Our Story
Our Story
My Name is Michael...
...and I am an endurance artist who obsessively values honesty. I have committed myself to sobriety and total abstinence of mind-altering chemicals since I was 26, and this has led me down the path of obsessive self exploration. As I was going down this path, I discovered my love for endurance sports. I implemented the daily ritual of running and training as a form of supplemental meditation to contribute to my ultimate goal of a balanced and quality lifestyle that I could be proud of. I don’t run from my past but try not to repeat the mistakes from it... I run onward vowing to never be defeated by the battle that lies within.
On my way to
Atreyu Running Company
I was a music school grad, performing acoustic lounge singer, and the founder of a gourmet hotdog parlour called Botskys in Lake Charles, Louisiana. The only commonality in all this is that my intentions are rooted in a passion for the products and services I want to offer that align with my personal beliefs. Everything I do is a labor of love, and therefore, makes me less of a risk-taking entrepreneur and more of an artist dreaming about a better way, I suppose...
When I got into the running shoe business
I could not understand, while training for my first IRONMAN, why the products I had to buy cost so much. So many shoes… so much money! Each pair of running shoes promised a different external solution to a clear internal goal, and I couldn’t reconcile the two. In fact, the big brand marketing confused me. Did I need these gadgets and devices? What was MY responsibility? I was determined to create Atreyu based off of my personal values of upfront candid honesty and raw emotion. I was determined to create Atreyu to empower the dedicated athletes with performance commodities so they too could feel as powerful as possible along their journey...
So here I am.
So here I am.
I’m thrilled to be able to share this dream with the world