The Most Inspiring Stories in Utah

The heart of our mission is to find the amazing souls that breathe life into our communities. In the recent weeks, we’ve had the privilege to connect with some incredible artists, creatives, entrepreneurs and rabble rousers and we can’t begin to express how impressed we are with the incredible group below. Check out our favorite stories from across the Voyage family.

Nya Jonele

I am a total Barb Wire, if she lived in the world of a John Waters movie. I’m a spring breaker with absolutely no fear or loathing of Las Vegas. My campy, chaotic life is balanced out by true grit, resilience, and a deeply ambiguous source of income. At the end of the day, I’m destined to live the life of a weird, tragic, and trashy western darling with a touch of whimsy and a strong heart. Read more>>

Benji Ward

There’s always and will be learning curves and adjustments that need to be addressed. For us, we’re very real and knew that before going into it. We live near a US ray based named Fort Leonard Wood. They rotate most of their service members every 2 years. We are near the Mark Twain National Forest and there’s plenty of disperse camping and trails people can take advantage of if they choose to do so. We’re also 3.5 hours away to the heard of the Ozark National Forest in Arkansas. Read more>>

Tiffany Petty

I had just graduated high school and was entering college as a collegiate ballerina that was trying to maintain strength. Pilates became a part of just what I did. After moving into college I became interested in exercise sports science, I began running marathons, cycling and doing triathlons, and swimming. I found that there was no limit to what I could do with physically and pilates quickly became a way to maintain myself flexibility, fluidity and strength. Read more>>

Paige Fairbairn

I did one year of university and realized I wouldn’t be happy proceeding, so I asked myself how do I have a career in art? I realized that tattooing is an amalgamation of everything I wanted out of a career: I can talk to people, make art, and have a hands on job instead of being stuck on a computer. I got my tattoo apprenticeship in 2015 and never looked back. I started my career in San Antonio, Texas and I currently reside in Salt Lake City, Utah, and have now been tattooing for ten years. Read more>>

Burnell Washburn

In 2014, my daughter, Olivia Sky, was born, and that changed my life significantly. I stopped touring as much and focused on being present with her and enjoying her early childhood. I was still making songs and performing, but things kind of plateaued and stopped being as fulfilling. Read more>>

Taylor Maughan

The answer to this truly all over the place. At first it didn’t seem like it was going to be hard to grow a business, because I was still in college. I had so many other priorities in my mindset that growing my business wasn’t truly my main point in life. The moment I realized that it could grow was the summer before COVID hit. I was truly thriving and had so many bookings, it was so fun. Then COVID hit and I was terrified. But the summer of COVID was my first summer where I had so many weddings and missionary homecomings that I truly didn’t skip a beat! Read more>>

Kaitlynn Wagner

Definitely not a smooth road — and honestly, I’m learning that’s kind of the point. The past few years especially have felt like a series of open doors followed by unexpected closures. Walking away from full-time ministry was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made. Ministry was my identity for so long — I knew who I was inside of it. But stepping back forced me to figure out who I am outside of a title, a role, or a platform. Read more>>

Holly Stokes

After High School, I got a full ride, four year scholarship to Utah State University. I went for a couple of quarters, but felt uninspired with sitting in classrooms all day, so I quit. Yep I let the full ride scholarship go and chose instead to follow a wilderness survival program running courses out of New Jersey of all places with Tom Brown, Jr. I always loved the outdoors, and these courses were a deep dive into not only learning what wild plants to eat, how to make fire using only sticks, and build shelters and also a deeper dive into hearing the underlying heartbeat of wild nature. Read more>>

Jerry Hughes

I wish I could say my timing has always been great.  I started in the financial industry in 2008, just as markets were plunging daily. I remember watching the news each morning and wondering if I’d still have a job. Back then, I worked for an education company focused on teaching clients how to make money in any market through advanced strategy and analysis. It wasn’t easy getting people to invest in themselves during such uncertain times, but those who did and stuck with it learned to navigate the markets with discipline and confidence. Read more>>

Riley Samuel Merritt

Riley Samuel Merritt is an actor, writer, and musician raised in the rugged four corners region. Riley graduated from New Mexico State University with a degree in musical theatre, and has spent his years since training and creating in Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico, having acted in such shows as Little Night Music (Henrik), You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown (Charlie Brown), Heroes of the Fourth Turning (Kevin), Taming of the Shrew (Bianco), and many more. Now ready to move to metropolitan Chicago, Riley is touring “TRUNK”: an original one-man show which celebrates art and humanity through the use of poetry, song, and years of cumulative writing. Read more>>

