Meet the Riders
Mark Meier
Mark, the founder of Face It, lived with untreated depression for 14 years before trying to take his own life. Mark’s first love (after his family and friends of course) is hockey. But since he couldn’t figure out how to put together a cross-country hockey game, he settled on a bike ride for a fundraiser. Mark is the kind of guy who thinks “if one is good, 10 must be better.” So rather than just riding across Minnesota, he said, let’s make it a real party. Let’s ride from coast to coast.
Mark is looking forward to speaking to men from San Francisco to New York about depression. He wants to help them understand how to effectively address depression, either for themselves or for someone they know.
Anna Meier
Anna is Mark’s oldest daughter and when the ride starts, she will be entering the 10th grade in a Minneapolis area high school. Anna remembers what it was like when Mark was sick with depression. She remembers he cried a lot and didn’t want to spend time with her. Anna is determined to help kids her age understand what depression is. She wants dads to know that they need to address their depression for their kids.
When not busy texting, Anna plays soccer, swims competitively, performs in her school musical, earns great grades and plays a mean 3rd base on her softball team. Between Anna and Mark, the smart money is on Anna being in charge of the maps and making sure they arrive on time in New York.