Conversations with Michael Travis

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Travis.

Hi Michael, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I wrote my first book when I was ten years old. I captured the experiences that I shared with my two brothers, sister, and parents as we drove to the coast and back in our blue VW bus. I wrote passages in my hesitant pencil print highlighting the best hotel, the $.85 parfait, the Pikes Peak chipmunks, and the famous bumbleberry pie. I thank my mom for opening my eyes to the joy of writing about things I love. This travel journal experience inspired me to write about a new journey someday in the future!

Move forward fifty years and let me introduce you to my second book. My hope is that you will feel like you have taken the journey with me across our wonderful state, stopping in thirty-seven towns blessed to have breweries in their communities. I have fallen in love with every corner of our Sunflower State. My journey took close to eight months as I tried to catch up with the continued brewery growth in the state. In the last five years alone, the number of breweries has grown by 65%.

I thought the book would be all about beer. As the subtitle suggests, beer takes a back seat. Breweries are more about hanging out, having an experience, seeing old friends, and making new acquaintances. My focus shifted as I worked to capture the heartbeat of each brewery. The brewers share a passion for brewing great beer and creating an environment for the community to enjoy.

Enjoy the human-interest stories linked to our beer community that opens each section. Topics will range from capturing a brewer’s pursuit of a 2500-year-old Egyptian recipe to the emerging state trend of breweries opening in many small rural Kansas communities.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
What is striking about my book project is the fact that I have met more people and made more new friends in a year darkened by the pandemic than I have in my entire life. I am thankful that I have been able to complete this journey.

The biggest challenge that confronted me was the first publisher that expressed interest in publishing the book, requesting that I take a different approach. Not having any prior experience as an author, I stumbled through the next several weeks with a lack of direction and struggling with a feeling of loss. The good news for me was that a second publisher stepped in with an editor who gave me the freedom to pursue this passion project as I had envisioned.

I would be remiss if I didn’t share that it is tough being a poor, aspiring writer. I started investing time and money toward the book travel four months before I signed a contract. I am blessed to have an incredible life partner in my wife, Ivy, who has been by my side for over forty years. Her belief in me and willingness to sacrifice her health,  working herself to exhaustion will never be forgotten.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I grew up in corporate retail in the footwear industry. I started on the bottom rungs of the ladder  as an assistant buyer. I was fortunate to have mentors who coached me, challenged me, and supported my growth through the ranks of buying into various leadership roles. Most of my career in footwear was spent in the athletic performance and lifestyle categories.

My most memorable team was a united team of creative, earnest, hard-working, and fun partners who searched for the newest footwear trends that could impact our business model. Time spent traveling the world was incredibly rewarding and memorable, whether it was having gelato at the pinnacle of the Ponte Vecchio bridge with my best partner or celebrating another successful China development and factory trip with the team.

I loved the competitive nature of the business, thrived in a fast-paced environment, and was known for being a great teammate, mentor, and leader. When I look back at my corporate life, which has come to a close, I am most proud of the people on my teams who I helped mentor, coach, and guide through their time with me and beyond as I have watched their professional and personal lives take on new dimensions.

I made my mom proud in the middle of my professional journey when I shared that I was thought of as the nicest guy in the organization. The comment came from a leader with malicious intent. I was strong enough to pause and realize that life is too short to approach one’s journey any other way.

Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
This passion project has given me the confidence to peel back the pages of notes about new book ideas, prioritizing what might be the next story I will be ready to share. For those New Englanders who have lived and died with the Sox of Fenway Park, get ready for a book about 1978 re-visited. Need I say any more?!

Before I venture down the road with a new book project, I must pour all my energy into watching “Celebrating Kansas Breweries: The Communities, People & Beer” get published on August 15th! I plan on traveling to many breweries for book and pint talks, including a few events tied to a new beer release. Look for me in these breweries as well as in many of our great indie bookstores across the state.

Pricing:

• Book will be priced at $21.95

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: http://www.kanbrewaz.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kanbrewaz/
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4MnFRDqNn8frxOluFH2oKf

Image Credits
Headshot photographed by Kevin Lorenz