Michael Russell was inspired by an exuberant mentor in high school to pursue writing and teaching as a dual career, but uninspiring university classes were interrupted by a higher calling. His passion for creative mind-body integration led in his youth to professional freestyle skiing, where he won three world cups in the ballet event, and then to merging sport and art in the founding of SnowDance, a first-of-its-kind theatrical dance company on skis. With a life-long dedication to achieving excellence in every quest he has been a business manager, photographer, U.S. Freestyle Ski Team captain, logger, musician, stage actor, bartender, teacher, mechanic, motorcoach operator, inventor, builder, and, throughout, an unwavering advocate for individual rights.He wrote the young-adult novel Honor Student in 1989 and a second edition thirty years later, Once Upon a Time on a Bicycle in 2018, Winterdanse: The Misplaced Art of Snow Ballet in 2022 (recipient of the International Skiing History Association's Ullr Book Award), and The Unfounding of America in 2024. He resides off-grid in a secluded mountain range with his wife, German shepherds, and wild-animal neighbors. He is not on social media.