Egg Michael Strom was born on February 15, 1945. His mother, Johanna Strom, was loving and attentive. She tried her hardest to raise him to be a smart, kind, and gentle man. But his father, Ernest Strom, was a bitter, miserable, drunk man. Ernest openly abused his wife in front of his son. Both physically and emotionally. His son was destined to be just like him. Growing up, Michael tried to endure his father's wrath. He tried to protect his mother when his father had his drunken fits of rage. He’d only end up on the floor beside his unconscious mother, blood dripping from his busted lip. When Michael was 10 years old, his mother left without a word. She just packed a bag and left. Even after all the times, Michael tried to save her, she abandoned him. Of course, his father blamed him for her leaving, even though he abused her just about every single day and night. Larva Michael grew up very poor. His father could never hold a job for longer than a month. Fired for drinking on the job, fighting, or just plain not showing up. Michael was forced to provide for himself. He would steal from convenience stores and out the back of parked delivery trucks. He had no other choice. I suppose he could have gotten a job. Maybe that would’ve saved him. Who knows? Perhaps it just wasn’t in his cards. Life has a path for us all and this was Michael Strom’s path. When Michael was 15, his father went to jail. He became homeless and stealing from the back of delivery trucks and convenience stores weren’t cutting it anymore. Michael resorted to robbing passersby. He was on a dangerous path and if he didn’t change soon, he’d end up just like his father, or worse. But the hate in Michael's heart was just too strong. A while after he started robbing people, he decided that wasn’t enough. He started beating them too. He felt it was a way to relieve some of his pent-up aggression. One unfortunate evening, Michael picked the wrong person to rob. Former golden gloves champion out of Arkansas. Now, Michael was a strong fellow. He was built like a tank. Needless to say, he put Michael right into the hospital. Lying in the hospital bed, Michael was ready for a change. Chrysalis After Michael got out of the hospital, he stopped at a convenience store. He used the little bit of cash he had left to buy a bag of peanuts and a bottle of Coke. On the counter, there was a flyer for an upcoming boxing tournament. The winner would be paid $200. Michael never considered becoming a boxer. But after the beat down that golden gloves guy gave him, he reconsidered. He knew he wouldn’t be able to strong-arm his way to victory against real competitors. So Michael went to the local boxing gym. Michael had no money, no food, and no bed to lay his head. But he was able to strike up a deal with the local gym owner. The gym owner took interest in Michael on his size alone. So the gym owner trained Michael and gave him a place to sleep in exchange for him cleaning up and helping out around the gym. Michael was determined to not return to the streets. He wanted to make a name for himself. He wanted to be a good man. He would do anything to not become his father. So he trained and bled and trained some more. He hit like a truck and moved like a dancer. Light on his feet and heavy in his hands. It was a deadly combination. Michael entered his first tournament and came out on top, winning the $200. He tried to pay his coach some of his winning but he declined. Told him watching him win was payment enough. You don’t see that nowadays. The coach had a heart of gold. Michael continued to train and bleed and dominate the local circuit. After Michael was becoming more stable, he was able to get his own place and even got himself a nice little girlfriend. He started paying his coach, even though he protested. Michael was finally doing good. Butterfly Michael’s coach decided it was time to step up into the national circuit. And of course, Michael was eager to step up against better competition. Better competition meant better compensation. Better compensation meant more stability. Michael was a trailblazer. Securing first-round knockouts in nearly every bout. The kid was a natural. He found his calling. Michael would go down in history as one of the greatest boxers of all time. Among Ali, Frazier, Sugar Ray. Michael had changed when his path to destruction seemed ironclad. He escaped his father's shadow and defied the hand he was dealt.