I recently took a job as a Field Producer on NatGeo Wild’s veterinarian series “The Incredible Dr. Pol,” and one of our very first shoots this season — in the middle of February, in icy cold Michigan — was at the Mount Pleasant Polar Plunge.
This is an annual fundraiser for the Special Olympics, where participants get sponsored to dress up in costumes and jump into a freezing pond. Charles Pol decided to dress up as “Super Charles” and do the Polar Plunge. I was dared by some other members of the crew to do the plunge as well, so I ended up jumping in, wearing a GoPro and matching Super Charles’ red gloves so that you could see his “hands.” Here’s a BTS video from the NatGeo Wild website:
I’m really enjoying my time in Michigan working on The Incredible Dr. Pol, despite the below freezing temperatures. I’ve learned a lot about farm animals, and love the constant chase of filming emergency farm calls. It’s hard work, but it’s a lot of fun!
Original video post on the NatGeo Wild website: Behind the Plunge: “When Charles jumps into freezing cold waters for the Polar Plunge, field producer Pete straps a GoPro to his chest and follows right behind.”
MI, USA: Dr. Pol standing in a frozen puddle during an unusually cold April Michigan afternoon.
(photo credit: © NGC / Colin Shea)
Mt. Pleasant, MI USA: Charles leaps into the icy water dressed as ‘Super Charles’ at the Special Olympics Polar Plunge.
(photo credit: © NGC / Michael Stankevich)
