Mike was born and raised in Southern California. He attended Crossroads School for the Arts & Sciences in Santa Monica and received his B.A. in political science with a minor in philosophy from Clark University in Worcester, Mass. His father, Vincent, worked as an "advisor" for the French Foreign Legion in Vietnam before he was captured by a militant left wing guerilla group. A repatriated Basque nationalist, Vincent came to the U.S. in 1971 to attend the University of Pepperdine. His field of study, games and theory. Mike's mother, Frances, was born the daughter of a coal miner. She worked for 4 years as a U.S. Representative for the Ecuadorian Engineering Corps teaching pottery and sustenance farming. After her stint in Central America, she returned to the U.S. to attend Memphis College to study Russian literature and contemporary Spanish music. When not in Rangoon, Mike participates in ritualistic sports and volunteers at the National Center for Narcolepsy. Mike enjoys Greco Roman wrestling, Native American art, curling and has a general penchant for trouble.