About Michael
My Story
I grew up with a passion and love of sports, along with just a general interest in being healthy. Before the age of 10 though, I was dealing with pretty severe IBS, that continued to plague my daily life for nearly two decades.
I spent my high school years competing at the Varsity and state level in both wrestling and weight lifting, which required me to focus on strength, but also trying to keep my weight down. Needless to say, my body suffered multiple injuries with both my clavicles dislocated, multiple sprained ankles, a hairline fracture in my sternum and worn down knees, that resembled those of a man twice my age.
By the time I was in my early 20s I had spent several years working in professional kitchens and I was consuming 2000mg of Ibuprofen daily (well above the daily recommended limit) just to make it through a work day. When my twin boys were born in 2014, I was working 65+ hours a week, on my feet in kitchens, and negligent sleep. Needless to say, I was surviving off whatever I could eat at work, way too much coffee, soda, and pain killers.
I knew something had to change, but I was clueless what I could do. My IBS was worse than ever before, sometimes keeping me from work, enjoying summer hikes, or even fishing out of fear of little to no bathroom access. My pain was constant and my energy was non existent.
Thankfully, about this time I was over for dinner at my dad's, who also happens to now be an FNTP. He had just begun reading some of the newest and up to date books on nutrition and health, and was blown away by what they were saying. He shared a few with me, so I listened to them on audible while driving to work. I was dumbfounded. I dove all in and sucked up any and everything I could get my hands on for nutrition and health.
Within just a few weeks my digestion was better than ever, with almost no symptoms of IBS at all, my pain was much better, hardly needing any Ibuprofen at all, and even my energy was way up. I have been locked in ever since, reading over 100 books, listening to hundreds of hours of podcasts, speaking with some of the most respected doctors, RDs, and nutritionists in the country.
I went through 2 full training programs, the Nutritional Therapy Association and Primal Health Coach Institute. I am also currently studying Functional Nutritional Testing at Metabolic Healing, and Nutrition & Integrative Medicine for Diabetes, Cognitive Decline & Alzheimers Disease from the Leslie Korn Institute of Integrative Medicine. I have also taking several training courses from various providers on the Organic Acids Test, Mycotoxin testing, Stool testing, and even other various blood chemistry courses.
I have worked for one of the top Functional Medicine Doctors in the NW of Washington, ran my own practice, and previously was in charge of content development and nutritional counseling for Destination Health, a company targeted at helping long haul truck drivers.
I now live in the Pacific Northwest with my expecting wife, twin boys who are entering into 3rd grade and our 2 dogs, Leo and Zoya. Chicken wings are my favorite food and Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream is my comfort food. I enjoy the occasional indulgence of a good quality European red wine, a rich cigar, or a glass of Scotch. I spend my free time exploring the outdoors, whether it's hiking trails backpacking in the mountains or out on my kayak fishing for bass.