Jazz Jackson

With a passion for digital marketing, music, and a love for the creative arts, she has set out on her next venture, launching Unearthly Studios, a Black woman-founded creative agency specializing in digital marketing, creative strategy, and artist management. With a mission to impact, inspire, and guide the next generation of rising artists, creatives, and music professionals, Jazz’s own words state “This is where passion meets purpose. My goal is to cultivate and develop the next generation of stars, while also driving creativity and authenticity for my clients through intentional and impactful marketing that allows them to connect to their audiences and transform fans into superfans.” Read more>>

Bob Coleman

What sets Bob apart isn’t just his experience, it’s his relentless drive to challenge conventional financial thinking. Frustrated by how traditional firms often offer cookie-cutter solutions, Bob built NTFS around a different philosophy: every client’s situation is unique and deserves a custom strategy. Whether it’s helping a business owner reduce taxes, guiding a family toward safer alternative investments, or assisting nonprofits in growing their endowments, Bob’s approach is always personal, innovative, and results-driven. Clients often say working with Bob feels like getting a “whole new and refreshing experience with an advisor.” Read more>>

Ryan Malavolta

My grandfather was a photographer; not a professional, but a very skilled hobbyist. His passion and my curiosity is why I began taking photos as a kid. The more I went along, the more I started to love it. I wasn’t half bad, either! As a teenager, video cameras became more accessible for regular people. I had a friend with an old VHS camera and our crew loved to make these ridiculous home movies. We would write scripts, do casting, shoot the films and then edit them right in camera. We even had a tape deck that we would use to add music. Read more>>

Elyaquim Baez Bojorquez

The road has been rocky, overwhelming and painful at times. It truly takes so much patience to build a brand that people can trust, enjoy and recommend. It has been challenging, not just physically but mentally and emotionally to navigate a business you pour all of your energy into and face difficult situations such as the pandemic, changes in the economy and the recent immigration implementations that have greatly affected our community. Read more>>

Kolton Wild

Nearly two years ago, what started as a side hustle in my garage quickly evolved into something much bigger than I ever imagined. At the time, I was working in sales, chasing commission checks, but feeling unfulfilled. I knew I wanted more — not just financially, but personally. I wanted to build something of my own. Read more>>

Kimmi Falconer

I became an adventurer after living so many years in “life captivity”. You know the grind. I had babies to raise and responsibilities at home. I chose my life so there’s no one to blame and honestly I wouldn’t do it differently if I had the chance. Once I found a way to travel, I have grabbed on with both hands. I believe in not just saying yes but heck yes!!! I’m fortunate that my job changed during the pandemic. I became a virtual health and wellness coach instead of working in a clinic setting. My kids also reached an age where they were launching into their own life adventures.  Read more>>

Douglas Brummett

This all started by just making a few small Christmas ornaments. My wife was working part-time as a teachers’ aid for the special needs students. I made some small ornaments with the kids’ names on them. After that, I made a couple of clocks for gifts for friends for different occasions. People started telling me that I should be selling my projects and quit giving them away. Read more>>

Studio 102

We face business obstacles just like any other business does. But, there was a point where we were really tested as a team. We lost our place of business and didn’t know where we were going next, one of our team members got hit by a drunk driver and had to rely on public transportation to fulfill work, as well as struggles with personal relationships within the team. We stayed hopeful, consistent, and kept moving towards the direction to bring value to our clients. Those times that tested us made our team stronger and sharper in our work. Read more>>

Hannah Hendrickson & Kate Lubing

Designing a commercial brewing operation without hands-on experience with the equipment was no small feat. But we leaned heavily on the incredibly supportive brewing community in Salt Lake City. Brewery owners and head brewers generously offered their time and expertise, answering our many questions about everything from high-volume water filtration systems to indirect flame kettles and fermentation tanks. Their guidance was invaluable, and we’re endlessly grateful for the help and encouragement we received. Read more>>

Ava Grace

Honestly the biggest challenge I’ve had in my career was trying to find the time to tattoo. Since I started learning how to tattoo in my sophomore year of high school, it was hard to find the time to tattoo since I still had to focus on homework and grades. School made it so that I didn’t have a lot of time to actually do what I wanted to do, which was tattooing. It definitely made learning a lot harder because I had to split my time between the classroom and the tattoo studio. Read more>>

Amy Aed

Being a woman running a business in a space that’s still heavily shaped by global systems of inequality—whether in sourcing, farming, or even how tea is marketed—comes with its challenges. I’ve had to navigate a lot, from access to fair suppliers to making sure Eisa Tea Co. stands for something beyond just a good cup of tea. But those struggles have also shaped the values behind the brand, and they keep me grounded in why I’m doing this. Read more>>

