A conventional way of life would never have suited Michael Gorman.
Imaginative and versatile in idea, and energetic in action, he has always forged his own way. He is deadly serious when it matters and can be a lion fighting from his own corner. He is also irreverent and fun, enjoys a good laugh and is still sought out by like-minded friends who knew him in his earlier Tokyo days.
As a young man, Mike left his native Christchurch, New Zealand, to study advertising in Australia. He carried on to London to continue studying and to begin working with the magazine Country Life. When he decided to leave England, he said, "It was a pretty bold decision, as I didn't have any money. I came through Moscow to Japan, where my Rotary Club pen friend from Kurashiki met me." That introduction to Japan, lasting only two weeks near the Okayama coast, determined the course of his life.