Michael Roviello is a Certified Wim Hof Method Instructor, XPT Certified Coach, owner & cofounder of Optimyze.me, U.S Navy Helicopter Search and Rescue Swimmer veteran, educator, and entrepreneur who’s committed to helping others find ways to step into their higher self for improving physical, spiritual and mental health.
Michael grew up in Queens, NY a concrete jungle and after high school and some local college saw that there was a bigger purpose for him. Michael started to investigate opportunities with each branch of military service and finally chose to enlist in the U.S Navy Search and Rescue program. After 12 weeks of basic training in Great Lakes Illinois Michael was sent to Naval Air Station and Training command in Pensacola Florida. Michael went through a year full-time training in water survival, Aircrew school, Rescue Swimmer (Search and Rescue) school and Aviation Warfare Systems Operator School. After completion of schools command in Pensacola, Michael was relocated to San Diego California at Naval Air Station North Island where he would attend SERE training (Survive, Evade, Resist and Escape). Upon completion, Michael was ready to start flying and getting to know his platform aircraft the Sikorsky H-60 Seahawk helicopter. Michael spent 8 months learning safety, engineering, flight emergency procedures, anti-submarine tactics, and rescue operations. Michael then was stationed right next door to his flight school and was now a member of Helicopter Antisubmarine squadron 8, known as the Eightballers.
Michael finished the rest of military service with the Eightballers where he qualified as a Combat Search and Rescue operator, Naval Aviation Training and Operating Procedures flight instructor and squadron Rescue Swimmer instructor. Michael earned two Navy commodation medals (Gold Star) for his successful recovery of a downed FA/18 Hornet fighter pilot of the coast of Guam in 2003 and selection for Aircrewman of the year for the United States Navy. Michael was deployed with aircraft carrier USS John C Stennis immediately after 9/11/2001 to the North Arabian sea for Operation Enduring Freedom where they supported combat missions in and out of Afghanistan . Michael was also deployed in support of Iraqi Freedom in February 2003 on aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson. Michael finished his Naval career September 2004 and moved to Phoenix, Arizona to start his civilian career and finish his education.
Transition to the civilian sector
As a young man Michael saw the value and benefits of earning a college degree. At the age of 25 with now a lifetime of experience, Michael started his bachelor’s degree in business management at the University of Phoenix campus in Tempe, Arizona. Michael would continue working full time as a college advisor for military students and their families and attending class at night for the next 9 years graduating with a bachelor’s degree in business management BSB/M, MBA (Master’s degree in Business Administration) and master’s degree in Adult Education and Training (MaEd/AET). Throughout these nine years of continuous education Michael used his benefits earned by his military service to advance his knowledge of the business and education world while also climbing his way up the private education sector ladder eventually earning the responsibility of Senior Director of Military Operations for the Office of Military and Veteran Affairs, University of Phoenix, an organization that had over 600,000 students in 2010 and recently reached their 1,000,000 Alumni throughout the world.
Integration struggles
Michael stayed very productive in his civilian transition but did not integrate in a healthy way. Michael kept his “inner struggles” a secret for many years. Michael struggled with depression, service connected spinal injury that kept him in pain management clinics, chiropractors, on anti-inflammatory pills, pain medication, psychiatrists office and doctors’ offices dealing with a variety of symptoms that eventually led to an anterior cervical surgery (neck fusion) leaving him with nerve cell damage, clonus and peripheral neuropathy.
Michael who had a tremendous thirst for education, wisdom and knowledge continued to search for answers by attending seminars, workshops and programs to help heal his mind and body. Michael became interested in Eckart Tolle, The Power of Now, Dr Bruce Lipton, The Biology of Belief , Dr Rick Strassman, The Spirit Molecule, Dr John Sarno, The Mind Body Connection, Graham Hancock, and Edgar Cayce, the father of holistic medicine and Dr Joe Dispenza. Michael also started to feel some relief in alternative treatment avoiding any chance of having to get additional neck surgery which was recommended by his surgeon. After an episode of Joe Rogan’s podcast, Michael sought out sensory deprivation tanks also known as float spa’s to help relax his mind and body which helped him on his path to inner work.
