Ever since the vending machine incident of 1999, these two wandering souls were destined to be together. After becoming an 'official' couple in 2002, Michael and Shayla have been inseparable. From living in the mountains of Banff, AB trying to survive off of $46 paychecks (hey, no one said mountain life was easy), to playing house in the Lower Mainland, these two creative geniuses have finally started to plant their roots.
When not drowning in full-time academics, the brains of the show, Shayla of course, is a Chiropractic Office Assistant in downtown Vancouver. Having recently completed her Associate of Arts degree in Criminology, she is basking in the glory of a well deserved break. As a Virgo, commanding operations comes naturally to this firecracker and she is quite content filling the academic void by
barking orders and pretending to be in control. At some point she is hoping to make up her mind about what she wants to be when she grows up...right now it's a toss up between becoming a cop or a rock star - dare to dream kid, dare to dream.
Behind every good woman is an even better man and the muscle of Makoa Custom Leather; Michael. As a full time municipal employee for the City of Vancouver, Mike spends his days kicking trash and taking names. Mike was born with artism (yes, we made that word up) in his blood; with both his parents being artistic, it was inevitable that this youngster would take grasp of his creative genes and create. With future aspirations of possibly becoming a firefighter one day, Mike is trying to figure out where he's going to fit school into his already packed schedule. But let's just save the adult stuff for later...right now life is about living, laughing, and loving.
This section wouldn't be complete without a shout out to the baby of the family, Sadie Mae; a three and a half year old American Staffordshire Terrier and the driving force behind Makoa Custom Leather. After finding her way out of the
backyards of PoCo and sneaking her way into the
couple's life, she has been an inspiration to them both reminding them that no obstacle is too reminding them that no quest is too big to conquer
and no ball is worth ignoring.
Thanks to her influence, both Mike and Shayla have become insane Pit Bull advocates and are fighting the good fight for the underdog. As any responsible Pit Bull owner knows, there is no love like the love of a bully.
For more information on the breed or to find out what you can do to help please visit Hugabull Advocacy and Rescue or Bully Buddies; both organizations are dear to the couples' hearts.
So, this is us! We couldn't do what we do without one another...sappy we know.
