The decision to leave steady employment and step into entrepreneurship is never easy, and Bernice Delos Reyes knows this intimately. In 2016, she and her now-husband, Rich, opened The Mango Tree Fitness and Muay Thai in Oahu, trading the predictable structure of corporate gym life for the unknown terrain of business ownership. Fresh from completing her degree in Dietetics at the University of Hawaii, Bernice carried both excitement and doubt as she assembled donated equipment—stackable dumbbells, a barbell, a cable machine, and punching bags—into their first space.

What started with borrowed equipment and big faith has grown into three academy locations, a home with a grafted mango tree bearing four varieties of fruit, and two young sons. Bernice’s story reveals how purpose, partnership, and perseverance shape a business that serves people at every level—body, mind, and spirit.

The Why Behind The Mango Tree

Bernice and Rich stepped into entrepreneurship after proving their success to themselves in other roles—Rich ranked #1 in MMA and martial arts personal coaching sales, while Bernice topped U.S. sales for dotFit nutritional supplements. They carried reputations on the island and had built followings. Rich had already launched The Mango Tree once before in Connecticut back in 2003 at age 23, though that venture ended amid personal tragedy when divorce, his father’s death, and the suicide of his best friend all collided in one devastating year.

When they opened together in Oahu, they were determined to succeed on different terms. Bernice feared leaving behind her $14-per-hour “walk the floor” pay at the corporate gym, modest as it was. That paycheck represented security and a known stability, and leaving it meant accepting full responsibility for her financial future. She had to learn to set boundaries and deadlines for herself, something that didn’t come naturally at first. The right accountant helped her understand what “being her own boss” meant—including setting aside money for taxes, a reality she laughs about now with gratitude.

Rich’s earlier hardships taught them both what not to repeat. They brought giant faith, careful financial planning, and a shared commitment to building something long-lasting. Their why ran deeper than personal ambition. Bernice wanted to help her parents and children live healthier, happier lives. She wanted to show clients their built-in capabilities, to help them climb the ladder toward their own version of success. 

Where Movement Is The Mission

The Mango Tree serves with a philosophy that takes the whole person into account. Bernice sees each client through a multidimensional lens, recognizing that someone who walks through the door carries experiences and a lived life. A stressful day spent in back-to-back meetings, hours of sitting still, mounting tension—all of this shapes how she approaches training. She wants clients to know she cares about their whole selves, that the work has meaning that manifests as push-ups, but is really persistence, triumph, showing up, working hard, and all of the good things that come with training. 

This perspective stems from how Bernice understands her own life. She describes her brand as the core of the body—each part working together to create strength. Her personal life, professional work, and spiritual practice intertwine. One without the others would leave her incomplete. She carries that same framework into The Mango Tree, creating an environment where physical movement becomes the starting point for larger life shifts.

The gym’s community reflects this holistic approach. Members feel seen and known, recognized as individuals who make up their community. Bernice might not have the best memory for names or details, but she remembers how people made her feel, and she works to create that same warmth for others. In Hawaii, they call it aloha—the spirit of love, compassion, and mutual respect. Bernice hopes that when people think of her, they remember her big smile, the way she brightened their day, and the care she showed.

Running three academy locations while raising two boys under six has taught Bernice what resilience looks like in practice. She’s learned she’s never alone, that mentors appear when you need them, that the right people open doors and want to lift you higher than they climbed themselves. Her journey feels unique because she’s doing things nobody in her immediate circle has done before. That used to frighten her—if nobody’s done it, how could she? But she’s come to understand that a unique journey means she only needs to compare herself to herself, to keep pushing until the day she dies and goes to heaven.

Final Thoughts

Meeting Rich in 2012—just weeks after deciding she’d never date another Filipino guy again—changed the trajectory of Bernice’s life. He showed her what selfless service looked like: how one person who couldn’t speak the language of a country could teach business and martial arts in Tahiti and Thailand. Their partnership became the foundation for everything that followed: three academies, a grafted mango tree with four types of fruit, two young sons, and an adventure of love and faith that grows daily.

The heart beats over 100,000 times each day. Bernice wants people to pause and thank their hearts for that labor, to recognize that what we do with those beats makes a difference. Be intentional—in mind, body, and spirit—every day. That’s the legacy she’s building at The Mango Tree Hawaii, one training session, one conversation, one moment of aloha at a time.

About Elisa Edelstein
Elisa is a curious and versatile writer, carving her niche in the health and wellness industry since 2015. Her lens is rooted in real world experience as a personal trainer and competitive bodybuilder and extended out of the gym and on to the page as a writer where she is able to combine her passions for empowering others, promoting wellness, and the power of the written word.