Today we’d like to introduce you to Mikey Tableman.
Hi Mikey, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve lived a life that’s been equal parts chaos and creation. For nearly 20 years I was deep in the hospitality and nightlife world producing events, building experiences, chasing the high of the next big night. From the outside, it looked like success. But behind the curtain, I was silently unraveling.
I was battling depression, anxiety, and a pace of life that was impossible to sustain. I poured myself into work because it was easier than admitting I was struggling. I learned how to wear the mask, how to be the guy everyone came to for a good time, while privately drowning. That cycle led to burnout after burnout, and at one point, I honestly wasn’t sure I was going to make it through.
The breaking point became the beginning. Instead of letting my story end in silence, I decided to speak. I started writing poetry, sharing openly about my mental health, and using creativity as a lifeline. That’s where A Mind’s Pursuit (AMP) was born a nonprofit dedicated to changing the narrative around mental health through art, conversation, and community.
What began as me simply trying to survive turned into a movement. AMP now has multiple pillars: the Chaos Controlled podcast where we have raw conversations about life and mental health, our Alchemy live events that mix music, poetry, and healing spaces, and my own creative projects like My Manic Maze, a book and spoken word EP, which takes people inside my lived experience. We even have a children’s project, Little Mikey in the World, to start teaching emotional literacy at a young age.
Looking back, it feels like my entire path, the chaos, the burnout, the nights I thought I wouldn’t get up again was all preparation. Today, I’m here not because I figured everything out, but because I finally stopped hiding. My work is about reminding people they’re not alone, and that sometimes the most powerful thing we can do is heal out loud.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been anything but a smooth road. But I’ve learned that the lows carve out the space for the highs to even exist.
Some of my biggest struggles haven’t been external, they’ve been internal. Imposter syndrome has followed me into every room, whispering that I don’t belong. Even though I have had success in my hospitality career, as well as the beginning stages of the A Mind’s Pursuit 501c3 as CEO and as a speaker / poet. I have had hard time celebrating my wins and being proud of myself. Anxiety, my old friend has been a constant companion, teaching me how hard it can be just to keep calm in a world that rarely slows down. Staying sober is an everyday battle, that I continue to struggle with. And honestly, sometimes the hardest part has simply been existing in a society that doesn’t always make room for vulnerability or difference.
But those struggles also gave me perspective. They taught me empathy, patience, and resilience. They reminded me that everybody is carrying something unseen, and that’s why I’ve made it my mission to speak openly. Because the truth is: I’m not alone in these feelings none of us are. And the moment we start sharing them out loud, the weight gets a little lighter, and the road while never smooth becomes a lot more meaningful.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
At my core, I’m a storyteller, an artist. Everything I do whether it’s through poetry, podcasts, live events, or community work comes back to creating space for honest conversations about mental health.
I founded A Mind’s Pursuit, a nonprofit dedicated to changing the narrative around mental health through art, conversation, and community. Under that umbrella, I’ve built several platforms:
The Chaos Controlled podcast, where we dive into raw, unfiltered conversations about life, identity, and mental health.
Conversation With the Boys, a mens mental health roundtable that will be releasing November of this year.
Alchemy events, immersive nights that mix music, poetry, and dialogue to transform pain into power.
My Manic Maze, my upcoming spoken-word EP and book that takes people inside my lived experience with mental health struggles, that will be releasing in Q1 of 2026
And even Little Mikey in the World, a children’s project designed to introduce emotional literacy at a young age, that is coming soon.
What I’m most proud of isn’t just the projects themselves, but the fact that they all came out of my own breaking points. I’ve been to the edge. I know what it’s like to burn out, to feel lost, to wonder if you’ll ever make it out of the darkness. Instead of hiding those chapters, I decided to put them on stage literally and figuratively. That vulnerability is what sets my work apart.
A lot of people talk about mental health in statistics or broad concepts. I talk about it in scars, in late-night panic attacks, in poems that feel like confessions. I use creativity as both a lifeline and a megaphone. That blend raw truth with artistic expression has allowed me to connect with people in a way that feels human first.
If there’s one thing I want to be known for, it’s turning pain into purpose and giving others permission to heal out loud.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I’m a big believer that what we feed our mind and soul shapes the way we show up in the world. For me, meditation has been a game changer, and I lean on tools like the Calm app or practices I’ve learned from Joe Dispenza to keep myself grounded.
When it comes to podcasts, I love On Purpose with Jay Shetty. Not only does it inspire me, but I also study it closely as a model for how I approach my own interviews on Chaos Controlled blending depth, vulnerability, and storytelling.
I’m always reading. Autobiographies are some of my favorites because they let me step inside the minds of the people who inspire me. Books like Matthew McConaughey’s Greenlights or Kid Cudi’s memoir remind me that even the icons we look up to had to fight through uncertainty and self-doubt. Spiritually, I anchor myself in works like Michael Newton’s Journey of Souls or Michael Singer’s The Untethered Soul, both of which challenge me to think beyond just the surface of life and dive deeper into who we really are.
But honestly, as much as I love books and podcasts, what fuels me most is the community I’ve cultivated. I’ve been fortunate to surround myself with mentors, friends, and collaborators who aren’t afraid to have real conversations the kind that go past small talk and into the stuff that actually matters. Those conversations are often the best “resource” I could ever ask for.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.amindspursuit.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikeytableman/
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/@OfficialChaosControlled
