Mike Hanks started kayaking a few years ago, and built a Greenland style paddle to save money and time (quicker to build than a Euro). After paddling with it, he became hooked. Since then Mike has built many traditional style paddles, both Greenland and Aleut. He also enjoys building his own kayaks and most have a Greenland influence. Mike has led two Greenland paddle-making workshops, and one kayak-building workshop at the West Coast Wooden Kayak Rendezvous.

Mike has been working specifically on Greenland techniques for the past couple of years, and has some rolls down, but many more to go.

In June of 2002, Mike and his wife Tammy, and a few friends, put together a Greenland kayaking event for the Pacific Northwest called SSTIKS (South Sound Traditional Inuit Kayak Symposium). This is now a much-anticipated annual event.

Mike is also part of the Puget Sound Wooden Kayakers, where there is a small contingent of traditional paddlers amongst the main group.

Mike and his wife Tammy live in Tacoma Washington. Tammy is a graphic designer who created the Qajaq USA logo and designs the layout for the MASIK newsletter.