Bio

About Michael

Born and raised in Vernon BC, Michael comes from a family of teachers. With his mother Margit, a retired high school teacher, his brother Ed, a high school teacher, and his late father Jack, a university professor, it should come as no surprise that Michael also went on to become a teacher.

Moving to Vancouver, to enrol at the University of British Columbia, he studied education and biology before attaining his Masters in Education. Michael teaches grade 5 at David Oppenheimer Elementary School, and teaches high school math.

Almost as a double-life, when he is not with students, he works as the Vancouver 24hrs newspaper columnist covering the city’s social events. For the past 5 years he has successfully balanced the demands of these two careers, using exercise to maintain his physical and mental health. Michael is an avid cyclist, enjoying both mountain biking and touring countries on two wheels.

Family, career, and hobbies aside, there is a much darker side to Michael’s history. As only close friends and family can attest, Michael is bipolar. Battling the illness from a young age, it wasn’t before a serious depressive episode, coupled with the tragic and sudden loss of his father, that he truly came to identify himself as someone with a mental disorder.

Experiencing the suffocating isolation that so often accompanies mental illness, Michael found himself at crossroads. 16 years ago, in search of insight, health, and a sense of value, he made a goal for himself — to circumnavigate the world by bike and help dispel the stigma surrounding mental illness.

Realizing in order to make a big impact, he would need to make big changes, this year Michael will take his skills (social and educational) from his two careers to the road.
Check out the blog for updates on his journey.