Meet Michael Gorbe

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Michael Gorbe. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Michael , so happy you were able to devote some time to sharing your thoughts and wisdom with our community. So, we’ve always admired how you have seemingly never let nay-sayers or haters keep you down. Can you talk to us about how to persist despite the negative energy that so often is thrown at folks trying to do something special with their lives?

Year 1 and Movie Stars Wine Tours has had to deal with haters and nay-sayers every day, dealing with the drama is just another day at the office. With all the background noise, the expert guides at Movie Stars Wine Tours must stay focused on delivering our award-winning, loved, very popular Traverse City area Wine Tours- that’s our job and that’s our mission. I’m the new guy here in Traverse City, I’ve only been here in Traverse for 7 years doing wine tours, so apparently I’m still considered a tourist? So what do we know about Wine Tours here in Traverse City? In reality, I’ve done more Traverse City area wine tours for longer than any of the other guides. In that time I’ve applied what I knew from my law enforcement days, we listen to the customers and what they want, and after a very successful year 1, it turns out we know a lot about wine tours- we are #1 here in Traverse City when it comes to Wine Tours.

There are only a few legal legit transport companies in the Traverse City area and they like to keep a lock on their market. Most of these companies aren’t even based in Traverse City. These other companies do wedding shuttles, bar hopping, nights out, large group transportation, etc. One of the big differences between us and the other limo companies here in Traverse, WE specialize, we only do our award-winning Traverse City Wine Tours- we specialize in only one thing so we excel.

So how do we persist? First, being a former police officer, I’m always figuring people out, reading between the lines, and analyzing everything the haters do and say. One has to look back to understand why haters hate. In our case of Movie Stars Wine Tours, who are the people who hate us? Who are the nay-sayers? The haters and nay-sayers are NOT the guests, the guests love our tours and we Love our guests. So the haters are the other local transport company owners and some of the bus drivers. I originally worked for Magic Shuttle Bus, I was one of the original drivers/guides at Magic Shuttle and worked there for more than 5 years. I built the Old Mission Peninsula wine tour with over 3000 personal 5-star reviews doing thousands of Traverse City area wine tours. One of the major reasons Magic Shuttle has so many reviews and awards is because of me and the tour I put together- I also trained most of their current drivers. Please don’t take my word for it, this is all on their review page. I realized that the Traverse City wine trail is a unique special place, however, in my heart, I knew the Traverse City Michigan wine tour could be done better… so I left Magic Shuttle last year in December 2023 and started Movie Stars Wine Tours- all our customers get the Movie Star experience. My former boss is one of the major haters, blinded by hate, he even called me a fraud on Facebook! So there’s a lot of bad blood- way too much drama over a wine tour. I have 3 kids, and when you have kids you cannot play games.

What the other companies don’t want me to talk about is that I have a combined 12 years of experience in the limousine industry, before I was a cop I drove limos in college. I also worked for a very short time at another so-called tour company right here in Traverse City. All my old bosses up here are haters and nay-sayers. However, why do they hate? The haters hate because Movie Stars Wine Tours does a wine tour better! Their hate is a compliment on what we do best. The better we do, the more they hate. Again, it’s a lot of drama over a simple wine tour! So in the past, these companies could “half-ass” it, or maybe they didn’t know better and things were working. The old business plan was to hire some drivers for 10-12 bucks an hour, hope they get some tips, get some old former school buses and simply provide basic transportation to the wineries. Believe it or not, this idea worked for a long time and still works for some guests who don’t know any better. The cheapie tour is still what many companies in the area still do, the service is to provide a basic watered-down economy coach ride to the local wineries. If that’s what you want to do then fine go do it.

At Movie Stars Wine Tours we are all wine experts and wine connoisseurs providing a 5-star wine tour experience, VIP beautiful GMC Yukon SUVs, wine recommendations, and promotional bottles/glasses of wine- we provide fun and entertainment. At Movie Stars Wine Tours our drivers are actual wine tour guides, some are certified wine experts NOT uber or bus drivers. To work for Movie Stars Wine Tours our guides all have a wine or hospitality background. It blows my mind sometimes that Traverse City guests book a fancy wine tour in fancy wine country, with some of the fanciest wines in the world, but they get on an old run-down bus with a bus driver who usually isn’t a wine drinker, this concept just doesn’t make sense to us. Movie Stars Wine Tours persists in this business simply because people love our tours. After all, the only thing we do is Award-Winning Traverse City Wine Tours! Take a look at “The Cast” page at moviestarswinetours.com – all the wine tour guides have wine and hospitality degrees and backgrounds. The other companies get a vehicle and then get whatever driver they can find- we get a guide and a tour they specialize in and then we get a vehicle- we do not offer a tour unless we are sure we have an expert to curate the particular tour, this idea is a complete 180 in this industry. We also pay a lot more per hour so we get the experts, it’s the adage, that you get what you pay for.

It must be a terrifying gut-check for the other area tour companies who have had it so easy for so long gouging the Traverse City tourists with a low level of service, questionable vehicles, and high prices- Movie Stars Wine Tours comes along taking the whole wine tour experience to a higher level of service with beautiful SUVs and expert wine tour guides for the same price! The other companies hate us because 2200 first-year guests booked with us instead of them! I’m the “tourist” who started a tour company- the local haters hate me, that’s why I wear the black cowboy hat, I’m an outlaw, and the good guys wear white hats! We persistently do the Award Winning Wine Tours better, arriving in style with actual wine tour guides- no wonder the other companies hate us! In our first full year, we’ve dealt with internet bullying, slander, vehicle vandalism, frivolous complaints, physical threats, and the ever-constant steady stream of people who thought they booked with me and mistakenly booked with my former employer. I’ve been gone for a year, I’m still on the Magic Shuttle Facebook banner and business page! Why is this? We keep doing our Award Winning Wine Tour leaps and bounds better combined with not paying attention to what the other companies are doing and that’s how we persist despite the many distractions, however confused and disappointed customers are never anything I like to see. I would definitely love to come off my old boss’ Facebook page- anytime now!

