Rising Stars: Meet Mike Belmares

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Belmares.

Hi Mike, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
Hi. I’m Mike. So, happy to share about myself, but very surprised anyone wants to hear it.

I’m from Chicago and lived there past college. I’m Chi ’til I die. It’s an amazing city with amazing people. Got married there, moved to a little place called Michigan (haha). Did the whole first house and have kids thing there (I have a son and a daughter). It was a good place, but not a forever place. I have always loved North Carolina. I have family from here and used to visit as a kid. I have always thought I’d end up here someday.

Most people don’t know or find it shocking that I spent a lot of years in ministry. I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing, haha. I was in it hard, too. Seminary and the whole nine yards. I was really into the academic world. I just had so many questions. I have always been curious. Perhaps that is why I also got a minor in philosophy. I just keep asking questions and keep reading others’ attempts at answering those questions. I’m always making connections and learning. There’s so much and I’m fascinated by all of it.

I have been a youth pastor, a community outreach pastor, a nonprofit leader, I have baptized babies and youth, I was a fundraiser, a public speaker, a community organizer, a high school football, and track coach for 12 years, a substitute teacher, a mentor to teenagers in juvenile lockup, a Zumba instructor. I have started ministries to students with special needs and another to teen moms. I just care so deeply about my community… all of my community-  every person big and small. I care about people on the fringes, the impoverished, the overlooked, the misunderstood, because that was me.

Here in Raleigh, I have been a nonprofit leader, a small business owner (in Durham), a youth sports coach, an HOA guy, a PTA dad. I have had two start-ups… but both didn’t launch. I have been involved in this city on so many levels. I have been a server, a bartender, a maintenance guy, a manager, a yoga instructor, a social media guy.

I had a lot and I lost it all. It has been hard for me to put roots down here in Raleigh, but I want to be here. I have made some wonderful relationships here and I only hope to add value to people’s lives, that’s a true story. Right now, I don’t know what to do. I’m at a place, trying to answer that question.

My IG is @Metromonk. Very few ask about that name. “Metro” is short for Metropolis, as a city, and “Monk” represents spirituality. Metromonk is about finding peace and beauty and calm in the midst of the noise, like this city. You don’t need to escape the city or where you live, although I do understand the value of retreats and vacays, to find peace. I really love invisible things like- beauty and peace and wonder and imagination and meaning. I think about systems and culture, I think about it all the time. I care about the things and influences that shape us. I care about legacy and stories and art.

You can often find me at a local coffee shop with a journal. It’s kind of my thing. Matter of fact, I like being out about so it’s definitely not weird seeing all over the place, haha.

My name is Mike and has been a pleasure opening up a little bit and sharing my story with you.

Peace and love.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road, anything but. There has been a lot of bumpy terrain and tumultuous roads. Some dark days, some lonely days, some depressing days, some very broke days. There has been hurt and sadness, deep hurt, and deep sadness.

My life in Raleigh has just been a different chapter of hardness and adversity. I found out my business partner has been stealing money from me. That meant the end of that, and that happened the same time my marriage was changing. I was in my mid-30’s going through that difficult time, I was hardly keeping afloat. I was living on my own, rent is expensive. Trying to take care of my two kids and still be as present as always. The car kept needing repairs, the kids need things. I had business lawyers I was paying too. Right then, my ex tried to just up and leave with the kids. The only way to stop that was through the court system and lawyers, more money that I didn’t have.

I had lost everything, then I lost them. Then for a brief moment, I lost myself. I lost control, crashed my car, got a DUI, went to jail, lost my job, lost my car, lost that time. Just when I thought I had nothing more to lose, turned out I did. I got evicted from my apartment. Lost most of the stuff in that. That wasn’t fun.

Not a smooth road at all.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I don’t know what I’m known for. Maybe it’s for cigars and running that business I once had. It ended tragically, but I’m thankful for it. I worked very hard and I got to partner with a lot of people in this community doing the same hustle and I am so proud that I got to be a part of helping others start and build their businesses too.

Other than that job, sadly, I haven’t done anything, as far as professionally, that I really like.

I feel like people might know me for my struggle and my willingness to share it and remain positive. I write a lot about it. I’m proud that as a former board member of YNPN (Young Nonprofit Professionals) of the Triangle one of the articles I wrote for their blog got picked about and published in a book. I’m proud of my involvement as an exhibit curator for Sparkcon (2013). If you don’t know Sparkcon, it is massive. It’s Raleigh’s version on Hopscotch, but for artists and creatives.

I’m proud of my participation in Innovate Raleigh. Innovate Raleigh is a strong and vibrant community that brings together key stakeholders within our ecosystem— entrepreneurs, investors, and supporting organizations. Their main focus is to connect entrepreneurs to three core elements to fuel their growth— funding, talent, and opportunities.

I pitched to a room full of Raleigh’s stakeholders and they liked my vision of “Innovation nonprofits” so much it made it the city’s list of final initiatives. I’m proud of teaching yoga and helping so many people find a little peace and joy and rejuvenation in their lives. Maybe it was just helping people get upside down (which I do a lot of). Inversions are fun. I am so proud of my involvement to teach yoga at the Ronald McDonald House in Durham. Spectrum News heard about it and surprised me one time by showing up and running a story on it. That was cool.

I’m proud of all my involvement and the support of others. I want to help people and help others make connections. I want to help be part of the reason why Raleigh and this area is such a great area to be in. I’m most proud of being a dad. I am so proud of that. It’s my everything and I’m okay with that.

What’s next?
This is the big question for me right now. I definitely have more questions than answers right now. I don’t like it, but it’s where I am. I want to be here and put roots down and stay involved in new ways in this town. I have some really cool ideas about something that I’d love to get going here. It would be awesome and I’ve been sitting on it for years. I have no shortage of energy, that’s for dang sure.

Contact Info:

• Email: mikeybooc@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/metromonk/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YogaMikeyB
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/metromonk
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=DjmJwSZyqFzRhOL089brEQ
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/mike-belmares