Tom Michell was born in the rural areas of Southern England. Growing up, he had a love of nature, which included animals, birds and plants.

In the 1970s, while in his 20s, Tom traveled to Argentina to teach English at a boarding school. When he wasn't teaching, he would travel around South America on his motor bike. One of his trips took him to a beach in Uruguay where he came across a horrifying site. A devastating oil spill that had left hundreds of penguin corpses piled up on one another.

Amidst all the death Tom managed to find a surviving penguin, who was also covered in oil. Originally thinking he was beyond saving, Tom planned to ease his suffering. As he got closer, he noticed that the bird could be saved if cleaned. After gently cleaning the oil off of the penguin back at the place he'd been staying, he decided to release him back into the wild. Despite attempts to return him to the sea, the penguin resisted and continued to follow Tom. Not wanting to leave him alone on the beach, Tom decided he would take the penguin back with him to Argentina.

While reading the book Juan Salvador Gaviota, a Spanish translation of the novel Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Tom was inspired to name the penguin Juan Salvador. Arriving back in Argentina, Tom secretly kept Juan Salvador in his apartment at the boarding school. While there, Juan Salvador ended up becoming a real member of the community.

He befriended many of the people at the school. He connected with teachers and students; went to local rugby matches where he was adopted as a mascot, and hung out at the school pool.

Juan Salvador didn't just connect with the community, the community fell in love with him. The dorm housekeeper viewed Juan Salvador as a trusted friend. With his swimming ability, Juan Salvador helped a shy boy discover a knack for the activity.

Juan Salvador passed away unexpectedly in the care of Tom’s friend while Tom was away on holiday. Tom never had the chance to prepare for his death or say goodbye. Although the relationship with Juan Salvador only covered a span of eight months, it created a lasting impact on Tom and countless others. Stories of Juan have become subjects of countless bedtime stories for the Michell family.

In 2015, Tom published a memoir titled The Penguin Lessons, which documented his time with Juan Salvador. In 2024, it was turned into a film of the same name. The film was directed by Peter Cattaneo, and Steve Coogan played the role of Tom. The film was released at TIFF in 2024 and has a theatrical release of March 28, 2025. ~Ryan Donahue