Billy Mays talks about selling life, being Superman

CLEARWATER - He's "Billy Mays," master salesman. Billy's known for his big, booming voice, and happy-go-lucky personality.

You literally see him on virtually every TV and cable channel selling everything. Billy Mays hawks with no fear.

"Whatever product I'm selling, it's like putting on Superman's cape," he says. "I become Billy Mays, the ultimate pitchman. And that's who I am. And I'm proud to be that."

Billy tops the charts as America's most popular "Average Joe" TV pitchman.

"What does it take for Billy Mays to take on a product? What is it you look at and you go and say I'll pitch it?" asked Russell Rhodes.

"It has to work," he said. "I have to put it through my test. I'm like a miner, I sift through it to find that gold nugget. It has to be special."

"Special" means mass appeal. Billy reportedly earns a commission on gross sales, plus an upfront fee to be the front man.

The best in the business are known to earn $20,000 or more per commercial.

"I get pitched products week by week. I mean, 10 to 15 sometimes in a week. Sometimes 20 different products. I turn most of them down," he said.

Watch more video from FOX 13's shoot with Billy Mays as he tapes an infomercial:

An offer Billy couldn't refuse was starring in his own reality TV show. He's teamed with friend, director, and fellow hawker Anthony "Sully" Sullivan.

The show is called "Pitchmen," airing on the Discovery Channel on April 15th.

"We really are giving people a look behind the scenes of how infomercials work and hopefully will see we really love what we do," said Anthony Sullivan.

During a recent infomercial recording session at a Clearwater studio, Billy delivered one line with loud, over-the-top gusto over, and over again before he was satisfied he nailed it.

"That level of energy and enthusiasm you see goes all day," explains Billy. "My voice is like turbine engines. The more I talk by the end of the day, it'll be stronger."

He's always "on" with a fully charged battery.

"There's a lot of pressure on me to take them to the next level but I welcome the challenge."

Because in Billy's world, "Life's a pitch, and then you buy."