How did I become Mikey Mike

I became Mikey Mike through a series of weird coincidences.

Everyone born in 1992 is a Michael

During the 90s, everyone wanted to name their child either Michael or Ashely. Names are specific and are supposed to identify people from one another. But being named with the most popular name of your generation causes a lot of confusion.

list of of top ten names for boys and girls in the official according to babycenter.com — Source: All names for 1992: Official U.S. list (BabyCenter.com)

This became a salient problem in college. More people equals a higher probability of meeting a lot more Michaels.

A natural extension of a name is a nickname. It’s a term of endearment, but when everyone’s either Michael or Mike… the impact of a nickname is moot.

Imagine being at Disneyland and hearing people yell Michael really loudly. Imagine doing that all the time. It got really tiring really quickly.

Mikey Mike Mike: A Joke Turned into a Name

You have to understand that I went to Brigham Young University (BYU) (see my story). The stereotypes are correct. People are not steeped in the hip-hop culture at BYU.

On a cold winter, my buddy and his hot girlfriend invited me to go to BYU Hip Hop Club (they dance). Coming from LA and armed with a superiority complex¹, I was resistant, but wanting better friends and something to do, I went.

I walked in. The club presidency was super friendly.

“Dude, what’s your name?”

Wanting to be a smart aleck, I immediately went deep inside my repository of possible “smart” responses. It is like one of those movie shots where the camera zooms through the deepest reaches of a brain to find an answer.

I remembered earlier that day, I had a classmate, Jonathan, who would always swivel around his chair in business class and call me “Mikey Mike Mike.”

Then I zoomed back to reality. Not a bad name for a DJ, let’s see how mad they’ll get if I call myself Mikey Mike Mike.

“Ya man, it’s Mikey Mike Mike.”

“Cool dude. Welcome.” And that’s it. No comment about the ridiculous name. It’s totally normal for someone to announce himself as Mikey Mike Mike.

And So… It Stuck

Turns out that being an Asian kid from LA (albeit a really white part of LA), hip-hop culture plays important of my identity². I really gelled with the BYU Hip Hop community.

One attendance became two. Two became three. Eventually, my buddy and his girlfriend broke up, so they don’t even come anymore, but I still went.

Mikey Mike and Friends at a Thriftshop Dance — This is when Macklemore's Thrift Shop was Huge. Themed dance party.

Mikey Mike performing with his friends — Performing at BYU for thousands of children yelling Eye of the Tiger by Katie Perry

Mikey Mikey's first show case with his friends. — My first showacse

Mikey Mike's Last Show case — My last showcase

Mikey Mike still dances at weddings and other fun events. — I've become quite famous at weddings.

Being Mikey Mike Mike has become an important identity while I was in college. I started introducing myself outside of Hip Hop Club as Mikey Mike Mike, Mikey Mike, or just Mikey.

I have never had a problem with distinguishing who people are calling when they yell my name again.

¹ Absolutely unearned. I did not understand hip-hop culture at the time. I went to a high school in LA that is majority White and Asian with 2% black if we’re lucky.

² I’m sure someone with stronger cultural aptitude has written about this, but Asian Americans find hip hop, particularly 90’s hip hop, to be especially relatable. I will point you to the American sit-com Fresh Off the Boat where Eddie Wang, the child of Taiwanese immigrants, deals with funny life situations. Hip hop artists such as Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac played a huge role in his life.