Feature: Michael Gramajo, Fleet Feet Lincoln Square's New Store Manager Talks Latching on to Running to Quit Smoking, No Longer Taking Socializing for Granted Since the Pandemic, and Bananas

Michael was appointed as the new store manager at Fleet Feet Lincoln Square back in June but with COVID-19 causing unexpected delays we haven't been able to give our community the proper introduction. 

Michael spearheaded Fleet Feet's Virtual Fittings during the time our stores were closed from March through May. If you frequent the Lincoln Square Farmer's Market, you may have seen him as a volunteer. If you've shopped at Fleet Feet Lincoln Square recently, you've probably seen his smiling face behind a mask donning Fleet Feet Racing Team gear with a pair of On's.

Michael came to Fleet Feet organically and worked his way up the retail ladder. He started his Fleet Feet story as a customer picking up local race packets at Fleet Feet. After a short stint working the ramps in subzero temperatures at O'Hare after getting out of the Marines, he applied for a job at Fleet Feet Lincoln Square and the rest is history.

We talked to Michael about the circumstances that caused him to turn to running, how his life has changed since the pandemic, and how many bananas he thinks he's eaten in his lifetime.

Read the full interview and reserve a time to shop at Fleet Feet South Loop.

How did you get into running?

Actually, I was trying to quit smoking. I was dealing with some health issues like high blood pressure, being overweight, smoking... I couldn’t run more than a mile. It was later in life, too. I was 26.

What is your favorite part about running?

Where do I start? For one, it’s my peace of mind. It gives me a great moment to be with myself and reflect on things. Two, I love the meditative quality of it. Three, there are a lot of parallels to life. If you put the daily work in, you’ll eventually look back and get amazed by the results.

The benefits are both physical, mental, and spiritual. It wasn’t until I started working here that I got the social aspect of it. Then it became encompassing in my life.

Do you eat bananas?

I do. 

I recently started thinking about how many bananas I’ve eaten in my life. How many do you think you have eaten? I’ll give you a scale: 0-250, 250-500, 500-1,000, 1,000+

1,000+. But less than 2,000.

I think that’s fair. 

How has your life been different since the pandemic?

Man. Okay. I initially went into the pandemic experiencing a huge amount of downtime and I went into it saying “I don’t want to waste this downtime I have” and it kind of made me realize how much the community aspect and the social aspect is a great part of my life that I crave. Looking back on what’s different, I value the people around me. I value the time I get to spend with people. It’s no longer taking it for granted. It’s cherishing those moments when I get to see them. Even with the customer base here. Think about it. They’re making a pretty incredible leap stepping inside of a building and saying “hey I want to come shop for shoes” and my first instinct is like “thank you so much for coming in.” It’s so nice having people back in the store.

Have you picked up any new hobbies?

Aside from volunteering at the farmer’s market… it’s not a new hobby but I played the cello a long time ago and I picked that up again.

Pandemic aside, if you had $2,000 to travel, not an infinite amount, where would you go?

I was going to do that this year at Boston [Marathon], and, unfortunately, that’s going to be something that’s down the road. The circumstances weren’t right so I am saving that trip for Boston 2021.

If you can bring back one running shoe from the dead, what would it be?

The Nike Zoom Fly 2. The Flyknit. The reason being, this is more or so nostalgia, but it’s the shoe that I did the most miles in. That was 2019. Lacing those up felt like home. But at the same time, there’s a lot of good tech in the shoe. Carbon fiber plate, Epic React, great bounce to it, long life. It was one of the first expressions of Epic React. I think I got 650 miles out of it.

How were you introduced to Fleet Feet?

My first introduction was I needed inserts for a shoe and I got Superfeet. However, Superfeet aside, I picked up my packets at Fleet Feet Old Town and I picked up my packets here. So, I knew Fleet Feet was really an anchor of the running community here in Chicago. They did the hydration stations on the lakefront path. Racing and Fleet Feet kind of went hand and hand. 

What is the worst job you’ve ever had?

Right after I got out of the Marines I took a job at O’Hare where I did cargo. I was working on the ramps and it’s like 30 below zero with the wind. I did six months and I was like “I can’t hack this”.

What is something you do to get the most out of the people around you?

When you lead from the front, you need to be the change you want to see in people. So, I’d never ask someone to do something I wouldn’t do myself.

What inspires you?

What really inspires me is the resilience of people. I think runners especially, but we can have this lofty goal and we can put in the daily work and we can achieve things we never thought we were capable of both in life and fitness. And I think that’s where running really translates well into daily life. We achieved that marathon but it parallels what we're after in life. When we finally look back and realize the progress we made and the personal growth, we really surprise ourselves.