- [Mark] All right, McKenzie. - Yes sir. - [Mark] McKenzie, where'd you grow up? Where are you from? - I'm from War. I growed up in John's Branch Holler. - [Mark] And that's West Virginia? - [McKenzie] Yes, sir. - [Mark] Not too far from here. - [McKenzie] Probably
about two, three miles. - [Mark] Oh, you're right down the street. And tell me about your family. You had both your parents
growing up as a kid? - Well, my mom and dad
divorced, I was at a young age, but I got to see my dad all the time. And my mom, she's still alive. My dad's still alive. And my brothers. - [Mark] How old are you? - I'm 28. - [Mark] Twenty-eight. Growing up as a young man in Appalachia, are there many other options
other than coal mining? - Well, I've done a number of things. I've been a police officer, a armed security guard at the
hospital over here at Welch. And I also helped take care of
the mentally disabled child. And, and then I come into the mines. - [Mark] Okay. So you've
done quite a few things. - Yes, sir. And do you enjoy mining? - I love it. - [Mark] You love it? What are your favorite things about it? - Just being with the
brothers underground. It's, it's a brotherhood. It's, it's a family. - [Mark] Uh-huh. - I mean, you just look
out for one another. And who I work for, he's a great guy. You can't, you can't
beat who you work for. - [Mark] Yeah. - And if you've got a good boss and you got to get crew, you mine coal. - [Mark] And it's a dangerous job, but you guys look out for each other. - Absolutely. - [Mark] Yeah. What, have you seen any kind of things happen on the job that, anyone get hurt? Or have you been hurt? Anything like that? - I haven't been hurt, per se. I had a rock, a piece of rock fell out and hit me in the head
a couple of weeks ago. But, it just cut my head a
little bit, a little pump knot. That was about it. No, I haven't, here, you know. - [Mark] Have there been
a lot of mine closures? - There's been a lot. - [Mark] Yeah. - There's, we're, we
are one of the lucky few that's still open. - [Mark] Yeah. It seems like, it seems like the coal industry is.... - It's, it's slowly deteriorating. And around here, this is a way of life. - [Mark] And what's that gonna do to the economy of this region? I mean, for young men that
kind of relied on coal as a way to make a living? - It's gonna hurt. It's gonna hurt bad. Because this is what we know. This is all we do. We mine coal so we can support our family. - [Mark] Yeah, a lot of,
a lot of men like yourself have generations and generations of family that does this for a living. - Yeah. My grandfather done it. My uncles has done it. On my mom's side of the
family, her dad done it. Her uncles done it. And I'm the only one out of
me and my brother who does it. But, it's like I said,
it's just, it's slowly, it's slowly dyin. - [Mark] Yeah. - And people don't understand
that you've got to have coal. I mean, you have to, because coal it... your phones, women's
makeup, believe it or not, your vehicles. If you ain't got coal, you ain't got that. I mean, it's coal, is provided
for everything that you need. - [Mark] And you, do you
have a wife of your own? - Yes, I do. - [Mark] You do. And do you have children? - I have two. - [Mark] You have two. And what do you, what do you see, I mean, the future of the economy here? Like, do you have a son? - I have two, I have two boys. - [Mark] Two sons. I mean, what are the likelihood
they'll become coal miners like their dad? By the time they're old enough to work it may be a very different world. - [McKenzie] It will
probably be slim to none. But, I kind of, you know, I would like for them to experience what it's like underground, because it's, it's a totally
different world underground. And it's, I think they would enjoy it. I mean, it's hard work. It's an honest living. - [Mark] Yeah. - And, I love it. - [Mark] Yeah, it's a
very interesting job. I mean, the mines stay
around 60 degrees year round. Middle of winter, middle of summer, it's still 60 degrees down there, right? - Oh, Yeah. It's, it depends on what part of the mines you're at. Like, if you're going
toward like the intake, that's pretty much your
coldest part in the wintertime. - [Mark] Yeah. - And in the summertime, it feels great. - [Mark] Yeah, I'm sure. - I mean, if it's really
hot outside, and you're, you can just walk by the mines and you can just feel the air coming out. And it just feels like you're standing, like, right in front
of an air conditioner. - [Mark] A big one. - And then, in the
wintertime, you walk by it and it feels like you're
standing in front of a heater. - [Mark] Yeah. - [McKenzie] I mean, it's
probably about anywhere between 56 to 60 degrees year round. - [Mark] Year round. How did you go into the, into the earth? - [McKenzie] I work, I've been
as far back in as two miles. - [Mark] Two miles down. - [McKenzie] But here, we're
underground about a mile. - [Mark] Yeah. - [McKenzie] Anywhere
between 50 to 60 brakes. - [Mark] What's the most surprising thing that people outside of this world don't understand about? I mean, there's, there's
probably some interesting things about being down there
in the mine all day. You eat down there? - Oh, absolutely. - [Mark] Where do you go to the bathroom? - Uh, you go to the return or until a break. - [Mark] You just figure it out. - You just hope nobody sees ya, I guess. (both laughing) - [Mark] And you come
home filthy everyday, like you are now. - Every day. - [Mark] And you shower clean, and your, your, your squeaky
clean when you're done? - Some places, yeah. Well, you got your
eyes, sometimes, if you, you can scrub your eyes sometimes and it'll still stick to your eyes. And then your nails. Sometimes you got rough hands and it sticks in cracks
and crevices of your hands. But, yeah, nine times out of 10, you, you're gonna be clean. My wife don't like it 'cause she's got to go clean the shower when I'm done showering. But.... - [Mark] Oh, I'm sure, yeah. A lot of people from this
county, McDowell County, voted for Trump. Right? - Right. - [Mark] Did they, has he
helped the coal industry? - Absolutely. He really has. And, I think he will do
good again in another term. I think that we need his support. We need all of our Trump
supporters, to be honest with you. Because the more we get with Trump, Trump gets in again, coal mines will start to open again, coal will start boomin again. And it opens up more jobs. - [Mark] Yeah. It will help. - To people who need a job. - [Mark] Yeah. And in this
region, this region.... - This region, there's
people that need a job. - [Mark] It depends on coal. - Exactly. And, like I said, around here, coal mining is the way of life. It's either that or flip a burger. And I don't much like fast food. - [Mark] Yeah. - So.... - [Mark] What's your,
what's your favorite thing about living in Appalachia? - [McKenzie] I love the mountains. - [Mark] It's beautiful here. - [McKenzie] The mountains, the streams. It's, it's beautifulest place
in the world, I believe. - [Mark] It really is. Yeah. You're lucky to live here. - Absolutely, I love it. - [Mark] All right. - I couldn't go nowhere else. - [Mark] Excellent. McKenzie, thank you so
much for talking with me. - Thank you. - [Mark] Good luck, man.
