Hailing from the Beautiful Scenic atmosphere of the Hudson Valley in Upstate New York, Michael grew up fascinated by the combination of exploration as a child in the wooded areas behind his family's house, venturing into the unknown with his siblings for hours and hours on end. Heralding stories of excitement and suspense for the young group, more than mild headaches for their mother and father with their children disappearing into the abandoned woodland lot beside the property.

The oldest of five children in the family, Michael was always working on something creative. Passionate about story, his childhood was wrapped around endless hours of Super Mario Brothers 3, how to try and beat the game and still stay awake long enough to not get in trouble in the morning for sneaking marshmallows and peanut butter and fluff sandwiches in the wee hours of the morning while attempting this Nintendo Conquest.

Creating his own greeting cards and Christmas tags was undoubtedly something you would expect to have given to you for a holiday or birthday, as many of his early adolescent years were spent being creative in lieu of no internet connection, no telephone, and sometimes even no power. The absolute powerhouse of creative resource potential.

Life, relationships and work experiences have brought Michael all over the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, where he experiences vast new foods, cultures and opportunity. Being hospitalized multiple times in his mid-twenties resulted in the knowledge of his body's inability to ingest wheat or gluten in his system, also known as Celiac’s Disease, has caused Michael to reevaluate his way of thinking about Foods and his diet. Although, he does remember and appreciate the amazing dishes cooked by his Sicilian great grandmother and great aunt, who were known in the New Windsor area of New York for a Luncheonette they ran with his great Grandfather.

Classic rock, improv comedy and stand-up comedy, trading cards, super heroes and Indie game development, have all been definitive influences on his life, perspective, and personal work ethic.

Michael's design brand, Mik Tek Studios, focuses his creative talents of design, creative content and marketing, to those customers and close friends who know and appreciate his style and effort of work. The name Mik Tek actually came as a nickname joke from his father, combining Michael's love of technology with his name. His father unironically mispronounces it as “Mick Tech” as of this writing.