Michael Burnett is an American Skateboarding Photographer and the Editor at Large at Thrasher- he is considered one of the earliest contributors for the magazine who also made a cultural impact with his readers. ^{[17] [18]}

Michael was born and raised in the state of Texas, and grew up in the college town of College Station, Texas. ^[1] His parents were educators with his father in particular being a professor at Texas A&M University where he taught Marketing. He also traveled the country with his parents to different colleges. ^[1]

Growing up in College Station, Texas, he had a traditional skate experience with his friends, and felt they were the lowest rung in society - one of his friends and riders had down syndrome. Though He did spend a lot of his time skating when he was a teenager, what really called out to him were the skate magazines that he love to read to much. ^[1]

His parents were not against skateboarding, but they did want to see something else besides skateboarding from Mike.

For some time, he did community theatre which did not garner him any friends during middle school. ^[1]

He attended and graduated from A&M Consolidated High School. ^[4] One of his other skills that he took up besides skateboarding was. ^[4]

He attended the University of Colorado Boulder where he studied and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Journalism. During this time in his life, he created his own homemade skate zines with the participation of his friends. ^[4]

During the time between high school and college, Michael skateboarded professionally during the late 90s and early 2000s. It is not clear whether Michael finished his college degree before, after, or during the years in which he skateboarded. ^[1]

During and after college, he had participated in a number of events and competitions along the way.

He would document and take photos of prominent professional skateboarders.

^[17]

Soon after, he would be hired by Thrasher Magazine as an editor. After more than 20 years, he is the Editor at Large. ^[18]

Michael lives with his wife and two daughters in the San Diego town of Cardiff, California. ^{[2] [1]}

He works at home and remains loyal to the skateboarding culture as he still travels with prominent skateboarders to photograph their work. ^[4]

He is a fan of street photographer and is inspired by the work of Robert Frank and Ed Templeton. ^[4]