Michael Stanwyck attended the NYU Tisch School of the Arts for drama, later receiving a certificate in culinary arts from the Southern California School of Culinary Arts and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from UCLA, graduating summa cum laude

His experience as a cook taught him that healthy food could also be decadent. That said, three years into his career as a chef, Michael realized that he had a very different idea of health and balance than was found in most professional kitchens. In 2008, he stepped foot into Andy Petranek’s gym as a client. Michael’s athletic ability, as well as his training in communication and leadership, appealed to Andy, and before long, Michael was his head coach.

Michael knew from his own life experience that to achieve results, a person must be present and actively engaged in his or her own choices. In developing the Whole Life Challenge with Andy, Michael applied this same philosophy. He realized that everyone wants something different, and that different results make different people happy. Through the Whole Life Challenge, Michael wants to help people become not only active participants in and accountable for the results they want in life, but also present to and aware of how spectacular their lives already are.