Morgan Spurlock knows how to state the obvious. Two of his most popular projects, the documentary features Super-Size Me and The Greatest Movie Ever Sold showed us that a) fast food is unhealthy and b) Advertising is pervasive. When we recently asked his advice for men hoping to improve their appearance, he answered “Take a shower.” Sometimes pop culture junkies need to be reminded of the truths they take for granted.

Spurlock’s everyman approach belies his incredible work ethic. Since Super-Size Me brought his brand of crowd-pleasing documentary filmmaking through to the mainstream, he’s kept busy with multiple films, TV projects and web series. Two have just been announced for Canadian audiences in a partnership with Yahoo! Canada. Mansome, based on his feature doc of the same name, will study the business and culture of men’s self-improvement. Failure Club is a spin on “wish-fulfillment” reality TV, with participants achieving life goals almost entirely on their own.

We recently spoke with Spurlock about the series, new documentaries that have caught his attention, and whether McDonald’s owes him a “thank you.”

How do you approach web-based content as opposed to a feature-length film or television series?

I’ve really become “platform agnostic.” I produce content exactly the same way. [Working online] doesn’t change the process. Granted, you’re working with less money but we’ve tried to be creative with the production values, so you don’t notice the lower budget at home.

Mansome is a spin-off from your 2011 doc of the same title – how has the concept of “male grooming” been expanded?

We’ll do 125 episodes over six months, and each one will offer advice on how you can be more “mansome.” There will be aspects of personal grooming, as well as the culinary arts, sports, seduction - Fridays are “Seduction Fridays” with guests letting you know how to woo the opposite sex.


Do you remember the first time you cared about your appearance?

It always comes with the first time you want to ask a girl out. As soon as you become interested in the opposite sex, you think, “I should do something about my face.”

What’s the most common grooming mistake guys make?

If you feel like you should take a shower, you probably should. That’s my No. 1 bit of advice: do not be afraid to take a shower. I’ll take two, sometimes three on a hot summer day. If you feel sticky and possibly odorous in some way [laughs], that’s what you need.

Is physical appearance a touchier subject for guys than most of us let on?

Absolutely. That’s why the easiest way to approach it is with humour. It’s the best way to engage people who might want to avoid that touchy conversation.

Will Mansome just offer advice or actually take guys through the process?

We have one episode where a guy goes to a spa for a full-service downtown cleaning.

What were his thoughts on the end result?

The question is: what did his girl think? She was quite pleased.

Is this a strictly North-American look at manliness? It would be cool to see how the idea plays in countries where codes of masculinity are more strictly enforced.

I think you’ve just hit on season two, my friend. Mansome: European Vacation.

What are your own general thoughts on manliness?

Well, in a world where you’re not going out and skinning a beaver every day or chopping down a tree, you should still have some sort of manliness to you. And that goes beyond having a five o’ clock shadow.

Failure Club - this organization existed well before the show, correct?

Philip Kiracofe created Failure Club with a friend. They were talking about things they never had the courage to do, and they said, “Why don’t we go after them?” When he told me about it I thought it was great. A few years later, we finally convinced Yahoo! to produce it. Until that point I’d pitched it to every network you could think of it. They didn’t want to shoot the show without assurance on how it would end, in terms of who would or wouldn’t succeed. They wanted the guarantee. One network wanted it shot in 13 weeks, like someone’s going to accomplish their life’s goal in three months.

So the possibility of failure has to remain open.

Absolutely. This isn’t wish-fulfillment. “I want to perform at Carnegie Hall!” “Great, let’s go book it today!” It’s not me making someone’s dream come true, it’s that person being empowered by others that will help them through their expertise. That’s not Philip and I, we aren’t making the calls.

Those “wish-fulfillment” shows are always unintentionally depressing. The message I get is: no one can meet a life goal without Fox Broadcasting backing them.

Right. We wanted to make sure none of that happened. Our participants are really on their own. My role is to run the Failure Club meetings, really follow them along the way and provide feedback, just like anyone in a support group would.

Do those that have achieved their goals often stay on in an advisory role?

In this [series] group we haven’t had any achievers yet but that should happen within the next few weeks. Typically, once participants are done they will stay around and help others. It is exciting to see other people achieve what they also thought was impossible.

What should someone say to those they trust telling them, “I don’t think you’ll pull it off”?

Thomas Edison had a thousand light bulbs that didn’t work until the first one did. I think ultimately it doesn’t matter if anyone believes in you or not. We can’t become slaves to other people’s outlooks on ourselves. Sure, at some point you may not be able to keep going financially or emotionally but the Failure Club is about going as far as you can. Pushing yourself beyond your comfort level to any place you didn’t think you’d reach.

You spent some years in financial distress before Super-Size Me broke. What kept you going?

My father was an entrepreneur and I always saw him gamble on himself. You have to be willing to do that, bet on yourself first before anyone else.

What great documentaries have you seen recently?

I loved Undefeated. It was fantastic. This year, Big Boys Gone Bananas!, which I recently hosted a screening for in New York. It’s by Fredrik Gertten, about his attempts to get a previous film, Bananas, released. Bananas was about Dole Food Company putting chemicals in their product that were hurting workers. Dole did everything they could to block it, so he made a “sequel” about that. To see all that unfold is truly fascinating.

Did McDonald’s try to block Super-Size Me in a similar way?

In the U.S. they basically ignored it besides saying “Oh, he’s just crazy.” Internationally, they attacked it more viciously.

In retrospect, it apparently inspired their move in a more health-conscious direction, which for all anyone knows has kept them semi-relevant in the industry.

They should be thanking me, right? And sending me giant cheques.