Reaction? The haters and nay-sayers try to push us out of business, silence us, intimidate us, and also engage in price wars, well at least now these tours are priced cheap according to their actual low value. The price-war tactic is a textbook non-business-educated reaction to Movie Stars Wine Tours doing the local wine tours on a much higher quality level. So how do we persist? We add quality and more value to our tours. If guests look at tours sometimes it’s only a $5-10 difference per person, most people don’t want to go economy coach so the real wine lovers usually go with us especially if they’ve heard of or been on one of our tours. Let the haters and nay-sayers lower their prices, it’s like a $5 pizza… Let the cheap tours back themselves into a corner with cheap watered-down wine tours hoping to push us out of business… The problem with this tactic is even if successful, the bus is now the “cheap $5” tour, and once you’re like the cheap pizza good luck trying to sell the good quality $18 pizza ever again. Our competitors find the price-shopping economy coach customers who are a small percentage of guests on their cheap rushed tours and we usually take the real wine lovers on our VIP tours, those guests who want the “Movie Star” experience will book with us. All of a sudden we showed up and crushed it our first year, and now the other companies are freaking out lowering their prices after gouging the Traverse City area tourists for so long!

So in short, how do we persist with the haters and nay-sayers in our first year, we let the competition bury themselves and WE keep doing our jobs to the best of our God-given ability making tourists happy and building memories that last a lifetime- it’s not the price, it’s not the vehicle- it’s the people who make the difference and we have THE BEST guides in the business- People book fancy Traverse City Wine Tours going to Fancy Wineries drinking some of the fanciest wines in the world, most times they don’t want a bus… I sincerely thank all our guests who came out in 2024… We’ll see you in 2025!

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

Magic Mike

I’m a Former Police Officer and College Instructor turned wine connoisseur and Wine Tour Expert trading in my handcuffs for a wine bottle opener. I earned the nickname Magic Mike previously working at Magic Shuttle Bus, building the Old Mission Peninsula Wine Tour with more than 12 years of tour and transportation experience… My new company “Movie Stars Wine Tours” takes customer service and the wine experience to the next level. No one knows Old Mission Peninsula Wines better than myself and my expert staff, 2022 Award Winner Top 10 Wine Tour in North America, with 3000-3500 5-star reviews!
I’m originally from Dearborn, and consider myself a lifelong learner with a Master’s in Computer Usability/Bachelor’s in History/Political Science/Criminal Justice from The University of Michigan- GO BLUE! When I’m not out on a tour I’ll most likely be field-testing wine with my “Mrs. Smith” and cooking for my 3 wonderful kids.

I’m constantly tweaking tours and coming up with new ideas and products to make the whole Traverse City Wine Tour experience a more memorable and exciting time for our guests. Tours and vehicles are regularly refreshed complete with the latest wine recommendations so our guests can have an exceptional time on their VIP wine tours. Please feel free to check out all our tours on our newly revamped website at moviestarswinetours.com. We’ve listened to our guests and I feel we have a tour for everyone’s needs.

For 2025 our new tours include a new Downtown Traverse City Brewery and Distillery Tour and a 2-day Old Mission Peninsula / Leelanau Wine Tour where guests can explore both peninsulas over the course of 2 days. We are also the Official Law Enforcement, Military, First Responder Wine Tour Company here in Traverse City because we are the only Wine Tour company here in Northern Michigan owned and run by current and former cops. We are now offering a Law Enforcement, Military, and First Responder Wine Tour where cops, government workers, teachers, and first responders can enjoy a safe space here in Wine Country.

When it comes to Wine Tours, it’s not the vehicles, it’s not the price, or the tour… it’s the people- and we have the best Wine Tour Guides here in Traverse City Michigan! We’ll see you in 2025!

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?

Reflecting on my journey here in Wine County, the three most impactful qualities include a strong work ethic, adaptability, and a constant drive to learn; consistently putting in dedicated effort, being able to adjust to changing situations, and maintaining a curiosity for new knowledge have been crucial to my success. These qualities are rooted in my previous law enforcement days.

A strong work ethic is easier when you’re doing something you love so the days usually fly by, I am blessed that I had the opportunity to get involved in the wine business. I’ve always worked hard because my parents taught me that in life, success requires hard work. My family is my motivation, my kids are my life and I work hard so they will have a better life than I did.

Adaptability has been something that I have trained on in my law enforcement days. Adaptability is an everyday occurrence so handling situations here in Wine Country as they arise is something that I am used to, I’ve handled changing situations for decades.

I’m always curious to learn new things, I consider myself a lifelong learner. Back in my law enforcement days we constantly trained so we were always learning things, new knowledge is just something I’m used to acquiring.

For those folks who are early or later in their journey in life or business, keep working hard, don’t listen to the haters, and watch The show Shark Tank- LOL. Business or aspiring business people can learn a lot from the show.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

We are actually in talks with other tour companies in other wine regions to have other “Movie Stars Wine Tours” in other parts of the country. Stay tuned, guests may be able to go on a Movie Stars Wine Tours Wine Tour in other parts of the country! We are looking for other people in other areas who are passionate about customer service with excellent wineries, breweries, or distilleries with stunning views like Traverse City. The whole idea would be that guests would want to go to each area where they can book a Movie Stars Wine Tour.

Contact Info:

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