifically
pick horses that are comfortable
with drones.
You have to know
the horses that are around,
you have to know which ones
are gonna be okay
with certain things.
We also use GoPros.
- Mm-hmm, yeah.
- And so, we'll position GoPros
under a jump or behind a tree
or somewhere where that horse
is gonna run by,
and we'll get something cool
as it's going by.
- I feel like Fanny,
when we did a little bit of,
you know, this
follow-the-gimbal-truck
shooting this summer
- Mm-hmm.
- The first time we
did it, she was like,
what's that thing on the truck?
And the first couple times,
she was a little
hesitant about it,
but then all of a sudden,
to me it seemed like she kinda
liked it, and started wanting
to do it,
and would start to run
beside the truck almost
without me even telling her.
- Horses love a job.
- Yeah.
- And when there's a clear
direction of what you're asking,
and she understands it,
she becomes
proud of herself
when she completes it.
- Even just when we were,
sort of, trying to, you know,
learn to what was I,
trying to canter or something?
- Mm-hmm.
- Sort of towards the end of it,
she seemed to kind of
loop around--
- Yeah, she understood
- She oh, we're practising
going fast now.
- Mm-hmm.
- So when people watch
Heartland,
do they know that it's filmed
in Canada
when they're watching
around the world?
- I think so.
- Yeah?
- Yeah, and that's one
thing I'm really proud of,
is that we have created
a Canadian show
that is based in Canada,
because there's lots of shows
that are filmed in Canada that
we pretend are Smalltown, USA.
- Right, yeah.
- And we are very
adamant about having that
Canadian background,
and we don't try to hide it.
- Why does being west correlate
with riding horses?
Is it because it's more wide
open out there?
There's a history of it,
people had to take horses
to get around, or?
- That's probably part of it.
It's also very large cattle
country.
- Right.
- Now, Ontario is
there's a tonne of cows here,
but they're mostly dairy cattle.
- Mm-hmm.
- And in smaller parcels,
so to speak. In Alberta,
it's very vast.
Saskatchewan, Alberta
you're dealing with cows
over thousands of acres, and so,
for years and generations,
you needed horses in order
to keep your cows.
And a lot of the places where
the cows graze
is in the forestry
and government land,
and you can't access it by ATV
or motorized vehicle.
So you have to have a horse
to gather your cows.
It's physically impossible
to do it any other way.
- So, and you live on
a farm now?
- Mm-hmm, it's nice, I have
plenty of space for my animals.
I've got horses and cows and
chickens and ducks and peacocks
and dogs and cats and just
a little bit of everything.
- Wow. It's kinda neat getting
up in the morning
and having to go out
and feed the chickens.
- Mm-hmm.
- And, you know, feed the horses
and check their water,
and get the hay to them,
and it just gives you sort of
a sense of purpose.
- Yeah. I'm glad you said that,
because it is something
that I think people have
to experience to understand
the reward of that
and how that feels.
It's a nice way of living.
And I think for anyone who
has lived in a city
for a long period of time,
you just become almost numb
to that way of life.
You just, you have your routine
and you go day in, day out,
this is what we do, but when you
have, like you said, purpose,
when you have a reason to leave
your house and to spend time
out with your animals there's
something that happens to you,
and I don't know if you felt it,
but it's this shift of
I always feel like, I feel very
balanced and very centred
when I'm out with my animals.
- Mm-hmm. So what happens
at like is there anything,
like, do you know
where the story's gonna go?
- I don't.
And the biggest thing
about Heartland,
and I think a lot of
people don't realize
when they're watching the show,
because they fall in love
with the family,
they fall in love with
the characters,
but we are working actors
on a television show.
We're not a real family.
And so, for certain characters
that wanna go and pursue
other things
- Right.
- We have to find ways
to either kill them off,
send them off to Texas
whatever it might be,
we have to be creative
but also honour the fans
who believe in these
characters and don't want
these characters to leave.
But overall, the writers try to
arc the seasons so that we know
where we're going
the year after and the year
after that,
so that there is a general
roadmap, a plan,
I guess you could say.
- That's amazing.
Thank you so much, Amber.
- My pleasure.
It was a lot of fun!
- Yes. So cool,
we got to
it was great that we got to go
for a ride, and I learned a lot,
and I look forward to watching
another 20 years of Heartland.
(laughs)
- Season 40, here we come!
- Yeah, thank you.
- Thank you.
- Cheers.
(gentle guitar music)
- If you're to binge-watch
20 years of a show
(chuckling)
How long does that take?
- Depends how dedicated you are.
- How many hours of shows
- There's 275 hours, plus,
there's a little more than that.
- Wow.
- So that's a lot of time.
- So you could just watch it
straight through for
- You could.
- I'm not good at math,
but 275 let's just say--
- You're hurting my head.
- 240
(laughing)
- Basically.
- But you'd be watching
for a long time.
What a show.
What a day. Thanks for watching!
You're watching
The Tom Green Farm.
I'm Tom Green.
(dog barking)
This is The Tom Green Farm.
(gentle guitar music)