Max Mullinax, a freshman, has made a profit off of buying, restoring and selling old mountain bikes. This began when Mullinax’s neighbor sparked his interest in mountain biking. It turned into a hobby and then into a business after that.
“[My neighbor] was rubbing it in my face that he got a bike and I did not have a bike,” said Mullinax “I had wanted one before that and it looked like fun, so [I thought], ‘Well, I guess I’m going to go try and buy one.”
Mullinax began gaining skills by buying bikes and practicing to fix them. Since then, it has become a passion of Mullinax’s.
“I always bought cheap, so I would always have problems with it […] I’d work on it and fix it, and I fell in love with doing that. Then I started buying bikes to work on and sell,” said Mullinax.
Mullinax says that he wants to keep his business going for as long as he can because he enjoys it and is able to make good money off of it. He hopes that will continue to be the case, and he plans to keep fixing bikes for as long as he can make money from doing it.
Mullinax enjoys fixing bikes because it is both productive and fun for him, and he takes pleasure in watching what he fixed become like new again.
“It’s better than sitting on a video game inside,” said Mullinax. “I get to see something I worked on run and move, and I have to work on it for it to run and move. They don’t run unless I make them run.”
Mullinax usually sells his bikes, but occasionally he will keep one.
“The bike I’m currently working on [is my favorite],” said Mullinax. “I’ve had quite a few bikes, but this has so far been my favorite and I plan on keeping [it].”
Aside from fixing and selling his bikes, Mullinax also enjoys riding them.
“I love to ride the bikes that I’m working on. I ride them and then sell them,” said Mullinax. “You can’t just work on it without riding it. You have to enjoy what you work on.”