Building something better at 53. What I figure out, I share.

I've known since I was a teenager that I didn't want to live someone else's version of a good life. I wanted to build my own. But I got roped into the system — steady job, steady paycheck, working to help someone else reach their goals — because it felt like the only option.
Then I turned 40. I looked fine on the outside. I was falling apart on the inside.
My wife handed me a trial CrossFit membership. I found the door. I took control of the one thing I could control — my body. Once I did that, everything started to change.
"The world is on the precipice of massive change. I can feel it. I better be ready."
— Journal Entry 2017
I didn't know what was coming. I just knew something was.
COVID hit. The rise of AI. The things people built their lives around started cracking. The system I'd always questioned started showing its age.
I left corporate at 50. I'm designing the life I want — for me, for my family — from the ground up. No safety net. No paycheck someone else decides to hand me. The work pays off or it doesn't based entirely on what I do.
That's the deal. And I wouldn't trade it.
This isn't easy. It's actually harder.The accountability is total. Nobody hands you anything. The results — good or bad — are yours. That's not a warning. That's the point. That's what makes it real.
Everything built since leaving my career at 50. The coaching, the writing, the racing, the memorial — all of it lives here. All of it is the evidence. And this is only the beginning.

Swells of Change
1:1 coaching for people in midlife who are done drifting. Built from nearly a decade as a CrossFit instructor, 1,000+ hours of client work, and Mikkel's own transformation. One outcome: getting your life back.

The Norman Memorial Workout
Named for my father — a 20-year Army veteran. An annual workout that raises money for veteran causes. A way to honor the man and keep moving forward.

Kai Clark Racing
My son had a dream. I had no idea how to make it happen. We figured it out anyway — new skills, new relationships, becoming a mechanic. The racing is Kai's.

Substack
Essays, reflections, and coaching lessons — published on Substack every week. The ongoing record of a life being built in public. Free to read. No pitch at the end.
The coaching, the writing, the racing the Norman Memorial Workout - all of it is evidence. All of it is proof.
Most of what's here is free. Look around. Take what's useful.
If you see yourself in any of this - the door's open.
✌️❤️🤙