Miky believes that while he is direct and truthful, the world isn’t necessarily all it seems.  A favourite saying for Miky is “All that glitters is not gold”. He believes that the world is getting better, albeit slowly, as the domination of an unseen group of elites who control the world through the manipulation of money flows and puppeteer politicians is being gradually eroded and that all peoples of the world will eventually be freed of the yoke of oppression that is enslaving humankind.  Needless to say, not many politicians anywhere in the world are on Miky’s Christmas card list.  A firm believer in non-violent resistance, Miky only expressed support for the re-election campaign of a particular American man he sees as much-maligned by the media. Miky also ruminates on the effect artificial intelligence could have on humanity’s future, even hypothesising whether a fully-developed AI will see humanity as worth protecting or not. Although Miky may not see it, his beliefs might be sufficient, particularly in the US, for him to be labelled a conspiracist.  Miky does state, however, that he is open-minded enough that if he encounters reliable evidence, he is willing to change his viewpoint on any matter at all.  He is openly proud of being able to use his own brain to make the correct decisions for himself and his family and is frustrated when he needs to repeat himself to people who refuse to listen. It may only be in hindsight that this whole grey area will become clear to anyone.

Miky first visited Hua Hin with his parents and younger sister on holiday at the age of 16 or 17 and has been residing here since 2014. Miky was previously married and is now divorced, but has formed a happy, fulfilling life partnership over the last 5 years with Gig, the pair being proud parents to their infant daughter Marina, a little cutie. It will be interesting to see if Marina has inherited her father’s independent spirit.  Miky was never short of self-belief: even as a tiny tot his favourite words were, “Faccio io”, I can do it myself. Miky has tried the lifestyle in several other places in Thailand but prefers Hua Hin for its much more relaxed pace.  However, with the ultimate business aim for the couple being to own land and build their own premises, housing their home as well as the production facility, Miky wishes the land prices in Hua Hin were not so crazily high. At one point in time, Miky dabbled in stock-market investing but was not able to turn it into a profitable long-term career, so then turned his attention to more readily achievable goals.

Lazy weekend mornings playing in the bed with his parents are a favourite childhood memory for Miky and it is clear he is very much a hands-on parent to his daughter, who seems to already have him wrapped around her tiny finger. Miky believes his greatest achievement so far is not actually his business, but rather living a happy daily life, and taking good care of his eight lady staff members (and consequently eight families). He is “doing a good job as a human being”, since we are all called upon to help out our neighbours. Yet Mikey acknowledges that each person is responsible for their own happiness, and that you cannot make anyone else happy.  He is also aware of the dangers involved in trying to impose your own views on others by helping them if they haven’t asked for help. Miky expresses admiration for people like Julian Assange, who will take great personal risk for the greater good.

Honesty is the personal strength that Miky, a self-professed non-conformist, most quickly identifies.  He is not the sort to sugar-coat the truth as he sees it, and admits that this can cause tension and disagreements even with the people he counts as close friends. He has lost friendships in the past due to his impatience with others.  Miky knows he needs to respond, rather than react so quicky as he has a habit of allowing his anger to escalate, and may sometimes even mistake a situation and shout at people.

Miky is the owner of Bello Dolce, the only place for “brilliant Italian Ice-cream in Hua Hin” as the radio advertisements say, regularly. Production of the gelato and sorbet varieties began originally in the home he shared with his now ex-wife, with sales in the centre of town.  The current production and sales hub has been located near Big C to the west of the centre since 2019, and the business has grown to include sales sites at Tamarind Market, Vana Nava water park, Bluport Mall and the Hua Hin Night Market, occasional pop-up sites and sales via Food Panda delivery, a feat for a frozen product in such a hot climate, as well as wholesale distribution to restaurants and hotels. Miky decided to focus on the production of ice-cream because he identified it as a good business opportunity with no other competition in the local area.  He felt it suited his Italian background perfectly, and was a much easier option than opening a restaurant. Miky chose to call his product ice-cream rather than gelato since he was not sure potential Thai and other Asian customers, who make up a significant portion of his customer base, would understand the word “gelato”.  In Italian, gelato actually means frozen, like the “ice” in ice-cream, but the products are actually quite different. Both contain milk, cream and sugar, but in different proportions.  Unlike ice-cream, gelato does not contain egg yolks, is churned to contain less air, is served above freezing point and has a smoother and silkier texture. Miky has experimented with a wide variety of flavours, and even alcoholic gelato, yet despite this, his most in-demand flavours remain vanilla and chocolate.  It seems Hua Hinians and visitors alike are traditionalists, when it comes to gelato!

Although to the casual observer Miky might seem relaxed, he is actually always working.  It is in his genes, and working hard was modelled to him from a young age. When Miky does indulge in downtime, it is with weed and/or alcohol, but these are not guilty pleasures as he regards their use as a regular part of his life. Mikey knows even his best friend thinks he is crazy at times, but that doesn’t stop him from avoiding television as he sees it as a source of dangerous information. Miky doesn’t have a bucket list, and believes he has already achieved much of what he wants to do with his life.  His maternal grandfather lived till the ripe, old age of 96 though, so Miky may well have another 50+ years of life ahead of him.  Yet although Miky concluded that the apple may not fall far from the tree, he is making the deliberate choice not to lead his life in a similar fashion to his Nonno. His grandfather lived a very strict life, and deprived himself of many of the things that could have made his life so much more enjoyable. Miky is happy to follow a more hedonistic lifestyle, embracing the concept of “finding what you like and then letting it kill you”.  He has lost everything once, and so now is less attached to material possessions.  Mikey’s favourite place to be is anywhere in the world, as long as he is next to the people who are important to him.  After all, life is for living, and you only live once.