‘Street Outlaws’ Team Mourns Loss of “Loved and Cherished” Producer

If you heard what happened to Mike Helmann from Street Outlaws, you know that the cast and crew of the Discovery series lost a colleague who was “loved and cherished by so many,” according to racer Mike Murillo.

According to his IMDb filmography, Mike was a producer not just on Street Outlaws but also on the Spike TV show Gym Rescue, and Discovery’s Garage Rehab, and Fox’s Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back.

A Facebook post that the Mike Murillo Racing team shared on Aug. 14, 2022 — a post presumably written by Murillo himself — gave fans of the Discovery show a somber update. “So, as most of you know by now, we lost someone very special to us this past weekend suddenly, right before the show,” the post reads. “Michael was found unresponsive in his hotel room on Thursday night. Any more details at this point are pure speculation.”

The post went on: “Michael David Helmann was special. Not only was Michael special to us, but he was loved and cherished by so many racers in the Street Outlaws organization. Michael was our producer. Michael was that producer that we knew actually cared about us and treated us like family. Michael would just send random texts from time to time to say, ‘Can’t wait to see y’all,’ or videos at an attempt at getting the song ‘Watermelon Sugar’ stuck in my head (again) for the weekend.”

That Facebook post also included two videos — one of Helmann singing along to Harry Styles in the car and another of him impersonating Murillo to rave about his “favorite producer, Michael David Helmann.”

The post added, “Michael, you made the world a better place during the short time you were in it. We will never forget you or the love you showed everyone. Here is a very good example of how much fun he was.”

Nearly two months later, the Mike Murillo Racing Facebook page shared a photo of a program from a memorial service for Helmann. An obituary on the website for Serenity Funeral and Crematory in Tulsa, Okla., notes that Helmann was 40 years old when he died.

After Mike’s death, a GoFundMe user named Dana Walker set up a fundraiser to support his family, which has so far raised more than $52,000 from more than 240 donors. (IMDb shows that one Dana Walker was also on the staff of Gym Rescue and Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back.)

“As many of you have now heard, our best friend, brother, son, uncle, colleague, legend, and producer extraordinaire Mike Helmann has tragically left us — surprisingly and far, far too soon,” Dana wrote.

“The impact Michael made on everyone far and wide who had the pleasure of meeting him, and those of us who were fortunate enough to call him a friend, is greater than can be put into words,” Dana added. “So many people have offered condolences and support during this time of immeasurable loss, so this page has been created to help offer his family additional and necessary financial support for the proper arrangements required in order to honor his life and the legacy left in his wake.”