About

Short Summary

You might expect an about page to contain some pretty words and phrases along with some history or background about the page, company, or author. To be sure, there is all that in the paragraphs below; however, I think most people want to know how it all affects them. Put simply, I’m offering information to make your life better and easier. 

Why or what’s in it for Mad Mike? A bit more complicated as there are multiple reasons for me but for the average visitor; the gist of it is that YouTube may someday pay me for video views and if you purchase the products shown through the links, I may receive a small commission (at no cost to you). The net effect for me is that I hope to make some money off the effort. This, of course, is after paying for things like, software, website fees, cameras, lighting, supplies, etc. etc. Not to mention all the hours to not only make videos plus the website but also learn how to make the videos and website and do all the stuff that goes with it. It has honestly been a pretty heavy lift but not completely unrewarding.

You could argue that it’s capitalism at it’s finest. I am attempting to be of service to as many people as possible in the hopes that the service I provide will generate income. My macro economics professor from almost four decades ago would be so proud.

Standard About Section

Anyway, having new family members made me realize that many people might benefit from an old man’s perspective on a few things; namely, fixing and maintaining your own vehicle and having some concept of personal finances and how to get through life.

Mad Mike himself (that’s me, FYI, and it is a little disturbing for me to be referring to myself in the third person but perhaps it’s best not to dwell on such things) is a 5 decade young individual (read as old man) who has lived an interesting life. As I understand it from my Chinese friends; ‘may you live an interesting life’ is considered something of a curse and not something to wish for. On the other hand, it has allowed or rather strongly encouraged me to take on a whole host of things I might not done otherwise.

In terms of what I have done in life, first and foremost I am a husband, father and grandfather.

I have been working on vehicles in one capacity or another since the age of five. One of my earliest and fondest memories of my father was the Saturday mornings we spent checking things and working on the family vehicles going back to when I was 5 or 6.

My background includes years of work experience in such diverse fields as drafting, project management, mechanical engineering, insurance and investments, scrap yard management, electro-mechanical industrial maintenance and 50 years or so of being a shade tree mechanic. In case you are wondering, a shade tree mechanic is someone who works on their own vehicle but is not necessarily a professional mechanic.

I also used to be a regular at a Buddhist Monastery a few hours from where I live for some number of years. TBH, Chuang Yen Monastery was the start of my exploration into the nature of life and existence.

Finally the channel name including Mad Mike is more for the alliteration of the double M’s and being memorable rather then commentary on my emotional state. Perhaps mad is best conceptualized as being out of the ordinary in the context of this website. Truth be told, I am probably one of the happiest lunatics you could ever meet.

I often don’t show that for reasons of convenience; most notably because certain people confuse kindness or happiness for weakness and I find it more convenient to be a bit more intimidating rather than have to try to correct their assumptions constantly.

If you ride a motorcycle, a practiced angry look can actually save your life. People are less inclined to be discourteous when there is an implied threat of violence conveyed via facial intimidation. My son, Aldo, was almost run off the road multiple times because he would often smile and look happy when riding. People just didn’t take him seriously. I, on the other hand, was told by one of my daughters that I looked positively homicidal when she passed me going the other direction on my bike.

Value Proposition

In terms of high falutin marketing speak, the value proposition for the video channel and the companion website is to provide high quality, comprehensive video content which would allow the average person to perform the most common and economical maintenance and repair services to their own vehicle. Complimentary to the videos and website are affiliate marketing links which allow the viewer to purchase the parts shown in the videos for their own use. The affiliate marketing links are provided for their convenience and time saving potential for the viewer while simultaneously monetizing the video channels and website. The videos on Life Advice and Financial Strategies are expected to generate revenue primarily thru views or more specifically through ad views, assuming the channel gets monetized and people watch it.

To put it more plainly, I am helping you save money by showing you how to do it yourself and, if you are so inclined, I provide convenient links for you to purchase the products shown. If you purchase the products shown through the links, I may receive a small commission (at no cost to you), which helps fund the whole shebang. The average math for these things is that paying someone else to do the work will cost you over twice what doing it your self will cost. By doing a few jobs for yourself, the basic tools are all paid for and you will continually save money by doing it yourself.