Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to MICHAEL NORIEGA. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, MICHAEL thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
On June 24, 2021, I received one of those middle-of-the-night phone calls that nobody ever expects to receive, even in their worst nightmares. “Hey Mom, is everything okay?” She was frantic, “Michael, your father just got a phone call from someone in your grandmother’s building! She was hysterically crying and kept telling us that something happened to the building, and we need to get over there now! Something about an explosion. Your father already left. Your brother is on his way to pick me up, and then we’re coming to pick you up. I need you to be ready in 10 minutes.” I confusingly responded, “Mom, what do you mean an explosion? What happened?! What did this lady tell you?!”. “I don’t know, she was distraught and crying in hysterics, we just need to get there. Please be ready!” She responded.
We parked in Miami Beach, just a few blocks south of the Surfside-in the dead of night, around 2:30 a.m. It was the closest we could get due to the sea of red and blue strobing lights blocking the street. My mother, younger brother, and I began our northbound trek on Collins Avenue, heading towards 88th Street—the boundary dividing Miami Beach from Surfside. Every step was punctuated by the pounding of our hearts, bracing ourselves for the unknown. As we hurried along, the darkness of the night began to recede, giving way to the piercing lights of first responders. The street was filled with a multitude of police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances, their flashing lights illuminated the surroundings in a disorienting display. The street was lined with dozens of stationary vehicles, effectively blockading all 3 lanes of the one-way street. As we were weaving through all the men and women in uniform, we got close enough to catch sight of the condo building.
A sense of relief temporarily calmed our nerves as we saw Champlain Towers still standing. Thankful that the condo building remained intact, we briefly exhaled a collective sigh of relief. No signs of smoke billowed into the night sky, no evidence of an explosive eruption that my father had alluded to. We continued through the frenzy of rescue workers, as our angle shifted as we reached the northern side of the building. In that instant, our world shattered. There was no building!
The condo building in the small Miami town of Surfside, Fl suffered a devastating partial collapse. The woman that called my father, Susanna Alvarez, was a family friend, and a resident in the section that did not collapse. As most of its residents were sleeping soundly, 55 apartment units imploded within seconds. 101 people came crashing down helplessly in an avalanche of rubble, yet 3 miraculously survived. My family & and I arrived at the scene to discover my beloved grandmother, Hilda “Kima” Noriega, was among the many buried in the rubble. Sadly, 98 lives were lost in the catastrophe, including our family’s matriarch. The Surfside Condo Collapse tragedy marked the third-deadliest structural failure in U.S. history. Its colossal devastation prompted the largest non-hurricane-related emergency response in Florida’s history.
In the aftermath of the Surfside collapse, my soul was very unsettled. I think it’s because you can chase a ‘calling’ your whole life only to realize it was preparation for the real calling that’s been chasing you within the shadows of fear. I learned there’s a direct correlation between the state of your heart and the condition of your spirit. There’s a scripture found in Psalm 34:18 (NLT) that promises, “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.” Notice the promise of this passage doesn’t indicate the Lord rescues the brokenhearted—because heartbreak is inevitable. None of us can avoid the valley of the shadow of death. When your world collapses around you, it’s usually from a severed relationship in 1 of 4 forms- a burial, betrayal, break-up, or a bodily breakdown. Here’s the good news. The pain of heartbreak is inevitable, while the hopelessness of a crushed spirit is optional. A broken heart doesn’t have to break your spirit! A broken heart and a crushed spirit may seem the same, but there are important distinctions;
A crushed spirit is a life sentence.
A broken heart is a life season.
A crushed spirit is a hopeless destination you move to.
A broken heart is a season of grieving to heal through.
A crushed spirit believes God caused this for your destruction.
A broken heart trusts God will use this for your construction.
This led me to write “Uncollapsable Soul” as a beautiful way to capture & preserve my grandmother’s legacy, to commemorate and share the compelling stories of victims of the tragedy ,while honoring the heroic first responders. It gave me purpose through the pain.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I found myself thrust into a position I never expected. I was appointed as the designated spokesperson for my father, Carlos Noriega, who served as the former Chief of Police for the City of Miami Beach and currently holds the position of Police Chief for North Bay Village Police Department. During the colossal devastation, I was honored to be an entrusted voice for my family, grandmother and a broken community by communicating our experiences, struggles and unwavering faith. Without any warning, I became a highly publicized voice and tried to bring hope and inspiration.
My heart carried a message that transcends the tragedy endured as the crisis was unfolding. It was about holding on to hope through heartbreak. As a result, I was featured in numerous high-profile interviews on major media networks that have reached a wide audience through Fox News, CNN, ABC World News Tonight, NBC, Univision, Yahoo and CBS. These interviews provided a platform to share a transformative message that answers the question many ask in times of suffering, “How do you endure a broken heart without crushing your spirit?”
My traumatic experience with the Surfside condo collapse led me to write, “Uncollapsable Soul” which boldly navigates life after loss through a collection of stories from within the fallen building. Readers are inspired and equipped to begin their own journey of redemption through this practical, yet profound guide to restoration.
I want every person that has endured suffering to know this: The mark of an Uncollapsable Soul is not that you don’t fall, but that you don’t take on the identity of fallen! Calling often reveals itself through falling…. because pain doesn’t define you. It refines you!
