Work With Me - Michaelmantz

Telling the story nobody else can tell.

I’m Michael Mantz. After a full career in finance and selling my business in 2022, I did something unexpected – I started over. This time with a mission that was personal, urgent, and bigger than anything I’d built before. To understand why, you need to know something I spent most of my life not talking about.

I was born with Spinocerebellar Ataxia 15. I was diagnosed with ataxia at 28, but lived for decades without knowing the specific form. It wasn’t until a genetic test in 2023 that I finally had the full picture.

For most of my adult life, I managed it quietly, built a career, built a business, and kept moving. But when ataxia became impossible to ignore, I made a decision to stop managing it quietly and start talking about it honestly. I knew the one thing I could offer that nobody else could… my own story, told without a filter. Through MichaelMantz.com, InspireThread.com, and my memoir in progress, I’m building a community where people with Ataxia and rare conditions feel seen, represented, and part of something bigger than their diagnosis. I’m not here to inspire you with a highlight reel. I’m here because this work is real, and this community deserves representation that shows up consistently.

Michael D. Mantz

Advocate & Author

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We build meaningful, reliable connections across four distinct corners of the health, media, and advocacy ecosystems.

Media Professionals & Podcast Hosts

Looking for an authentic, completely unfiltered voice on living with ataxia, rare disease, and building a life on your own terms. I don’t do highly polished talking points – I do honest conversation.

Brands &
Organizations

Operating in the health, wellness, rare disease, or adaptive living space seeking a credible, trusted partner who is genuinely embedded in this community – not just adjacent to it.

Event Organizers & Promoters

Looking for a dynamic speaker who isn’t performing simulated resilience – but living it. Ready to bring actionable perspective shifts to your keynotes, panels, and virtual conferences.

Individuals & Loved Ones

Living with ataxia or any other rare chronic condition – or carrying the support role for someone who is – seeking deep peer connection, support, genuine validation, and real stories.

What Working with Me Looks Like

Clear avenues for collaboration built on structural transparency, mutual respect, and powerful community impact.

Podcast Guesting

Unfiltered Perspectives

01 / For Media & Podcast Hosts

Groundbreaking Dialogues Rooted in Real Lived Experience

I am available for deep-dive interviews, podcast conversations, and high-impact media features covering ataxia, rare disease, and what it actually takes to build a purposeful life around a diagnosis most people have never heard of. I bring a grounded, honest perspective drawn from a lifetime of living the journey rather than studying it.

Media Hook: My upcoming memoir, Echoes of Yesterday, Bridges to Tomorrow, is actively available for advance media reviews, profiles, and publishing inquiries.

02 / For Brands & Organizations

Genuine Community Trust, Not Just Logo Placements

I partner selectively with forward-thinking brands and organizations whose values completely align with the ataxia, disability, and rare disease community. If you are seeking a highly credible, community-trusted voice to represent your mission, I offer sponsored content, ambassador relationships, co-branded campaign collaborations, and strategic consulting.

Through InspireThread.com, we can also explore awareness-driven apparel collaborations, bulk custom orders, and targeted community merchandise campaigns centered on real, resonant stories.

Strategic Alliances

Inspire Thread Co-Branding

Live Engagements

Reframing Resilience

03 / For Event Organizers

Keynote Sessions That Spark Permanent Perspective Shifts

I speak about the absolute realities of living with progressive ataxia, navigating a sudden rare disease diagnosis, and what it truly means to reinvent yourself after a massive business/finance pivot when the stakes are personal. Available for mainstage keynotes, panel moderation, and virtual engagements.

Every presentation is stripped of standard corporate motivational cliches. Instead, I deliver a candid, grounded, and deeply human conversation that leaves your attendees with lasting emotional clarity and action items.

04 / For Individuals & Families

You Do Not Have to Navigate This Journey Alone

If you or someone in your immediate circle is navigating an ataxia diagnosis or adjusting to life with a rare disease, the feeling of isolation can be overwhelming. I am here to build bridges. Reach out directly to share your story, seek peer validation, or simply connect with someone who understands exactly what the daily challenges feel like from the inside out.

Direct Peer Support

Real Human Connection

What the Community Says

I want to introduce you to Mike, he has SCA15 and has a really cool website that is focused on ataxia awareness and wellbeing, and I thought it would be great if you both could join efforts!

Marissa

Wow, this is awesome! It covers all the points so well.

Kate

Again, another well written and informative post! Well done.

Gary

Best wishes to you! My daughter has Friedreich’s Ataxia. Though not the same as your ataxia, I presume there are similarities. Therefore, we have probably had some of the same type of experiences. I wanted to thank you for sharing, and I wish for you a joy-filled life.

Ryan

Absolutely spot on! TY for putting this out there. We were just discussing this in our Global Ataxia Support group yesterday! The links you provided are great too!

Amy

Very timely article for my friend group! Thanks!

Kathy

Echoes of Yesterday,
Bridges to Tomorrow

This memoir is the project closest to my heart – and the one engineered to have the deepest global impact. It is not a standard disease narrative. It is a full life story covering complex relationships, travel adventures, sudden loss, deep reinvention, and the quiet, structured work of building something of profound value while managing a progressive neuro-degenerative condition that didn’t even have a formal name in my life until I was 28 years old.

The manuscript is actively in progress. I am seeking dedicated literary representation, and am completely open to early-stage media partnerships, advance publication profiles, and structural publishing conversations.

Professional Media Kit & Assets

Need a rapid overview of Mike’s reach, current brand platforms, statistical metrics, and speaking topics for your team? Access the asset downloads below.

Let's Connect

Whether you are an event producer, brand partner, podcast host, or a family navigating an ataxia diagnosis, reach out directly. No forms, no hoops, no input friction.

info@michaelmantz.com

I read every email personally and will respond directly within 48 hours.