[3] Johannes spent many of his childhood years in orphanages suffering lots of physical and emotional abuse because of his mother's struggle to find work and an environment safe for him and his siblings which resulted from war that happened in Europe as at the time.
[4] He lost both of his arms at the age of ten in an electrocution accident when he grabbed a power line with his hands by mistake and fell from the electrical pole.
He struggled to survive the incident and spent many years after to relearn using his mouth and feet the most basic tasks of daily living.
[5] At the age of 19, Johannes was discovered by the Association of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists and awarded him a scholarship to attend Académie royale des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles where he graduated with distinctions.
Johannes was a father to his only son Jean-Marie Michalski whom he raised as a single dad from the age of 15 months.