Mike Kryshak, ’79: Building Relationships, Reinventing Industry, and Giving Back

By Kim Westerman

When Mike Kryshak reflects on his time at UWSP, he doesn’t talk about grades or accolades. Instead, he talks about growth — personal, global, and lifelong. “Point gave me an opportunity to go to school where I got to do a heck of a lot of growing up,” he says. It’s a simple statement that captures a trajectory defined less by convention than by curiosity, resilience, and an instinct for connection.

Kryshak arrived at UWSP as a biology major, but like many students, his most transformative experiences happened outside the classroom. One of the most pivotal moments came through a study-abroad program in Poland during the late 1970s, when the country was still under communist rule. For Kryshak, who had never left the United States before, the experience was profound.

“All of a sudden, I’m in East Germany and Czechoslovakia, going to school in Poland… that really changed my whole life,” he recalls. It was a stark contrast to life in Wisconsin. There were lines for food, visible military presence everywhere, and a system that reshaped his understanding of freedom, scarcity, and global interconnectedness.

That semester didn’t just expand his worldview; it set him on a path. After college, Kryshak embraced a life of movement and exploration, alternating between physically demanding work on oil rigs and extended periods of international travel to Africa, the Middle East and South America, with each chapter adding another layer to his understanding of people, markets, and opportunity.

Back in Wisconsin, Kryshak began building a career that would eventually lead him into an unlikely niche: the wet wipe industry. His early professional experiences ranged from selling industrial air filtration systems to working in pharmaceutical sales, where he developed a philosophy that would define his business approach.

“You don’t own the product; you have to own the relationship with your customer,” he says. That simple but powerful insight became the foundation of his entrepreneurial success.

After helping grow a company from $1.5 million to $16 million in sales, Kryshak struck out on his own in 1999. Starting with a single piece of equipment and operating at night while building relationships during the day, he gradually scaled his business, Rebel Converting, into a major manufacturing operation with facilities in Milwaukee and Saukville.

Today, Kryshak’s company produces a wide range of specialized wipes, from industrial and commercial products to retail brands with tens of thousands of positive reviews. But what sets his business apart is not just scale — it’s strategy. Rather than competing directly with clients, Kryshak built a model rooted in partnership and trust.

“We try not to compete with our customers, and we don’t help other people compete with them either,” he explains. That approach has allowed the company to cultivate long-term relationships across industries, from plumbers and electricians to national retailers.

Equally central to Kryshak’s leadership philosophy is his commitment to employees. His company has long provided full health insurance coverage (an increasingly rare benefit in manufacturing), and he makes a point of staying connected to every level of the organization.

“I walk out on the floor every day,” he says. “People in the front office don’t always understand how hard that work is.” At one point, he even required office staff to spend time on the production line, a move designed to foster empathy and perspective across the company.

Now, as Kryshak transitions into retirement, he is not stepping away so much as shifting focus. With his son now involved in the business, Kryshak is returning to research and development, particularly around sustainability, an area he sees as both a responsibility and an opportunity.

One of his newest initiatives, branded “Sea Turtle Approved,” aims to reduce plastic use and develop environmentally responsible alternatives in an industry traditionally reliant on disposable materials. The effort includes exploring biodegradable, tree-free substrates made from materials like hemp, flax, and regenerated cotton. “This gives me an opportunity to have some fun and try to make something that’s a little bit better for the environment,” he says.

That impulse — to build something meaningful beyond profit — also extends into philanthropy. Through a nonprofit initiative, Kryshak and his partners collect and redistribute hundreds of bicycles each year to children in need, helping promote physical activity and access to bikes. His company also supports food banks and community programs through an outreach arm led by his wife, Loretta, who has been part of the business from the beginning.

Despite decades of business success, Kryshak speaks most warmly about the relationships formed during his time at UWSP. Many of those friendships have endured across decades and geographies, weaving into both his personal life and his professional network.

“I still talk to my roommate from Stevens Point all the time,” he says. “Those are lifelong friendships.”

That sense of connection, between people, places, and experiences, remains the throughline of Kryshak’s story. From a co-ed dorm with keg parties and open doors to a global career shaped by travel and entrepreneurship, his path reflects a willingness to engage fully with whatever comes next.

For Kryshak, UWSP was not just a starting point. It was a catalyst, a place where his perspective shifted, his confidence grew, and his lifelong approach to relationships began to take shape.

And if his career has proven anything, it’s that the most enduring success isn’t built on products or profits alone. It’s built on trust, curiosity, and the courage to keep evolving.