Perch Pictures is Lakes Proud
Some stories just feel personal. For Anthony Augustinack of Perch Pictures, donating personal time and treasures to help bring WonderTrek Children’s Museum to life is one of those stories.
This year, WonderTrek is proud, and grateful, to highlight Perch Pictures, a company built on storytelling, community, and family. For 19 years, Perch Pictures has worked with clients across the world, especially in the action sports industry while Owner Anthony Agustinack lived in Dubai. Since relocating back home to Minnesota, he has served the commercial watercraft industry, creating videography and photography that go beyond visuals. Anthony and his team focus on the why behind the work—the moments, the meaning, and the heart.
Anthony’s own story begins on Perch Lake in Baxter, Minnesota, the lake that inspired the company’s name. Growing up there, he and WonderTrek’s own Vanessa Bauer weren’t just neighbors; they were childhood friends. Those early days on the water shaped Anthony’s sense of perspective and his understanding of what “home” really means.
Even with a global business reach, Anthony’s roots, and his family, remain firmly planted here in the BLA.
Perch Productions at WonderTrek
As a longtime friend and neighbor of the Nystrom family, Anthony felt especially honored to help tell the story of Bob Nystrom, an integral advocate for WonderTrek. Perch Pictures generously donated their time and talent, capturing videography, drone footage, and a heartfelt conversation between WonderTrek’s Peter Olson and Bob Nystrom. Anthony also incorporated generative AI features to create renderings of what the museum could one day look like. Before a single shovel hits the ground, families can begin to picture what’s coming. And to Anthony, that matters. When people can see something clearly, they can believe in it.
Recently, Anthony and his wife Avery, a 4th grade teacher at Crosby Elementary, welcomed their daughter Aria. Becoming a father has added an even deeper meaning to this project. Anthony can already imagine bringing Aria to WonderTrek, and watching her curiosity unfold. He thinks about his two nephews, about family time, and about shared experiences. He sees the museum becoming a gathering place, not just for his family, but for families across the Brainerd Lakes Area and beyond.
As Anthony put it, “WonderTrek isn’t just a donation you make and then never see again. It’s a tangible, sustainable destination built right here in the Brainerd Lakes Area. A place where future generations can explore, grow, and learn, and where supporters can clearly see the impact they helped create.”
Anthony believes in creating spaces where kids can explore, connect, and engage with the outdoors, especially in a location so close to schools and neighborhoods filled with young families. To him, WonderTrek represents optimism. It represents hope for future generations to grow, learn, and experience the natural world together outside the walls of a classroom.
By supporting this project, Anthony believes we are investing in the next generation by nurturing curiosity, confidence, and a lifelong appreciation for the natural world around them. From his perspective, this will be increasingly more important as the artificial world becomes more and more prevalent. After all, as he puts it, “creating balance is the key to a happy and prosperous life.”
What began on the shores of a small Minnesota lake has grown into a story of community and vision. Through this initiative, and generosity, Perch Pictures has given WonderTrek more than footage, they’ve given inspiration, momentum, and a reminder that when heart and home come together, good things grow within a community.
And for that, we are truly thankful.