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Through my own suffering, I’ve learned that your pain is bigger than what you’re feeling. Proverbs 24:16 (AB) says, “A righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, but the wicked stumble in time of disaster and collapse” This challenges our misconception of failure, pain & and loss. Falling is not the problem; staying down is! It’s not the absence of failure or adversity that defines a person’s character, but rather their ability to rise again after falling. The righteous person falls. The evil, wicked person stays down. This suggests that, when faced with adversity, the wicked are unable to withstand the pressure and ultimately give up or are defeated by their circumstances. In addition, the righteous understand that failure is not the end of the story. The righteous are not immune to failure or setbacks; they’re immune to collapse. The mark of an Uncollapsable Soul is not that you won’t fall, but that you will rise. That’s why healing is paramount. Someone out there needs to hear your story of how you went from hoping for a miracle to becoming a miracle! There’s nothing more inspiring than a person who suffers through a collapse around them, but perseveres because of the uncollapsable soul within them! The paradox of strength lies in the understanding that true growth occurs during the recovery phase, not within the confines of the gym. This is also true of your soul. You don’t get stronger in the breaking; you get stronger through healing.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
The notion that “time heals all wounds” is misleading and inaccurate. It may seem comforting to believe that grief will fade away on its own, but that’s a myth. A more accurate statement is “time reveals all wounds.” Unrecognized pain doesn’t dissipate; it intensifies within the shadows. It hides in the darkness, waiting to resurface and hold you captive. If you don’t face your wounds, your wounds will face you. It leads to a deadly infection in your soul – a crushed spirit.
I had to let go of toxic beliefs that were poisoning my soul and replace them with new beliefs that nourished my soul. I call these the 5 Requisites to Restoration because each step is a pre-requisite for a healing transformation.
1. Reveal It: Recognize your Heartbreak. Acknowledging your pain prompts your healing. Awareness initiates healing because exposure brings closure. Think practically. If someone cut you deeply, wouldn’t you acknowledge that the bleeding indicates there’s a problem that needs to be addressed? You can’t address what you refuse to assess! If you don’t acknowledge that you need to heal from what pierced you, you’ll bleed on people who didn’t cut you. When we bury, deny, or pretend our way through pain, we slowly lose our ability to empathize. Empathy builds trust and intimacy. Without it, your humanity will just wither away day by day. If you conceal how you feel, how can you heal from what you don’t reveal?
2. Relieve It: Respond to your Grief. Addressing your pain positions your healing. If you don’t address the cut, you can bleed out or get an infection in the long run. Stop the bleeding. Start the healing. Be your own first responder, but not your only first responder. Even if you’re not responsible for the gaping wound, you’re still responsible to care for it. Your life decisions direct you to deliverance or deviate you toward destruction. Like the ocean, the deeper we go, the darker it gets. But the pain of healing is worth the hurt. Unaddressed pain doesn’t get better; it enslaves you. Determining your response positions your restoration.
3. Release It: Relinquish your Anguish. Surrendering your pain processes your healing. You can’t always care for your wounds by yourself. There comes a point where you must surrender to the care of a medical professional. When you’re in pain, it’s easy to feel like a prisoner to your emotions or circumstances. Breaking free from those chains begins with releasing your pains. Surrender isn’t a sign of weakness. It takes courage and humility to recognize you can’t heal yourself and that you need help. Even a doctor needs a doctor. Forgiveness also takes courage and humility. Whether you need to forgive yourself, an enemy, or a loved one, forgiveness is always an inside job. It frees you, not them. The forgiveness you receive is linked in direct proportion to the healing you’ll achieve. The more resistive you are to forgive, the higher the ceiling on your healing. It’s a paradox. The freedom we seek is found in the surrender we avoid. Relief can be brief. But releasing is unceasing.
4. Reframe It: Rename your Pain. Receiving your healing replaces your pain. A wound that’s healed is no longer a wound. It’s a scar. Scars don’t bleed, nor can they get infected. Scars are reminders of battles fought and won. But scars don’t just happen. They’re the result of a transformation process, which takes time and effort. Pain doesn’t define us. It transforms us. It’s the application of information that leads to transformation. Romans 8:28 reminds us that, “…God works all things for the good of those who love him.” That doesn’t mean He causes bad things to happen or that everything that happens is good. It means that even in the worst situations, God never wastes our wounds and can use pain to transform us into who we’re meant to be. Renaming your pain means that with His help, what we may call weakness, God calls strength.
5. Renew It: Redeem your Sorrow. Draw purpose from your pain to pursue the promise of healing. This stage is no longer about yourself, it’s about inspiring others to find freedom in their healing! Our perception of purpose is often tied to success and prosperity, but true purpose often hides within our suffering. How do you know that you’re passionate about something? You’re willing to suffer for it. The enemy knows the power of purpose, often trying to paralyze you with fear, but it’s time to reclaim your power. Positive thinking alone cannot overcome spiritual strongholds. Your purpose emerges when you’re healed, transforming the deep pain that once broke you into the passion that awoke you. Your passion is rocket fuel, propelling you on a mission of healing and serving others.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.uncollapsablesoul.com/
- Instagram: @the.real.noriega / @uncollapsablesoul
- Facebook: Uncollapsable Soul
- Twitter: @Uncollapsable
- Youtube: @the.real.noriega
- Other: TikTok: @the.real.noriega