We recently connected with Spider Michaels and have shared our conversation below.
Spider, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
Before I answer the question of where I get my resilience from, I’d like to define the term. Resilience is the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.
Everyone faces difficulties and hardships throughout life. It is just a part of living. No one breezes through life without ever having to deal with adversity. Many have discussed the highs and lows, the peaks and valleys of life. It has been said that a person can’t really appreciate the highs without ever experiencing the lows.
In my younger years, I was a lifeguard. I wrote about my experiences in the first book that I published, ‘Lifeguarding at a Waterpark’ by Spider 113. Some of those experiences bear repeating in this interview.
As a young child, I almost died in the water. A group of friends were swimming across the deep end of our community pool and I joined them, even though I was an inexperienced, self-taught swimmer. Another kid began taunting me by pulling my legs. This caused me to lose my composure and begin to drown.
I went under and blacked out. There was no life flashing before my eyes, no light at the end of a tunnel, just black unconsciousness. My next memory is coming to consciousness on the side of the pool by the lifeguard stand.
Many have seen the movie ‘Sandlot’, where Squints fakes drowning to get the attention of the sexy lifeguard, Wendy Peffercorn. The lifeguard at our community pool was a tall, slim, tanned, beautiful blonde named Sheree’. She saved my life that day. Because of this, I know a little of what death is like after having come so close to it.
After a near-death experience like that, many would never go in the water again. This never entered my mind. I was back playing in the pool that day.
I won’t write the whole story here but I’ll give you the highlights. A few years after my near-death experience, Sheree’ taught a lifeguarding class and I signed up for it. I did really well in the class and Sheree’ never forgot that.
Two years later, Sheree’ was working as a lifeguard supervisor at the first waterpark ever built in Houston, Six Flags WaterWorld, next to Six Flags AstroWorld. Sheree’ called to recruit me to work there also. I went on to work there for 13 years and became a 13 time lifeguard champion.
I faced numerous challenges and obstacles as a Water Safety Supervisor at WaterWorld. And each time, with hard work and some serious thought, I overcame and prevailed.
Working as a lifeguard supervisor and becoming a lifeguard champion after almost drowning has given me a healthy amount of confidence to believe that I can overcome insurmountable odds and still succeed.
Resilience is refusing to lose, quit or give up. To continue on, no matter the obstacles in your path. And resiliency is acquired over time with many little victories that lead to major wins.
When a person experiences success after a set-back, a certain confidence level is developed by these individuals. And when another derailment occurs in their plans, that confidence helps them visualize achieving victory again. In a way, it pairs well with the Power of Positive Thinking.
When facing a difficult situation, it may help to realize that others have faced worse and still found success. There is a saying that I’ll think of from time to time. It goes… “That’s no hill for a climber.” In this scenario, I consider myself a climber and any hill I face, I can summit.
After I ended my career as a lifeguard supervisor, I began working in motorsports. I knew exactly zilch about auto racing. Again, I was faced with a new and difficult, challenging situation. I was assigned the job of entertaining VIP guests by giving them tours of the NASCAR Garage Area and Pit Road.
I took this assignment very seriously and knew that I had my work cut out for me. Fast-forward down the road and I became one of NASCAR’s best Pit Tour Guides for a ten year period by becoming extremely knowledgeable about NASCAR and auto racing. After each race, our corporate office would receive several emails commenting positively on my performance and oratory skills from the race.
I went on to work with many famous NASCAR drivers and teams including Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Dale Earnhardt Jr. I worked with teams that won the Daytona 500 three times, the Brickyard 400 five times, the IndyCar Championship two times and the NASCAR Championship four times.
I also have a really nice championship ring collection from my days of lifeguarding and motorsports. There are not many people that possess a Jeff Gordon NASCAR Championship ring with their name on it as well as an IndyCar Championship ring from Panther Racing and Sam Hornish, Jr.
I was also taught how to drive these extremely fast NASCAR race cars while attending driving schools all across America. I’ve driven tracks at high speeds like the Daytona International Speedway and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home to the Indy 500 and the Brickyard 400.
Being resilient can also mean being able to adapt to difficult situations. When you are thrust into a scenario where everyone is operating at the top of their game, you have to develop fast or get left behind.