Julius Thompson

The first 20 years of my life I experience traumas more than most. Both my parents were addicted to drugs and since I was 4 I was raised by a single mother. Due to her addiction my older bother and face many obstacles. This consisted of poverty, homelessness, violence, racism, criminality and other things. Going through these types of experiences often causes a person to mimic the toxic behavior round them. Yet on a rare occasion it causes a person to used these experiences to build a better life for themself and that’s what I did. I spent over 20 years building myself up and healing myself from the trauma of my past.  Read more>>

Chance Carroll

Some of the struggles I have faced are: rejection, I have faced lots of rejection in terms of finding myself photography opportunities. I have sent emails upon emails to athletes, venues, magazines, music labels, news outlets. I have been rejected by 30+ different companies/businesses. But, that hasn’t stopped me. Even though I’ve been rejected again and again I still have been granted amazing opportunities by others and have met amazing people with these opportunities I am so grateful for. I really agree with the saying “you can do anything you put your mind to.” Because hard work really does catch up to you in the best ways! Read more>>

Lindsay

I  have fallen in love with the process, and how every piece starts with raw material from the earth and turns into something intentional, wearable, and sentimental for the person who ends up with it. Over the years, my brand has grown into something more immersive. I design monthly themed earring drops, host interactive treasure hunts in the desert, and offer custom jewelry pieces that feel like mini collaborations with the customer’s soul. I’ve built everything from scratch, from learning business, photography, and marketing as I go, and I’m constantly evolving the way I share my work and connect with people. Read more>>

Natasha Youngberg

In April 2024, I launched Ounce of Soul as a way to process the loss of my dad. I had always dreamed of starting my own business, but I never expected it would come from such a place of heartbreak. After losing him, I found myself searching for meaning, for connection, and for a way to honor the people we love and the memories we carry. Read more>>

Chelsey Fretz

As a teenager, I began to experiment with body modification myself, starting with piercings and stretching my earlobes. Once I turned 18, my focus naturally gravitated towards getting tattooed. My first few tattoos were designs I created myself, which were then brought to life by talented artists in professional shops. Read more>>

Angela Radke

She and I had done hair & makeup for weddings together and she thought I would be good at it. I looked into training options and found a school and signed up for my first fundamentals class. I’ve since taken 20+ more classes to continue to grow my skills as a artist. I’m always striving to bring the best to my clients. I love helping my clients feel more confident. I have over 280+ 5 star Google reviews and have placed in the Top 3 of Best of SLC in 2021, 2023, 2024 & 2025 and Best of City Weekly for 2024 & 2025. Read more>>

Pamela Wood

Moving from California’s Monterey Bay area to Utah in 1998, I began working first at Snowbird, then Deer Valley Resort. This led to many travel opportunities, where I always found myself near wine regions. Upon exploring this fascination for what goes into the bottle a new passion was ignited, and I’ve never looked back. Creating a wine culture was needed especially up in the Park City area where we have so many people visit from all over the world. Sharing my love of wine with others has led me to pursue more education, more travel and a more in depth love of the vine and wine. Read more>>

Sheralyn Bennett

We want to make sure that every client gets treated equally and professionally regardless if they are family or someone we just met. We want to strive to give quality service by being responsive, being attentive to the clients needs, be able to educate and help eliminate as much stress as possible in the process. Read more>>

Manoli Katsanevas

Chef Manoli Katsanevas entered the foodservice industry when he was 13 years old through his family owned restaurant Crown Burgers. He continued on to graduate from the Salt Lake Community College Culinary Arts Program and has worked at several restaurants in the Salt Lake Valley including The Grand America Hotel, Smith’s Bistro, Flemming’s Prime Steakhouse, Caffe Niche and Fresco Italian Café. He has shadowed several chefs including Chef Dave Jones (Log Haven), Chef Melvin Hayward (Salt Lake Country Club), Chef Gavin Baker (Mist Project), Chef Scott Rutter (former chef at the Wort Hotel) and Chef Donatella Arpaia (Chefdance). Read more>>

Elaine (GypsyMermaid) Morse

In 2022 the SaltySirensOfUtah started making Waves, with doing water park appearances, festivals, environmental work and leaving every lasting impressions. Our SaltySirensOfUtah are uniformed, certified, and train for many hours to be Utah’s Elite MERformers. We offer a Nine foot traveling tank show, a dunk tank interactive experience, Mermaid/Pirate Makeovers, and soooo much more! You can even become a Siren for a day with a photoshoot, OR join our local “KeepingUpWithUtahMerfolk” GroupChat where we train every single Saturday during off SEAson. We are not about gatekeeping, and want everyone to feel the joy/magic within! I believe ANYONE can be a Mermaid, you just have to try. Read more>>