First started working in the coffee industry in 2006 as a barista at Caffè Artigiano, one of Vancouver's premiere retail coffee shops. In 2007, Michael competed in his first barista competition, and won the title of 2007 Canadian National Barista Champion. At the 2008 World Barista Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark, Michael finished in fifth place among national champions from fifty-one countries.
In 2009, Michael started his own coffee consultancy company, "baristahands," through which he provided barista training, competition training, and coffee education seminars for clients in Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Singapore and Hong Kong. In 2010, he moved from Canada to Hong Kong to take up the position of "Coffee Ambassador" at Graffeo Coffee Roasting Company and is also the head instructor of the newly established Graffeo Coffee Academy: a world-class coffee training facility in the heart of Hong Kong's central business district.
Michael has continued to remain involved at the World Barista Championship (and now the World Coffee Events), serving on the Rules and Regulations Committee and the Judges Operations Committee and also as a judge. He has judged at regional and national competitions in Canada, the United States, Guatemala, Colombia, China, Japan, and Hong Kong serving in sensory, technical, and head judge capacities. Michael was a World Barista Championship Certified Technical Judge for 2009-2010 and now is a World Barista Championship Certified Sensory Judge for 2011-2012. He has judged at the 2009 WBC in Atlanta, the 2010 WBC in London, and the 2011 WBC in Bogota.
