Former Detroit Lions Marketing Director Joins PRO Martial Arts

Mike Murray and his wife Mena have seen their children grow up and graduate college, and are now bringing just the fourth PRO Martial Arts in the state of Michigan to the city of Troy as an opportunity to support the next generation of children. Mike is originally from Michigan and attended the University of Michigan where he majored in communications. His career background is heavily focused in sports and healthcare, and for the past year has been operating his own marketing and PR consulting firm called Discover Michigan Communications, a brand that assists small businesses and nonprofits with strategic planning and brand development. He will continue with PR consulting as he opens up his own PRO Martial Arts. Prior to opening Discover Michigan Communications, Mike worked in the athletic department at his alma mater in media relations. Following, he spent nine years at the director of media relations for the Detroit Lions, and following his post in the NFL, spent 12 years as the director of marketing for a healthcare company based out of metro Detroit. Mena has her certificate in elementary education from the University of Michigan and raised three children while substitute teaching in the local school system. Mena tried to be as active in her kids’ lives as possible and supported them and their friends in sports, clubs, drama and music. While Mike was the football booster club president and on the board of the local little league, Mena worked in the school district and as a volunteer coaching a special Olympics basketball team. Kids and activities have always been in their DNA, and it’s this professional and personal path they truly value. PRO Martial Arts offers them the opportunity to continue working with kids in an effective, constructive and valuable way. How did you learn about the brand?  My wife and I were looking at a new opportunity to do something on our own. We’ve spent most of our adult lives doing things for kids; I’ve been involved with youth baseball for years; our kids played sports throughout their lives and my wife has been involved with assisting kids with special needs and has been a substitute teacher in the school district for their adaptive physical education program. We both assisted in helping to create a sports program for kids with disabilities at the Boys & Girls Club of South Oakland County. When it came down for us to do something on our own, we tried to identify an opportunity that would benefit the kids in our community and help families. We started to work with a gentleman who places individuals with franchises, and once we were introduced PRO Martial Arts, it was almost a no brainer in terms of the character education program, which is certainly critical and needed. When you combine that with the fitness benefits, and the opportunity to help keep kids safe from bullies and predators, we could see that it was a tremendous program and something we knew we wanted to be a part of. Why did you choose an opportunity with PRO Martial Arts?  There are a lot of martial arts schools in the area, and that’s great – that tells us there’s a great understanding of, and interest in, martial arts. I think the difference is, we truly are first and foremost in the business of character education and keeping kids safe – no one else in the area is providing the same unique curriculum that we will be offering. It goes far beyond learning an appreciation for martial arts. The fact that children have to earn character education stripes in order to advance to the next belt level – along with putting in the time and learning the techniques that are needed – sends a very strong and clear message that the character education isn’t just a byproduct of what we do, but it’s at the very heart of our school. At the same time, we’ll be offering ARMOR classes – classes that are designed to help keep kids safe from bullies and predators – and that program is truly invaluable. We’ve spent the past 25 years making a real difference in the lives of children – and now that our kids have graduated from college, it’s time for us to help the next generation of young people and families with kids. It’s really a great opportunity for us.