BOSTON, MA — While most people were still sipping coffee Monday morning, wondering what to do with their Columbus Day, Rodney Smith Jr. was off in action. By 10 a.m. he was already driving his rental car to a Boston neighborhood with his trusty Toro lawn mower inside, ready to save the day, or at least a lawn.
He’d gotten a text from someone explaining their elderly father needed help mowing. So like any superhero, Smith was on his way – even though his car had broken down the night before and he was working on getting the fuel pump replaced.
The Lawn Mower Man just completed his annual mission to mow lawns in all 50 states – for free. And now he’s out spreading the love one lawn at a time as the donations come in to help him do so.
“Back in 2015, I was driving home and came across an elderly man outside mowing his lawn,” the Huntsville, Alabama, resident told the Patch. “I noticed he was struggling, so I pulled over and helped him out.”
The man was surprised, but thankful for the random act of kindness that Smith said came natural. And just like that, the then 25-year-old said he knew he wanted his life to be about helping others. Now he drives across the country in his Ford Edge with his lawn mower, helping others and inspiring young people to do the same in their neighborhoods.
Smith said he realized others – single moms, veterans, the disabled – could especially use a hand in the yard, so he set a goal to mow lawns for them in the community.
That’s when the idea just came to him for “Raising Men Lawn Care Service,” he told Patch.
“It encourages kids to get out there and mow lawns for those in need,” he said.
He got young people interested through what he calls “The 50-Yard Challenge.” Children post a photo on social media saying they accept the challenge to volunteer to mow lawns; in return, they get a white “Raising Men Lawn Care” shirt. For every 10 lawns they mow, they get a different color shirt.
When they complete 50 lawns, Smith will travel to meet them and give them a new lawn mower.
When he started the challenge in 2016 a handful of children joined. As of October 2018, about 255 kids across the country have participated and 22 have completed the challenge. So far no Massachusetts children have completed the challenge, but he hopes that will change soon.
Parents tell him they’ve seen changes in their children, many have become more outgoing and even are thinking more about others, he said.
He posts photos and his path on social media praising the young heroes who step up and participate in the challenge, but he said he doesn’t see himself as a superhero.
“Just a regular guy, the lawn mower man,” he said.
This time around Smith is traveling with a superhero friend: Spider-Man is along for the ride. And as any comic book fan knows, supervillan Venom has it out for Spider-Man right now, so they ran into a bit of a snag heading into the state:
His spidey friend is actually cosplayer Yuri Williams who is making the rounds with him in Boston. And he said, he’s never had any problems showing up to folks’ lawns.
Next goal? In 2019 superhero Smith hopes to mow lawns or help out on 7 continents. The message?
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“Anyone can do it,” he said. “You can really make a difference one lawn at a time.”
Photo courtesy Rodney Smith Jr.
