MIKE

Wild at heart . . . and relentless in spirit . . . Mike has an unstoppable energy that is infectious and a draw to anyone in his radius.

Born in Germany and raised in Australia, Mike recalls a childhood filled with activity and adventure. In the bush of his hometown, Moe, he collected snakes in his pockets and was surrounded by koalas in the eucalyptus trees. Yet, besides some pickup rugby games, his only memory of organized sport was from after he moved to America . . . when he won an intramural volleyball tournament at his high school alma mater, Lane Tech, in Chicago.

Instead, his late grade school and high school years were spent working in a neighborhood pharmacy where he made daily home deliveries and dispensed medication to the customers. He marvels at the responsibility he was granted at the age of 15 to open up on Sundays and manage all the medication sales for three hours before the owner arrived.

And although his formal fitness training didn't begin until three months ago, he has lived an active on-the-go life of tending to his garden and keeping up with his sales accounts. In fact, at a time when sales relationships were more fluid, there was a ten year time span in the 80s and 90s when he would visit his buyers on the large Hoffman Estates Sears campus three times per week . . . with a lanyard i.d. as his key . . . amassing hundreds of thousands of steps in the process.

Now, however, he is highly appreciative of the twice weekly routine of personal training. Besides the benefit of having a regimen and routine (rare occurrences among work demands), he likes being accountable to a coach who makes sure he gets in his workouts. As a result, he doesn't feel as sluggish, can see improved strength and fitness, and is happy with the direction he's heading.

With an easy laugh and a propensity towards jokes, Mike makes his training sessions feel like a breeze. Yet as is evident from his rowing, plank, and push-up improvements, he's making his time count.

Keep killing it Mike. You'll get your pull-up yet.

-Coach Rebecca