Born and raised in Orange County, frequenting Salt Creek and beaches in Laguna as a kid, Michael started boogie boarding and body surfing. At the age of 14, he started surfing and caught his first waves at Log Cabins while visiting the North Shore. From that point on, he was hooked and continued diving deeper into the surfing world.
His father, a mechanical engineer, raised him to work with his hands and often helped him with projects in the garage. As his interest in surfing grew, it only seemed natural to apply the skills his father taught him to surfboard building.
Eventually, Michael would go on to meet Donald Brink, who was a huge inspiration in his formative years of surfboard building. He would watch Donald shape, use his shaping bay and tools, and even get help from him on his first glass job. He's also met legends like Gary Larson, Tyler Warren, and Josh Martin while working at the Hobie Surf Shop in Dana Point—who were all influential in his craft.
Over the years, Michael would bring a couple of his boards to the Waterman's Guild to get glassed. He eventually started working there and at Wes Holderman's Glass Shop, where he learned to hot coat and gloss. He used his deep knowledge to begin making his own line of hand-shaped surfboards and finish shaping for various surfboard companies in South OC.
By 2017, he had proven himself to be an extremely talented and innovative shaper. He's had the honor to make three hand-shaped collaboration models with Hobie Surfboards—alongside shapers like Maxx Dexter and Timmy Paterson.
Michael has since moved to Ventura, CA, where he continues to build his own brand of hand-shaped surfboards. He works with Ryan Lovelace and hand shapes for Trimcraft Surfboards and Gary Larson at Hobie Surfboards.
