Mike Glad was born in Pensacola, Florida. The son of an aviation naval officer, he grew up in cities throughout the United States and Europe. He attended Georgia Tech on a football scholarship, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering.
Mike Glad is a well-known supporter of the California tribal art scene, and over the years has acquired a collection of important artifacts from Indonesia, Oceania, Asia, and Africa. An avid art collector, Mike Glad has amassed one of the world’s most diverse animation art collections, which has been exhibited in museums throughout Europe and the United States.
Mike Glad has spent thirty-five years traveling in developing countries documenting the lives of indigenous people. He has contributed photos to several travel magazines and books, and in 2006 he won Costco’s International Photo Contest, which had received more than 30,000 entries. Over the years throughout Mexico and Central America, Mike Glad observed the changing traditions of indigenous cultures and wanted to tell their story. In 2000, Glad financed and produced The Spirit of the Maya, about the modern