FORT MYERS, Fla.-- "I just sold a strawberry blonde, and she has cancer actually," said Demona Ross as she sewed a new hair piece. "She bought my gear and sent me a message saying how she felt like her normal self again."
Demona Ross created Strong Nation Gear which is her own design line. The line includes workout head gear that includes baseball hats with interchangeable hair pieces.
Ross thought of the idea after dealing with thin hair her entire life.
“I would get the sympathy stares, and I would be like no I’m fine," explained Ross. "I just don’t have any hair, and then I hated when the sweat would drip down into my eyes. So I just thought there has to be a better way to workout.”
As Ross works at her sewing station she exudes positivity, but she will tell you live wasn't always this easy. It wasn’t long ago that she and her daughter were almost homeless.
“I had a really good life that I’ve provided for my daughter," said Ross."I’ve always worked for myself, and when I say it was snatched from me it was snatched from me.”
Through it all, Ross kept pushing for a better life and taking on multiple jobs. She works as a cook at the Westin Cape Coral, does sales for liquor distributor Arco Globus International, which she just won an award for, and designing on the side.
Ross has an incredible work ethic, and it's something she credits her father for.
“He lost everything when we were in our 20s," Ross said. "He lost it and instead of wallowing he turned it around.”
It’s a trait she also passed down to her own daughter Jordan Ross. She's a junior in high school with one eye on medical school, but also a heart filled with love for her mom.
"We both really wanted this house, said Jordan with a smile on her face. "It’s probably our dream house, for right now, compared to where we were a year ago and now it’s a big difference and it’s completely because of my mom."
Demona said she hopes to make a difference in her customer's lives one Strong Nation Gear design at a time.
However, it’s also her inspiring life story that shows no matter your age, education, or life situation you have to keep fighting for better.
"I’m on this side of the dirt," said Ross." I have to keep pushing because as long as I have her in my life, I have to keep pushing because if I give up where is she going to be."
