Growing up in Romania under a rigorous communist regime, Mihael did not enroll in gymnastics for his love of the sport; he was sent to the gym as a form of recovery after narrowly fighting death due to illness as a young child. At only five years old, Mihael was rushed to the hospital where he ultimately lost his pulse, and doctors were initially stumped by what could be wrong with him. In a small miracle; his pulse returned and he was diagnosed with toxic shock, sepsis, & kidney failure. He was given only a few weeks to live but miraculously he was able to recover. After his unbelievable recovery, Mihael was asked by doctors to start doing a sport in order to regain his strength and mobility.
Within two years after beginning gymnastics, Mihael had already become a pommel horse Gold medalist with the score of a perfect 10! In only two short years he went from needing help to move and being too weak to stand on his own; to becoming a Champion in what is said to be the hardest sport in the entire world, in a country which is famous for having the best athletes in the sport. Despite all odds he became Junior National Champion and one of the strongest competitors on the Romanian National Team.
He continued to make great strides in his gymnastics career, winning many National Titles and training on the Romanian Olympic Gymnastics Men’s National Junior Team. In 1994 Mihael’s career came to a halt when he suffered a catastrophic injury on high bar in which he suffered extreme facial and head trauma. This injury nearly ended his ability to do gymnastics again. After being out of gymnastics and any type of physical activity for eight months due to medical restriction, his strong mind and love for gymnastics brought him back to the sport, and less than a year after returning he regained his title of pommel horse National Champion. In 1998 he was placed on the Senior Olympic National Team. He went on to again win multiple National Titles and to compete the skill on high bar which nearly killed him.
After receiving an offer to train in Cirque du Soleil, Mihael left gymnastics, and moved to Canada where his artistic and acrobatic talents were highlighted while he trained to perform in Cirque du Soleil shows. His areas of expertise we the flying trapeze, Russian swing, and the aerial hoop. His experience enlightened him to conditioning which was specific to each athlete’s needs in order to prevent and rehabilitate injury. Although he loved the company, training, atmosphere, and everything about his experience with Cirque du Soleil, he returned to Romania to begin coaching gymnastics.
In 2002 Mihael was awarded his Bachelor’s Degree in Sport specializing in Artistic Gymnastics from the National School of Coaching in Bucharest, Romania. In a short period of time he became one of youngest most highly decorated coaches in the country; training gymnasts with multiple National & International Championship titles; most recently his former gymnast, Diana Bulimar, competed in the 2012 London Olympic Games, winning a bronze medal in the team competition.
As a young coach Mihael was determined to break away from the tactics of the Romanian coaching style he was trained under and prove that by combing the excellent technical style Romania was renowned for, with positive, empathetic coaching psychology which Romania lacked, athletes could have peak performance in a healthy environment.
Acting as a voice of justice for his gymnast who was the victim of hidden abuse, Mihael was blackmailed as the scapegoat for speaking out as a whistleblower. Although sought after as a National team coach specializing in uneven bars, the injustice his athlete faced lead him to resign from the Romanian Gymnastics Federation, and make his way to America where he dreamed to coach his athletes freely in the style of his choosing, without being forced to conform to a system he felt was abusive.
Today Mihael is renowned for his impactful, holistic, coaching style in which he emphasizes reaching the athlete on a personal, psychological level; stimulating positive energy which propels the athlete towards outstanding performance. He is admired as one of the worlds’ most advanced skill spotters, with a unique gift for identifying talent and bringing out the best in each gymnast.