Michael, who was still having an internal battle had reached a critical point and needed some relief. His anxiety and pain had gotten so bad he spent his morning showers dry heaving daily, losing hair and having extreme insomnia sometimes going days on few hours rest. This went on for years. Do to pride, ego and external image in my local community, workplace and family these symptoms were getting worse and life was reaching a critical point but everything was kept quiet for the fear of showing weakness.
From the Arizona desert to the Amazon Jungle
My first stop to natural medicine cures was the beautiful country of Brazil. During my trip I had the opportunity to explore the healing benefits of ayahuasca, hapé, sananga, and Kambo through the Santo Daime church and shamanistic practices of the Yawanawa tribes near the state of Acrè Brazil. After a variety of life changing experiences, changes in perception and new feelings of self-love and care, Michael continued on this path finding local people in Arizona who were also interested in Amazonian based plant medicine and started taking trips to Iquitos Peru, 100 km from the Brazil border and studying under a Peruvian Mestizo Shaman. Michael has since made significant breakthroughs and deeper understanding of self.
Healthy, Happy and Strong
Once again Michael had found himself watching another fascinating documentary. This time the man being followed and filmed was a Dutch daredevil by the name of Wim Hof also referred to as the Iceman. Wim had achieved 26 world records, notably for hiking Mount Everest 22,000 ft (6700 meters) in his shorts and no shoes, spending 1:52 minutes in ice, hiked to the top of Mount Killmanjaro Africa within 2 days wearing only shorts, and the list goes on. Wim had claimed that he could control his autonomic nervous system, endocrine system and immune system. Wim used mindset based training, breathing exercises and cold therapy to gain access to his superhuman abilities. All of his claims were being researched and validated by science which made Wim’s method so unique and fascinating. This sent Michael down the rabbit hole into the Wim Hof Method (WHM) to learn more and gain access to these abilities for inner strength, happiness, discipline and health. Wim mentioned in many interviews that “the cold is my teacher”. This really intrigued Michael since he heard similar language from the shamans of Peru stating that the plants where their teachers...
Shortly after Michael started to implement the WHM into his daily practice of fitness regimens learning about the power of breathing exercises, mindset training and cold water. Michael learned a profound new wisdom that the natural elements can teach us more. The cold and plant teachers used by Wim and Ayahuascaros of South America were finally starting to make sense. The stillness, the silence that the meditators, monks and yogis have professed out about since the dawn of human spiritual practices was able to be accessed from a routine of deep breaths and retention breaths creating a unique chemistry in the body and allowing ourselves to become fully present in the now. One of the greatest lessons learned was the power of the present moment and surrender. The days of having morning anxiety, insomnia, and dry heaving in morning showers were now long gone.
Michael has since finished the Wim Hof Academy at Innerfire and become a certified instructor teaching the Wim Hof Method throughout the U.S .
Michael is the co founder of Optimyze, a human optimization center center located in Phoenix Arizona providing new technology recreating ancient practices with a modern look , such modalities as cold plunges, sauna’s, hydrotherapy, breath classes, sound & meditation classes, compression therapy, red light therapy, drip iv’s and more... https://optimyze.me/. Our mission is to help others to take responsibility of their mental, physical and spiritual health through natural methods.
Extreme Performance Training | BREATH | MOVE| RECOVER
Michael recently (Nov 19) became an XPT certified coach, a program created by famous big wave
surfer, Laird Hamilton and professional volleyball player and model Gabby Reece. “XPT is a performance lifestyle rooted in the most basic yet powerful human trait: the ability to adapt. Challenge yourself with cutting-edge fitness through our Breathe, Move, Recover curriculum designed to stimulate growth in all aspects of human performance through exposure to a variety of natural elements and environments”. Laird and Gabby have both been featured on the Joe Rogan show discussing their method, ideologies and training programs. Athletes from all over the world are attending XPT experiences and workshops to improve their mental and physical performance. Learn more: https://www.xptlife.com
From his previous role as U.S Navy Search and Rescue Swimmer our Motto is “So Others May Live, Michael continues to learn and grow gaining a deeper understanding of self and how the 4 elements of nature can help us to understand and heal our mind, body and soul.
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