Mouse Calls

By Monica Garske
Mission Beach contractor and moonlighting thespian Tyler Herdklotz is living large, having recently landing a gig as co-host of a Home and Garden Television ( HGTV) reality show.

Herdklotz, whose stage name is Tyler Westin, is a featured carpenter on My Yard Goes Disney, a new home improvement show premiering June 6 at 8 p.m. on HGTV.

The show follows a team of landscaping and design experts, along with Disney World “Imagineers,” as they transform shabby backyards into suburban Magic Kingdoms, complete with Mickey Mouse-shaped pools, fantasy tree houses and extreme topiary statues, à la Edward Scissorhands.

“We turn backyards into mini amusement parks,” Herdklotz says. “I’m, like, a big, 195-pound kid that plays all day on the job.”

The laidback So-Cal businessman was hired after answering an L.A. “cattle call” for actors with the ability to build things more complex than an IKEA end table.

Herdklotz’s local stage work includes roles as a flamboyant reindeer in The 8: Reindeer Monologues and as a hot pantssporting 1970s gym teacher in Anita Bryant Died for Your Sins.

Herdklotz also appeared as a contestant in a Dos Equis-sponsored reality show where guys compete to become an assistant to the company’s “Most Interesting Man in the World” character. Though he didn’t get the job, he did win a year’s supply of beer as a consolation prize.

When not filming in Orlando, Herdklotz can be found buying his own beer at Firehouse in Pacific Beach and Guava Beach Bar & Grill in Mission Beach. If his show takes off, the next round is on him.

Tyler Herdklotz (aka Tyler Westin)
Age: 34
Status: single
Occupation: contractor, actor, TV host
Business: Tyler Homes , Inc.
Hometown: Sacramento, CA
Years in San Diego: 12
Hobbies: Surfing, beach volleyball , horseshoes
Favorite bands: Pearl Jam, Kings of Leon
Coolest contracting jobs: 8,000-square-foot house overlooking Barona Casino; 1,000-square-foot backyard deck overlooking Interstate 8