We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Michael Holcomb . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Michael below.

Michael , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

Of all the questions this one stood out the most to me

I moved to Baltimore in 2015 fresh out of a trade school for HVAC with no job lines up just some money saved and some friends that had the same idea to choose Baltimore, its fun, charming and just a great time. Especially in your early 20s, In my first month i got an incredible Job working in the hvac trade, was healthy ‘Or so I thought’ and was feeling confident in life.

That all changed in September 2015. Not even a full year into my big move i had taken a fall and fell on my shoulder after a night out. I’m grateful for that fall because if it weren’t for that moment i may not be alive today and most definitely would not have an arm. The fall was not that hard but the pain was nothing i had ever felt before. I went to Johns Hopkins up the road that night and didn’t realize this would be the defining moment that changed my trajectory in my now Careers. I ended up finding out that i had Giant Cell Tumor of the bone that had eaten my upper humorous bone entirely and left me without a front deltoid, no rotator cuff and several other muscles, on top of that I was a 1 in 11 case where it spread to my lungs and i had 22 tumors in my lungs. I spent the next 3 years Fighting this surgery after surgery fighting depression from this. realizing that i had lost a year to pain and pain meds eventually vowing to never take pain meds again. My next several surgeries i did with zero pain medications. I am happy i went through this and am still challenged with surgeries my latest one being less than a year ago. But this led me to be independent in the sense that only i could choose if this would hold me back or not. It taught me perspective and seeing others in the hospital pass away around me humbled me and deepened my empathy for all life. I’ve always been an empathetic person, but this experience truly gave me insight and strength to use my pain I’ve felt and harness the energy to help others. My friends and Dog Bear showed me what it truly means to have community and I instill that into everything Myself and others have helped me build and now we are building businesses here in Baltimore today. that hold these same community aspects.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

i can’t talk about myself without talking about those around me first. I would start by saying your employees, your partners, and most importantly your customers are everything. Your energy towards all those around you is what matters. How you treat and reflect to those around you matters most. On the hardest days making sure that you are still kind to others is key. With that being said what got me into my crafts, I say crafts because i Own 6 very different businesses and am counting because i am a creative that cant stop, The truth is my father got me into my first business which is HVAC, or known to most as heating and air conditioning. I ended up not going to college and just did 9 months at a trade school and learned from my father, From there my heart and mushrooms guided me. I Opened my first Business Complete Climate Services LLC with my Brother 6 years ago and have became Baltimore top rated HVAC business in that time. But my passion is in the environment, Mushrooms and helping others and this is Where BaltiSpore comes in.

After my Tumors and surgeries i Used Mushrooms to help me heal mentally,, spirally. and physically. i continued to use mushrooms both Psilocybin and all other medicinal mushrooms to help guide me and teach me lessons. The truth is that without my close connection to mushrooms and nature i probably would not be alive today and surely would not own A plant Shop or Mushroom company.

I Started BaltiSpore after a Psychedelic experience i had in my room. I went into this experience and asked the mushrooms for guidance as i was not fulfilled and did not feel as though i was living my purpose in life. In this experience i decided i wanted to take my hardships and create a company that made products that could teach people about the wonderful benefits of mushrooms. At this very moment I also decided to move forward with creating and executing a business i had formed but had not executed yet, Cultivated Creations Plant shop. Mushrooms and plants go hand in hand so this was clear to me that it was time to do something with these ideas.
I struggled to find businesses that weren’t watering down their products and began creating my own. So many companies lie and are only hear to leach of you and I and i wanted to start changing that. I also have a deep passion for helping others which is why i am one of very few leading the way and creating mushroom products that actually work. We are 100% on the legal side of mushroom products and create wellness tinctures from medicinal mushrooms such as Reishi, Lions Mane, Chaga and many more. We also create grow kits and sell all of the grow materials for people to grow their own.

I am a firm believer in doing everything i can to help others and help this planet and i know that mushrooms can do that. We care about you and I do what i do to make a difference and understand that by building a community you can accomplish anything. Life is energy and vibrations. Just remember that every time you put out bad energy you are going to also receive that same energy back towards you. Just be kind always.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

This is an easy one that I think all new business owners should take a note on. Every business I own has a perfect 5 star rating on all platforms. This is because I am honest and know that not allowing yourself to grow to quickly and be honest to everyone.

Literally by just being fair, Honest and 100% truthful and open its made business easy.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

As you already know by now i.ve had many surgeries and had to deal with a lot of pain along the way. to put into perspective what I’ve had to deal with and how much it took for me to push forward.

I’ve had 3 shoulder replacements in the last 7 years and my most recent one being last year which was a full reverse shoulder replacement and they also took my upper pectoral muscle and rotated it to act as my front deltoid and have been learning to use this new shoulder all while managing 4 businesses. It has not been easy but it has made me extremely resilient to new challenges.

Contact Info:

• Website: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baltispore?igsh=dGl4YTVjd3k2NGR6&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/baltispore/