Who Are you?
I’m Mike. I was born and raised in Dawson Creek, BC, I’m 30 (unless you’re reading this in the future, or past, then I’m older or younger depending on how far out in either direction you’ve gone) and I live in Burnaby. I’m a husband and father, and my work is usually web communications stuff. I’m a half-reformed punkrocker and believe truth and beauty don’t need polish, and I get bored really quickly if I’m not at stepping out of my comfort zone.
What do you do for fun?
I do everything for fun. Really, whatever I’m doing, if it’s not fun, I’m not going to be doing it for long. I love being generally active, but climbing, riding bikes, hiking, or walking with friends and family are my favourites.
Playing music and cooking are both big parts of my life, but then it’s hard to beat music and food, unless you’ve got wine, and maybe a nice painting…
I like to throw a dinner party, especially the kind that turn into gong shows after the squares leave, but really the most fun I’ve ever had in my life has been the past 18 months since becoming a dad.
What is your Favourite Community? Why?
The extended community of friends we’ve built into the best family of aunties and uncles for my daughter Lucy. A little over a year and a half ago I’d have said our hometown, but since having our daughter my wife and I have found our little trio surrounded by an amazing extended family of creative, brilliant, and caring individuals.
What is your Superpower?
Other than being able to eat spicier food than anybody else, it’s my addiction to using my breadth of professional experience, born of more passion than good sense, to do good. I try to be a general positive energy output device.
How do you use it to Build Community?
I like to do things. Lots. Whether that’s building strategies and programs for communication and engagement, designing websites for organizations I care about, teaching, or just shoveling/sanding/cleaning/painting/cooking for friends, I need to be productive. I’m addicted to output, and while I may not be an expert in any one thing I’ve done most everything outside of the hard sciences and I put it to use every day as much as possible.
I’m an anti networker (schmoozing makes me want to scream) because I’d rather do stuff instead of talk about doing stuff. That’s probably why I failed as a journalist.
Kurt’s Three favorite things about Mike are…
1. He keeps this entire operation running. When the site gets a nasty and horrible worm (just as painful as the kind you get in your gut) that keeps spamming comments, we don’t call the John, Kurt, WordPress.com or the Ghostbusters – we call Mike. As CTO of The Potentiality, part of his ongoing job is to field hysterical technical related calls and use his amazing computer knowledge to make it all better. So far we’ve had about four crisis and Mike’s been able to fix each one like a wizard. Technical expertise and a calm, cool and collective head on his shoulders really is a big part of this guy and we love him for it. In addition to crisis management he’s also been able to develop all our technical dreams into the site. New site design = check. New email subscription = check. Facebook “like” function = check. As the site has evolved, as has our appreciation for Mike’s commitment to the mission and technical prowess.
2. Epic Renaissance Man. What do you call someone who can play amazing guitar, build intricate and technical websites, rock climb like Stallone in Cliffhanger and fix your leaking kitchen sink? You call him Mike Boronowski. I’ve met few people who are as creative and talented at so many things as Mike is. To boot, he does it all with a giant smile on his face. Which is nice, because he has a great smile.
3. Food. This guy can cook. It is little wonder he rated dinner parties high on his list of things he likes to do for fun. And while many of us can cook, Mike’s meals are always jammed with fresh and (when possible) locally produced ingredients. His last dinner party had these amazing Garlic pita pizzas that still make my stomach growl for more.
John’s Three Favourite Things about Mike are…
1. Kurt’s Three Favourite Things. Not only does Mike keep this blog running, but he also keeps it looking and feeling awesome and, I dare say, ahead of its time. Mike sings, writes, climbs mountains, makes delicious food, surprises his wife with “cowboy” renovations, takes his daughter everywhere, consults for nonprofits, and genuinely makes the world a better place. And, yes, the food. I’ve gluttoned myself thanks to Mike on more than one occasion. As with any good Renaissance Man, he’s simultaneously a man of his time and well ahead of the curve all at once.
2. Sense of Adventure. Not only does Mike have a passion for adventure, but his passion is contageous, too! Should Kurt have climbed a rock-face with little training and borrowed equipment? Probably not. Did he because of the confidence he has – we all have – in Mike? Absolutely. Did he almost die? Maybe, but that’s not the point. The point is that – whether it’s painting an apartment or a weekend camping trip – you can be sure that Mike will make a fun, exciting, and story-worthy adventure of it.
3. Passion for Community. Perhaps my most favourite thing about Mike is when he gets an excited gleam in his eye, kinda screws-up his face, and then launches into a story or idea about how to make the world a better place. His energy is inspiring. His ideas are sound. And his ability to tactically deliver results makes him a legitimate world-changer in myriad ways. I’m proud and lucky to call him my friend and tireless subordinate colleague. Because with Mike anything’s possible.