Mike was born and raised in Colorado and spent most of his time outside skiing and hiking. His first job was a Ski Instructor at Wolf Creek in Pagosa Springs and soon was on the Ski Patrol there. Mike then moved to an older mountain range to become the head of the Ski School at Appalachian Mountain and Sugar Mountain Resorts in North Carolina.

He then segued into becoming a Sales Rep and has been on the road in the Southeast since 1980. Mike and his wife Cindy have raised two kids into adulthood and after 42 years of marriage still live and enjoy time on the slopes and in the mountains outside of Boone, NC.