I’ve faced difficulties in my life and professional career, and I always remember that old line… “It’s time to sink or swim.” I always end up swimming, and well, at that.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
My life has come full circle in some regards. I own and operate a Media company and a clothing company, as well as function as a Founder and the President of a charitable Nonprofit Corporation. I’ll give you a little history about each and how all of this happened.
I mentioned that I was a lifeguard champion. WaterWorld competed in lifeguard competitions and I was on the team for 13 championships. All total, WaterWorld won 15 consecutive championships over a 10 year period. That includes 10 straight Texas State Lifeguarding Championships and 5 Regional Championships.
The name of our team was developed by Ken Pecot with the help of Pat Lavin, who were both Park Supervisors. The name was S.T.O.R.M., which stood for Strong Team of Rescue Men. We all loved the name and all of the waterpark guards were considered STORM Team Members.
I’ll get back to STORM in a bit.
When I began working in NASCAR, IndyCar and the NHRA, I was given a Hot Pass that allowed me to go anywhere around the tracks that I wanted. Having this type of access was truly amazing. I was witness to things that millions of fans wish they could see.
I was traveling to a different major city in the U.S. every weekend for a race and getting to see all of these behind the scenes areas. I recognized this as a great opportunity.
I purchased a good camera and began documenting my travels and experiences. I’ve covered most of the major attractions in the U.S. with photos, videos and blog stories. Just a few are the Statue of Liberty, the Liberty Bell, Mount Rushmore, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Empire State Building, Seattle’s Space Needle, Graceland and more.
It was during this time that I became quite an accomplished Photo-Journalist with my coverage of big races like the Indy 500, the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400.
Another event that I covered was the largest motorcycle rally in the world, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, in South Dakota. I was there the full 10 days and captured some amazing images and videos of the event. I published a book about my experience at this rally.
I also began traveling to Europe during my years working in motorsports. I’ve made several trips to Paris and Amsterdam, as well as London and the Italian Riviera. In Paris, I covered all of the major attractions with photos, videos and blog posts, including the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, Sacre Coeur, the Louvre, the Mona Lisa and the list goes on. I’m currently finishing up a book about my experiences in the City of Light.
I did complete and publish a book about Amsterdam’s famous Red Light District. The book, photos, videos and blog posts from there are highly entertaining.
Those places and attractions that I just mentioned as well as the racing media became quite a large collection.
I had always planned on sharing my experiences with others so I developed a website to house it all. And although I began as a one man gang, I now utilize some of my lifeguard friends to cover events and offer input as to the operation of this website.
It was decided to use the name STORM and call this website The STORM Factory since we are all former STORM lifeguard members. We are still a strong team of rescue men that are now capturing the fun in life and taking no prisoners.
The view count for the Factory’s photos, videos and blog posts is in the millions. And grows each year. People from all over the world follow the events and attractions covered by the Factory. Many have said that they live vicariously through us.
So you can see how my early lifeguarding career and my motorsports career intertwined to create a great Media website with something for everyone.
Another aspect of The STORM Factory is the company called CONTRABAND. It is a pirate-themed clothing and gear company.
I grew up in Sulphur, LA, near Lake Charles, where every year they had a festival called Contraband Days that celebrated their Pirate History.
The flag for STORM was a Jolly Roger as we all considered ourselves Pirates. And when I decided to start a clothing and gear company with a Pirate theme, the name Contraband seemed like the perfect fit.
I actually own the Trademark to the word Contraband, so in essence, I own and sell Contraband, like any good Pirate would.
My lifeguard friends and I have always enjoyed saving lives and helping others. Jeff Smith, a lifeguard friend, and I got together and realized that we both had the idea to do some charity work, so we developed a nonprofit called The STORM Foundation.
We invited some of our lifeguard friends to become Board Members and our charitable nonprofit corporation was formed. One of our slogans is “Helping children for a better tomorrow.”
We also offer aid to those suffering from mental illness. To date, we’ve helped put smiles on many faces and will continue to do more new and exciting things in the future.
The STORM Foundation is a source of pride for all involved because it affords us the opportunity to continue giving back to the community in a meaningful and useful way. You can donate to our cause by visiting our website listed at the end.
