Beneath his reserved exterior and accommodating manner lie a headstrong determination and unfaltering commitment to change the face of the entertainment industry as we know it with a business that does it all.

And he’s just getting started.

Military Life

Cook, a separations clerk with School of Infantry West, relocated to Pendleton just over a month ago from Okinawa. His day flows like any other new Marine to a unit: physical training every morning, learning and adapting to new rules and leadership styles, exploring the base.

After two and a half years in the Corps, Cook says he has gained an invaluable amount of skill and experience.

“I came into the Corps under the impression that as an administration specialist I’d be working in the legal department, but I learned to adapt,” said Cook. “Being a Marine has taught me a lot of things that are now integral to my character, personality and the way I run my business- being passionate about what I do, standing up for what I believe in and giving my best 100 percent of the time.”

ID3

The idea for Cook’s ground-breaking business, Ideally Identifying Ideology Productions, or ID3, was sparked when he noticed that the quality of entertainment had greatly diminished.

“The state of entertainment has devolved from something with meaning, that made people think and wonder and communicate, into a vast array of reality shows and gaudy actors,” said Cook. “Nowadays it seems everyone is flaunting themselves for a payout- it’s rare to find those who entertain for the sake of genuinely loving what they do.”

ID3 aims to revolutionize entertainment by providing personalized multimedia, video, photography and graphic design services, producing plays and films that consistently invoke positivity and maintaining a staff of highly ethical actors, models, poets and motivational speakers to make a difference not only with their art but within their communities as well.   

Armed with a decade of experience in videography and multimedia and strategic partnerships with fellow entrepreneurships Deshone Henry Photography and Prototype Image Consulting, Cook has already completed a documentary entitled “What does Love look like?”, along with several other personalized multimedia projects and photoshoots.

Future Endeavors

Although ID3 is still young and has yet to grow to its desired stature, Cook has complete confidence in his business and his ability to successfully run it.

In the next five years, he hopes to have received a bachelor’s degree in film and opened at least two of his theater productions to the public.

Cook’s friends and business partners say his unwavering dedication to his vision is one of his best characteristics.

“Michael gives his all to expanding ID3 and honing his craft,” said Lance Cpl. Deshell Bauford, a supply technician with Combat Logistics Regiment 15, 1st Marine Logistics Group, and model with ID3. “He’s putting in the hard work now and I know ID3 is going to go on to make some big changes within the industry.”

For Cook, neither money nor fame is the goal of ID3. He simply wants to facilitate a return to positive, genuine entertainment.

“I want to show the world how I see it, the forgotten and hidden beauty that I seem to be able to see,” said Cook. “That is the ultimate reward.”