Macomb Men’s Innovative Hobby Becomes ‘Mad Habit’

Tom Nahas has no plans to quit his day job, but with a growing demand for his talents, the Macomb Township entrepreneur’s hobby may very well become a full-time career.

Earlier this month, the part-time director’s short film tied for the while another project garnered statewide attention when introduced by Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel in his .

Although press focus was more on the product than its creators, it was Nahas and friend Tom Lehrer’s production company, Mad Habit Media, which was behind the "Make Macomb Your Home" video segments used by Hackel to showcase Macomb County as a travel and business destination as well as a place to live.

Launching Mad Habit Media in June, Nahas, Lehrer and fellow Macomb Township resident Mike Coakley found themselves storyboarding what is essentially an entirely new marketing campaign for Macomb County only months later.

“We met with Mark Hackel about just re-doing the county’s website and the conversation had so much energy, it snowballed to other things, then got into video,” Nahas said. “We’re going to be doing a lot more video to promote Macomb County.”

For Hackel, Mad Habit Media and its creators personify the “spirit” of creativity and innovation he expects to see Macomb County bring to the world in the near future.

“After using them once and working with them, Mad Habit is going to become a good habit for me,” Hackel said. “They did an exceptional job and we had an incredible outcome. As we starting working together, I picked up on their passion and energy. These guys are what Macomb County is all about."

But despite the attention focused on this latest project, Nahas and Lehrer are taking a slow and steady approach to their company’s growth.

“Both (Lehrer) and I have full-time jobs, so it’s no pressure,” Nahas said. “It’s a different approach to getting something started. We started off slow and just over the last six months it has really taken off. We’ll continue to do the same thing over the next year–build up a little capital and buy equipment as we go.”

A studio for recording and editing is at the top of Mad Habit’s wish list, but the company's creators are in no rush.

"We have a few really cool things on the horizon, and we'll definitely do more on the film side," Nahas said. "But it comes down to the time to actually do it."

In the meantime, fans can follow Mad Habit's past, present and future projects through its Facebook page, YouTube channel and soon, it's website Madhabitmedia.com.