As you can see, I stay very busy with covering Special Events and Attractions for the Factory, writing books, screenplays and poetry, owning and operating a clothing and gear company, acting, doing stand up comedy and functioning as president of a nonprofit.
There are times that I think I’m lucky to be alive after almost dying at a young age. Most people have heard of the phrase Carpe Diem, which is Latin for “Seize the Day.” Great words to live by and I do mean ‘live’.
I learned that Carpe Diem, in the literal sense, means “Pluck the day (as it is ripe).”
As for what I’ve been up to recently, I spent a week in L.A. and covered some great attractions, including the ceremony for Carrie Fisher getting her Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Locally, I also covered Mardi Gras in Galveston, Houston’s Livestock Show and Rodeo BBQ Cook Off, the Art Car Ball and Comicpalooza, the largest Fan Expo in Texas.
I’ll spend the Summer attending comicons in the Houston area like Delta H Con, Anime Texas, Anime Houston, the Houston Horror Film Festival convention, Anime Matsuri and for every weekend in October and November, I’ll be attending the largest renaissance festival in the country, the Texas Renaissance Festival.
My year stays busy with covering Special Events and attractions like the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Houston Zoo and any other popular things I can find to do around Space City.
And there are some international trips being planned. We’ll cover several cities in Italy including Rome, Florence, Milan, Naples and possibly a few more. Another international destination that is on our radar is Tokyo.
The STORM Factory offers entertainment year-round and we enjoy providing a fun, free site for all to enjoy. Putting the fun in Photo/Journalism.
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’d say that the 3 things that were most impactful for me were education, attitude and bravery.
There is no aspect of life that isn’t improved by education. Every lawyer, doctor, welder, electrician, cosplayer had to get an education in order to do their jobs well.
I learned all that I could about lifeguarding and it helped propel me to a managerial position at a large Six Flags waterpark.
I educated myself about auto racing and motorsports which helped me excel at my job in Motorsports Marketing for a long time.
I’ve utilized knowledge gained from a lifetime of education and experiences to function at a high level as a creative person and business owner, as well as the president for an inspiring nonprofit corporation.
Attitude plays an important role in a person’s success as well. No one wants to be around a sour puss or person with a bad attitude.
Being upbeat, optimistic and a ‘Glass is Half Full’ type of person will go a long way to someone achieving, whether that be a promotion or raise in pay.
No one wants it said about them that they ‘Need an attitude adjustment.’ Having a good attitude can sometimes be a person’s best asset.
I used the term bravery but it’s more about having no fear of failure. I have failed way more than I have succeeded. The upside to failure is the opportunity to learn. Either you learn why something didn’t work or you learn how it will work the next time.
Every successful person has faced failure and rejection. It is just part of the equation. No one has ever succeeded initially at everything they’ve tried.
The advice that I would give to someone concerning education, attitude and bravery is… learn all that you can about whatever endeavor you are undertaking, be a team player with a can-do attitude and never let the fear of failure keep you from trying and succeeding.
Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
No one gets through life without help from family, friends or a mentor. I have used all three while on my path.
My first occupational training course was that lifeguarding class that I took with Sheree’. She was a great teacher and taught me skills that I would go on to use for over a decade in the fast-paced industry of waterpark lifeguarding.
At the waterpark, I had several close friends that also acted as mentors and showed me the ropes. Jim Wilson was my first head guard at the park and I learned a lot from him. We are still tight friends. Kyle Stith was one of the people that interviewed me for a head guard position and ended up recommending me. I learned a lot from Kyle also. And we still talk often, to this day.
Pat Lavin was the Park Supervisor and once I was promoted to a lifeguard supervisor, with the title of Water Safety Supervisor, I spent a lot of time around him. Pat was widely considered one of the smartest in our group of supervisors. I learned so much from Pat.
He asked me to help him coach the lifeguard team and we were very successful together. I took what I learned from Pat and applied it to our lifeguard softball team that I was coaching. As the lifeguard team went undefeated for 10 years, our softball team went undefeated while I was coaching. The volleyball team that I coached was equally successful.
Those AstroWorld teams we competed against were good and extremely competitive. The team from the Rides department always won the softball championship before I got involved.
