Rising Stars: Meet Mike Halland

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Mike Halland.

Hi Mike, can you introduce yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
In the early 80s, I moved from Hawai’i to Arizona. I went from surfing waves to riding dirt bikes. Soon after, I ended up breaking my femur in a dirt bike accident, and because of complications, I spent a great deal of time in the hospital.

My dad felt bad and brought me a guitar to help pass the time. While in traction in the hospital, I started figuring out songs by ear, which started a lifelong passion for music. In the 90s, I was the guitarist in a band called Crushed, and we were signed by a record company out of San Francisco. The company was backed by Intel, so it was very promising.

We made a music video, and they sent us out on a van tour. Our debut album spent more than 36 weeks on the college radio charts, and our music video was added to multiple channels, including Much Music, which was Canada’s equivalent of MTV. The future was bright. That was until Intel stopped funding the record company, and we were left high and dry.

We bought our tour van from the bank, built our own website (this was the beginning of the dot-com era), and sold and distributed our own CDs at shows. This band experience was my first introduction to marketing, and it really put me ahead of the digital curve with websites and social media. I started with Myspace, which eventually led to a career in marketing.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Growing up in the diverse culture of Hawai’i wasn’t always easy. I quickly realized that I looked different than many of the locals. I learned how to make local friends to avoid getting bullied or harassed.

Learning how to surf helped me to gain real friends and helped me to really embrace the culture and how I fit in. This experience really helped me learn not to judge a book by its cover and to be respectful and accepting of all races and cultures. I love Hawai’i and its people. It truly is a melting pot, and I’m fortunate to have grown up in such a beautiful place.

I also grew up with a lot of addiction in my family. My parents divorced when I was very young because my father was struggling with alcohol abuse. He had a huge heart, and even though it was sometimes hard, he was a great dad to me. It was difficult to see him struggle, but I had to grow up quickly when staying with my dad.

Fast forward to my early thirties, I was married to my amazing wife and father to our 2-year-old son and newborn daughter when I received a scary cancer diagnosis. Fortunately, I survived a stage 4 melanoma diagnosis, which really sent me on a path of pure gratitude and a deeper love for my family and life.

These struggles of adversity in my personal life have made me pretty resilient. I don’t give up easily. I still play my guitar all the time, but now it’s purely for the love of it. I have always played from the soul, but I’m not concerned about selling records or making money in music.

I honestly feel that music is one of the best ways to bring people together, and my newest music usually has a positive message. My most recent musical solo and band ventures are Electric Aloha and Soulride. Check them out @electric_aloha @souldrideofficial on Instagram. Songs are also available on most streaming platforms.

I appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As far as work goes, I guess I’m mostly known for starting the website www.LiftedTrucks.com and all of the company’s social media channels. I currently help create and oversee all of the media content, and recently was fortunate enough to work with Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Costner.

He invited us to his home to film some video content, which was quite a thrill and honor. He and his family dive and surf, so it was a really amazing experience, and he was really super humble and down to earth, which put us at ease. Not only did he invite me back to surf another day, but he also invited us into his personal editing room to watch the trailer for his new film, Horizon, an American saga to be released this month. It was all very surreal!! Check it out @horizonamericansaga.

I suppose I’m also known as a musician. I have played the guitar in some amazing bands over the years and have met and played with some incredible musicians and people. My band Crushed worked with Guns N’ Roses producer Mike Clink, who was just inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame. I’m still friends with him to this day.

I kind of pride myself on not following others as well. Both in music and my professional life, I’ve always tried to follow my instincts and be creative. With guitar, I really concentrate on dialing in tone and focus on songwriting to stand out from the sea of guitar players. In my work, I focused on lifestyle and connecting with people, while most others were pushing old-school sales gimmicks and tactics.

That being said, I hope I’m known for being a good husband and father. I have been with my wife for 36 years and raised two amazing children. They have always been my biggest priority in life. My wife and I could not be more proud of the fine young adults our children have become. This is, and always will be, number one.

We’d love to hear what you think about risk-taking.
I would say I took a risk in music and business. Music is subjective. It’s not like sports, where, you know, if I do this, I can achieve X. You really just have to write for yourself, and I hope that you connect with others. This makes pursuing music incredibly risky and difficult to achieve success. In business, my wife and I took a risk by creating and entering into a family business.

We all know what they say about going into business with your family – lots of risks, but also lots of rewards. We had a good ride, but there are now new owners of the company, and I respect them greatly for taking risks to grow and scale the company to a national level. I am very proud to still be a part of the new generation at www.LiftedTrucks.com!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.LiftedTrucks.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/electric_aloha
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mikehalland
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikehalland
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/electricaloha
• SoundCloud: https://www.youtube.com/@crushedofficial
• Other: https://www.youtube.com/@SOULRIDE