Meet Mike Halland | Family Man, Musician, Adventurer & Marketing

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mike Halland and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mike, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
In the early 80’s, I moved from Hawai’i to Arizona. I went from surfing waves to riding dirt bikes. Soon after, I ended up breaking my femur in a dirt bike accident and because of complications, I spent a great deal of time in the hospital. My dad felt bad and brought me a guitar to help pass the time. While in traction in the hospital, I started figuring out songs by ear and this started a lifelong passion for music. In the 90’s, I was the guitarist in a band called Crushed and we were signed to a record company out of San Francisco. The company was backed by Intel so it was very promising. We made a music video and they sent us out on a van tour. Our debut album spent more than 36 weeks on the college radio charts and our music video was added to multiple channels including Much Music, which was Canada’s equivalent of MTV. The future was bright. That was until Intel stopped funding the record company and we were left high and dry. We bought our tour van from the bank, built our own website (this was the beginning of the dot com era), and sold and distributed our own CDs at shows. This band experience was my first introduction to marketing and it really put me ahead of the digital curve with websites and social media, starting with Myspace and eventually leading to a career in marketing.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Growing up in the diverse culture of Hawai’i wasn’t always easy. I quickly realized that I looked different than many of the locals. I learned how to make local friends to avoid getting bullied or harassed. Learning how to surf helped me to gain real friends and helped me to really embrace the culture and how I fit in. This experience really helped me learn not to judge a book by its cover and to be respectful and accepting of all races and cultures. I love Hawai’i and it’s people. It truly is a melting pot and I’m fortunate to have grown up in such a beautiful place.

I also grew up with a lot of addiction in my family. My parents divorced when I was very young because my father was struggling with alcohol abuse. He had a huge heart and even though it was sometimes hard, he was a great dad to me. It was difficult to see him struggle but I had to grow up quickly when staying with my dad.

Fast forward to my early thirties, I was married to my amazing wife and father to our 2 yr old son and newborn daughter when I received a scary cancer diagnosis. Fortunately, I survived a stage 4 melanoma diagnosis which really sent me on a path of pure gratitude and a deeper love for my family and life. These struggles of adversity in my personal life have made me pretty resilient. I don’t give up easily. I still play my guitar all the time, only now it’s purely for the love of it. I have always played from the soul, but now I’m not not concerned about selling records or making money in music. I honestly feel music is one of the best ways to bring people together and my newest music usually has a positive message. My most recent musical solo and band ventures are called Electric Aloha, and Soulride. Check them out @electric_aloha @souldrideofficial on Instagram. Songs are available on most streaming platforms as well.

As far as work goes, I feel the most notable thing I did is starting the website www.LiftedTrucks.com and all of the companies social media channels. I currently help create and oversee all of the media content, and recently was fortunate enough to work with Academy Award winning actor, Kevin Costner. He invited us to his home to film some video content, which was quite a thrill and honor. He and his family dive and surf, so it was a really amazing experience, and he was really super humble and down to earth which put us at ease. Not only did he invite me back to surf another day, he invited us into his personal editing room to watch the trailer for his new film, Horizon, an American saga. It was all very surreal!! Check it out @horizonamericansaga.

After all is said and done, I’m most proud of the way out company gives back. We have given away well over $100,000 to various charities and cancer foundations.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
As far as Arizona is concerned there are a multitude of awesome locations! It took me a while to figure this out. In the summer, I would say the lakes. There is plenty of wakeboarding, paddle boarding and the salt river to stay cool. In the winter I would say Flagstaff of Pinetop for me. I love to ski and these mountains and towns have a charm all their own.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My wife, Jae, and my children, Kai and Kiana would be number one. They’re some of the smartest and caring people on the planet and I could not be more proud. Also, my friend Larry Elyea, who I create a lot of music and videos with.

Website: https://www.LiftedTrucks.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/electric_aloha

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikehalland/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SOULRIDE