Meet Michael Giller

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Michael Giller. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Michael below.

Hi Michael, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?

I would say my parents, grandpa Delbert, and pretty much most of the men I was raised around. I grew up on a farm in a small town. I remember growing up my dad worked multiple factory jobs for a main source of income and would fix people’s lawn mowers and cut grass for a side hustle. My mother’s step dad Luigi and his brother Rudy owned the farm land I was raised on and my parents would help by maintaining the property like cutting grass and trees. They would also help with the tractors. That’s the work ethic I seen from my parents and that developed in me. There was summers I would help farmers buck hay bails. Also what deeply inspires my work ethic is my grandfather Delbert who pretty much lived the American dream coming from a big family and created a big family having 7 kids. He served a full term in the Navy having duty in the Pacific. After serving he became a auto body mechanic and opened up a shop in the town he lived in and ran it till he retired. My grandpa took risk in his life and worked his butt off to provide. He pursued his passions in coon hunting and bowling and by doing so he earned trophies. In essence he taught me life just isn’t about doing the minimum of working a job to provide but to also take risks and pursue your passions. Coming from a bloodline like that lights a fire in me to pursue my passion in combat sports. Speaking of bloodline I have a 4 year old daughter named Kamira and amazing fiancee named Kasey. Since Kamira’s birth it has lit a fire in me to do what I have to do to provide by working multiple 12 hour days a week doing swing shifts at the best job I can find in the area. Furthermore I understand that being a father I want to be a positive role model and lead by example. Through my passion of combat sports i can continue to do that and model emotional regulation in general and calmness under pressure. I aim to be a father she can be proud of and be a great influence on her life to make good choices. All these things drive me to have the work ethic that’s been attained.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

Right now I’m a coach under Arias Bro’s Jiu Jitsu and within the next few months their opening up a new academy. I’ve been doing martial arts since I was 12 years old and got my black belt in karate at 15. Started training MMA at 17 with my coach Robert Arias. I’ve also been coached by Terry Boyd, Clay Mitchell, Tony Springman, Stan Beu, Erik Clarkson, and Josh McKinney. Started fighting at 20 years old. Competed a few MMA and kickboxing fights and was going to make the leap to go professional until I competed in my first jiu jitsu tournament and placed first in no gi and third in the gi. I just fell in love with the sport from there and decided to pursue that area of combat sports instead. Through the years I’ve trained, competed, and cornered people for MMA and jiu jitsu fights. What’s most exciting and special to me about jiu jitsu is the never ending skill and character development and connections you make with people. It’s a culture like no other. On the mats you’ll find all walks of life blended together just focusing on getting better. For me jiu jitsu exercises the mind, body, and spirit it brings them together. It’s great for mental health for those who struggle with that. It’s a great way to battle stress and channel the negative into something positive. Combat sports and specifically jiu jitsu is the pretty much the only way I can honestly express my energy. I always feel better stepping off the mats then I did stepping in to train, coach, or compete. I’m a purple belt now and eventually when I get my black belt I would love to maybe open my own gym close to were I live.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I would say consistency, passion, and will power is the most impactful things along my journey so far. For jiu jitsu the biggest thing is consistency it’s the key that unlocks the doors to develop your skills putting the time in. The passion for the lifestyle keeps me wanting to show up and have consistent training on a weekly basis. Above all is will power it’s my will that I don’t want to be the average human that just works a job and go home and do it all over again everyday for the rest of my life. The average person doesn’t train and compete in combat sports. It’s takes a special type of individual. The average person doesn’t relentlessly work for their passion in life. Jiu Jitsu is my vehicle to be different and accomplish what a small percentage of the people in the world achieve and that’s earning a black belt.There’s very few things in life that challenge you mentally and physically how jiu jitsu does it’s very rewarding to me spiritually. The advice I’d like to give to anyone starting their journey is to keep showing up no matter what and everything will eventually start falling into place for you. It never gets easier you just get better as you continue to grind it out. There’s going to be times where you feeling like quiting and questioning why you do it in the first place and those are the moments where you get better. You have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. That pretty much goes for anything in life. The personal growth that happens along the journey you can apply to all aspects of life.

Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?

The most impactful things my parents have done for me is just be great parents in general. They disciplined me right and gave me a positive environment to grow up in. They’ve always been there for me when I need them. My father has unknowingly been teaching me optimism by how he carries himself. Any time a problem has came up my dad would and still till this day will say “I’ll figure it out”. He also always says just focus on what you can do for a solution and don’t worry about the things out of your control their just distractions. My dad has been battling health problems for a long time having a bad heart and unfortunately had to retire early and get on disability from a malpractice surgery. He recently got diagnosed with leukemia. Regardless of the challenges he’s been facing he sees the glass as half full. He keeps the mood light and that inspires me to stay positive in life when going through my own struggles. That’s one of the many things that I love about my father is his optimism. My mothers impact that she has had on me is she always shows up for people that need her even if it means going out of her own way. When she has her mind set on something she doesn’t stop till its accomplished. She’s very relentless when it comes to getting things done. My parents have a pretty big positive impact on my life.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @mikey.giller
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Image Credits

All pictures are taken by phone camera