WHERE IT ALL STARTED...
IT’S AUGUST 2017 IN NEWARK CALIFORNIA.
Evan is sparring with another Mixed Martial Arts fighter, training for his professional debut the following week. He has been waiting for this fight his entire life.
This is his second workout of the day, and his body is wearing down as he pushes through the pain. In a moment of fatigue, Evan takes a step back as his opponent attacks with a dangerous move. Suddenly, Evan's right knee is no longer in its place. As he lays on the floor in agonizing pain, it dawns on him that his big fight has vanished before his eyes, yelling -
"I just want to compete!"
After surgery, six months of crutches, and three months of physical therapy, Evan finally makes it back to the gym. At half strength, he uses every piece of gym equipment imaginable to get his leg back in shape.
On a Tuesday at 5pm, Evan hobbles over to the leg machines - every one of them taken. He looked over to the squat racks - again, taken. With limited options, he settles for a set of dumbbells in the corner of the gym. As he rests between sets, he taps his foot on top of a dumbbell and then onto the handle. At that moment a light bulb went off in his head -
“What if you could lift dumbbells with your feet?!”
After sketching up some initial ideas, Evan realized he needed help. When hours of late night Google searches left him empty-handed, his uncle introduced him to Paul, an engineer with significant startup experience. Paul was the partner Evan had been looking for. The two clicked immediately - going back and forth with jokes, future goals, dreams, and their love of the outdoors and fitness.
Over the next two years, they spent countless hours brainstorming, testing, and iterating on concepts. The final product? A purposefully crafted design that could help millions of people worldwide - MonkeyFeet. But Paul didn’t want to stop there, he wanted to have a lasting impact on the health and fitness industry. With that, the two decided to mix their love for nature and wildlife with their passion for improving the physical and mental health of others to create a purposeful brand -
OUR MISSION
"Develop innovative solutions that help fitness enthusiasts achieve their wellness goals in an environmentally conscious manner"
- Professional boxer & MMA fighter
- Certified boxing coach & personal trainer
- Outdoor enthusiast
- Lead design engineer at Boosted Boards & Alta Motors
- Bachelors & Masters of Engineering at UCLA
- Mountain bike & motocross athlete
SAVE THE F*KN PLANET - ETA 2025
In addition to making industry leading products, our goal is to create a non-profit that funds nature and wildlife protection by 2025. This is part of our company's foundation, which can be seen hidden in our logo (inspiration from the recycling logo) as well as our company name (Animalhouse, referring to the planet as being the house of all animals - including humans). Join us on our journey to bring value to not just fitness users but all living creatures across the planet.