Mike launched Cinemetro Films in 2001, writing, producing, directing and acting in, Diet (2002), a tongue-in-cheek spy thriller in which, a Midwestern husband flees his house in a desperate attempt to break his diet. With an eye on future large-scale productions, Mike shot on film and pursued all of the permits and agreements associated with a large-scale production. Diet screened at film festivals worldwide winning Best Comedy Short from the IFP Midwest Festival and Artistic Achievement In Cinematography from the International Cinematographer's Guild.

In the spring of 2003, while writing the script for _Dee Dee Rutherford (2005)_, Mike directed the stage play Roommate Wanted, a two woman comedy about breaking into show business at the Theater Building in Chicago.

He trained at Second City in Chicago and was a member of the improv troupe "Inside Vladimir" at ImprovOlympic with Saturday Night Live stars Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. He studied theater at Denison University and Northwestern University playing lead roles in Harold Pinter's Betrayal, Moliere's Tartuffe and Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.

He received his Bachelor of Science in Communication Studies from Northwestern University and a Master of Architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology. His home (designed by Mike and fellow architect Martin Klaeschen) was featured at the exhibit "Chicago Green" at the Chicago Architecture Foundation in summer 2004.