Pat even changed the name of STORM from “Strong Team of Rescue Men” to reflect our goals when competing against AstroWorld. It was “Society to Overthrow Rides’ Monopoly.” For many years, people thought that was what the acronym stood for.
I learned many valuable things by listening and retaining the information that was being passed on to me about how to run a waterpark in the safest way possible and coach a championship team, whether it be lifeguarding, softball, volleyball, etc.
I was trained by those that had gone before me and I, in turn, passed that knowledge on to those that followed me.
When I transitioned into Motorsports Marketing, I was working for an amazing woman who taught me quite a lot about marketing and also auto racing. She was the owner of a Motorsports Marketing Agency called RaceWorks. That woman was my sister, Karen.
RaceWorks was one of the only female-owned agencies in all of motorsports, which was a male-dominated sport at the time.
Karen worked her way to the top and proved herself worthy in a tough sport that is difficult to achieve success. And she was a great mentor from whom to learn. With my positive attitude, willingness to learn and a great teacher, I was destined for success in this field.
As the owner of The STORM Factory and CONTRABAND, I am always utilizing the opinions and input from my fellow lifeguard friends. They offer sound advice and good counsel on issues associated with operating a media company, as well as a clothing and gear company.
A mentor can be very valuable on whatever road you find yourself traveling. They can save you time, money and frustration by imparting to you the important things that they have learned while traveling the same roads you wish to follow, and help you avoid pitfalls that they’ve experienced.
Utilizing mentors throughout my career has helped and enabled me to become successful at many things that I’ve attempted. My advice to you is to find a mentor and listen to what they have to say. You don’t have to take all of their advice but listen. This could be the very key to your success.
I’d like to close this interview with a few thoughts…
It has been said that if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. There are some that don’t understand that so I will elaborate.
I cover several Special Events throughout the year. One of those events is the Texas Renaissance Festival, which goes on for 8 weekends in October and November each year. I end up working about 10 – 12 and sometimes 15 hour days on these 8 weekends of the TexRenFest.
It is long hours of walking, talking, taking photos, and videos then long hours to edit and process this media before uploading to the Factory website for all to enjoy. If I didn’t love doing this it would feel like I was doing a job that I hated and exhausted me.
But since I do love this assignment, the work seems like play to me and I’ve “never worked” a day of the festival.
So there you have it. If you love what you do, it won’t seem like work so you’ll never work a day in your life.
The key to a happy and successful life is in making good decisions. Choose something that makes you happy then pursue it with all of your energy and efforts. The pay-off is far better than you can imagine.
“The elation of success should always outweigh the fear of failure.”
– Spider Michaels
“A good attitude as your calling card will get you welcomed into most groups.”
– Spider Michaels
“Think of others, it will make a difference in you.”
– Spider Michaels
The STORM Factory – “Capturing the fun in life and taking no prisoners.” Photos, Videos, Blog Posts, Books, Interviews, Clothing, Gear, all fun, all the time.
The STORM Foundation – “Helping children for a better tomorrow.”
CONTRABAND – “When you’re feeling extreme.”
Books:
- Lifeguarding at a Waterpark
- The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
- Amsterdam and the Famous Red Light District
Books in progress:
- Paris: A Traveler’s Story
- My Motorsports Memoir: NASCAR
- My Motorsports Memoir: IndyCar and the NHRA
- A Pirate’s Poetry: Rhymes from a Rogue
- Muffo & Bubba: ‘What a Joke’ Book
Screenplays:
- H2O
- Walk like a Man
- Diamonds and Dreams
- The Devil’s Apprentice
- Intrepid Voyage
“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”
– Benjamin Franklin
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thestormfactory.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thestormfactory.usa/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheSTORMFactoryUSA/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/spiderschannel
- Other: http://Contraband.World
https://spidermichaels.com/
https://www.facebook.com/spidermichaels/
https://www.instagram.com/spider_michaels/
https://SpidersBooks.com
https://thestormfoundation.org/
https://www.instagram.com/thestormfoundation/
https://www.facebook.com/TheSTORMFoundation/
https://www.paulmichaelsphotography.com/
https://officialpaulmichaels.com/
Image Credits
Jordan Fischels