Help Cindy and Mikael After Fire Loss

From Cheryl Montelle, who is creating this GoFundMe (with the tech help of Kali Poulin):

This page is dedicated to my dear friends, Mikael Salazar, otherwise known as the Pilates Guy, and Cindy Basco - a wonderful Pilates teacher. Until January 7, they lived and worked out of their beloved, nearly 100-year-old home in Altadena, CA.

They met in 1995 as regional theater actors at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, OR. If you’re a Shakespeare fan, you may have seen Mikael as Romeo or Cindy as Imogen. They moved to Los Angeles, worked hard, saved their pennies and finally bought their first-ever home in 2013 in the extraordinary community of Altadena. They were amazed every day that they finally had a Home.

Mikael planted vegetables, native plants, and wildflowers when he had time off from his business, The Pilates Guy®, the mobile Pilates repair service in Southern California. After Covid, Cindy turned their enclosed back porch into a private Pilates studio and happily met her students as they walked up the flagstone path.

On a windy Tuesday around 6 PM, a neighbor knocked on the door to warn them about a rapidly spreading fire just blocks away. With gusts up to 100 mph, they had no choice but to quickly pack up and flee as the fire closed in.

Thankfully, Cindy and Mikael escaped, but tragically, they lost everything else to the Eaton Fire. Their home and possessions were completely destroyed. The only thing left standing is the chimney. Their entire neighborhood has been reduced to ashes.

They now face countless challenges: navigating insurance claims, the sudden halt of their local businesses, and the difficult decision of where and how to get back on their feet. Let’s come together now to support Cindy and Mikael as they work to move on. Your donation, big or small, will help them take the next steps forward.