Mountain Maxx Fitness

by Dee Ash

When Stephen Forester and Mink Anthea Perez opened Mountain Maxx Fitness in Boulder Creek, California in September of 2019, they never dreamed of what challenges awaited them. To bring fitness to the San Lorenzo Valley was a dream this U.S. Army veteran and his partner had for a long time. Stephen, who runs a youth basketball camp, had spent months renovating a leased building just south of downtown. Mink and Stephen poured their life savings, heart, and souls into this dream. Everything was going well, the community greeted them warmly and people were eager to join, as having a local gym would mean not traveling far from home to get a good workout.

Six months later everything came crashing down. On March 18th, Santa Cruz County announced the lockdown of all non-essential business. That meant for the Forester-Perez family, things were about to get really challenging. Mink had been the financial rock for the family since the gym opened. She ran several small shops online catering to high end pre-owned fashion. With everything closed, Mink was no longer able to source products for her resale business. With the gym closed, that meant this family had no income. Through social media, Mink put out a call to the community and asked them to donate any gently used clothing or jewelry, so that she could continue to keep her online shops open and support her growing family. She was able to get just enough donations to keep the family afloat, but barely.

Fast forward to August 2020, Mountain Maxx Fitness was still closed and Mink’s online business was struggling as she had all but run out of things to sell online. Things were about to get worse. On August 18th, the entire town of Boulder Creek was evacuated due to a large wildfire (CZU Lightning Complex). The rest of the San Lorenzo Valley evacuated just days later. Grabbing their children and just a few belongings, the Forester-Perez family headed out. Everything they worked so hard for might not be there when they came back. Their evacuation lasted for three months, only returning to their mountain home in late November.

Between the loss of income from the pandemic and now the fire, things were looking dire. Mink, a former thrift store owner, had an idea. She decided to really push her online business on Poshmark (@minkanthea) and pull the family out of this financial nightmare. With hard work and determination, Mink said to Stephen, “Build your dream and let me worry about the bills and household expenses”. Mink pushed up her sleeves and went to work. Combining yard sales, thrift stores, and the local marketplace, Mink acquired enough inventory to start generating some real income. With a family to raise and rent to pay, this was no easy task. Mink turned to the community for help again, and help they did. People started donating their gently used clothing for Mink to sell online. Stephen and Mink started to see a light at the end of what had been a very dark tunnel.

Greeting 2021 with a fresh outlook, Stephen is offering one on one personal training sessions, youth basketball camp, and is planning a grand reopening of Mountain Maxx Fitness on June 1st 2021. Mink is pushing her online business and now offers online consignment services. She still accepts donations of gently used quality, modern and vintage fashion for all ages and sizes.

With continuous hard work, determination, and community support, this family is an amazing example of what it means to be “Self Made in the Mountains”.