Pookie's ability to deliver a powerful performance is drawn from his real life experiences. He grew up in a remote rural area in Wisconsin, doing things most of us only see in movies, like milking cows, racing snowmobiles, motorcycles and running large pieces of heavy duty farm equipment.

Lyle Allen DeRose Jr. (Pookie) was born on May 30, 1962, in Racine, Wisconsin, to Barbara DeRose (Lutz) a retired Executive Secretary and Lyle Allen DeRose Sr., who is a retired Industrial Engineer.