BOTHELL, Wash. — It's playtime at Sarodgini Children's Academy in Bellevue and kids are scampering inside a soft play house, climbing up ladders and ropes and jumping up and down on blue mats.
Ten miles away, at Orion Sports Club in Kirkland, teenage boxers hit striking pads while one of the biggest men we've ever come across pounds a 11-pound bag.
The play house, the mats, the pads and bags are all products Alex Yakymenko and his wife Oksana make in the garage of their Bothell home. The play equipment business is called Modules For Kids and Yakymenko hopes day cares will be interested. The fight equipment business is called Sport Nikolos.
Though he's learning English at a local community college. Yakymenko uses a translator app on his phone to say "We work all day."
From 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. they work, rebuilding a business Yakymenko's father-in-law started in the industrial city of Kramatorsk which became a target for Russian missiles. A friend convinced Yakymenko to move to Western Washington to protect his four children.
"I want my children to grow up in a peaceful place, in a better world," Yakymenko said through a translator. "The first reason I do this is because I love it. The second reason is because of my children, and they're the most important reason."
While 17-year-old Nikita is at work, 8-year-old Artem and his giggly 6-year-old sister, Anastasia, hurdle the modules their parents made. Their love of obstacle courses inspired their father to use modules so that playhouse we saw earlier can easily be transformed into something that challenges problem solving abilities and imaginations.
"I'm very happy to see children playing with all of my products," Yakymenko said.
Back at Orion Sports Club, Yakymenko's padded wrestling dummy and punching bags both get workouts. The products are stuffed tightly with fabric and sewed with great care.
"I've been in the sports industry for almost 30 years and I've seen a lot of boxing bags that will tear apart in a year or two," said Orion owner Serge Bagdasarov. "His products are incredible, very durable and he actually gives you a two year warranty."
As in boxing Yakymenko says he's learned you have to fight to achieve the American Dream.
"Nothing is easy," Yakymenko said. "You have to be strong. You have to be positive and you have to keep going and that dream will one day come true."
"I personally think Alex's story is a living testimony to the American dream," Bagdasarov said. "And it is actually still alive. "
Evening is your guide to Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. Watch it weeknights at 7:30 on KING 5 TV or streaming live on KING5.com. Connect with Evening via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or email: eveningtips@king5.com.
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