Michael grew up in North Richland Hills, Texas and currently lives in Lynchburg, Virginia with his wife, Brooke, and his German Shepherd, Gatsby. Michael received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2008, and his Juris Doctor from Liberty University School of Law in 2014, where he graduated second in his class. In law school, he was the Articles and Book Reviews Editor on Law Review, the Vice Chairman of the Moot Court Board, and interned with the Bedford Commonwealth Attorney and Virginia Court of Appeals Judge William Petty. He also won the Leroy R. Hassell, Sr. National Constitutional Law Moot Court Competition and was named best oralist in 2012. He was also named the fourth best oralist and was a finalist in the ABA Moot Court Competition in Washington D.C. in 2013, and he was awarded the Advocate Award in 2014 for outstanding appellate advocacy.

After graduating from law school, Michael took and passed the Virginia Bar Exam and began to work as a Magistrate for the City of Lynchburg. There he held hundreds of hearings including probable cause determinations, bond hearings, mental health detention order hearings, search warrant requests, and arrest warrant requests. While serving as a Magistrate, Michael also worked as an Adjunct Professor for Liberty University School of Law. He helped third year law students prepare to take the bar exam in their Advanced Bar Studies course, covering legal topics such as property, contracts, torts, constitutional law, criminal law, and others.

Michael has one brother and is the only person in his family without a music degree. However, in his free time, Michael plays upright-bass in a bluegrass band named Kinfolk. He also enjoys tubing down the James River and spending as much time as possible with his wife and family