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.

Melissa & Cristian Campuzano

My husband, Cristian, and I are both Mexican-Americans, raised to honor our culture and traditions. Growing up in Utah, we were constantly reminded of the importance of staying connected to our roots and passing down those traditions. Now, as adults and parents, we’re committed to spreading the passion for our heritage and sharing the beauty of our Mexican traditions not just with our children but with the world. This is why we started QUE PEX! Read More>>

Tessa Rushton-Sanders

I’m a native to the Salty Lake area in Utah. I have always been drawn to art & design from a young age. I was always coloring, drawing and playing on Mircrosoft Paint on my parents computer. I knew I wanted to pursue something that incorporated those aspects when I went to college. In my freshman year I found the Visual Communications Degree, which was a perfect fit for me because it was a combination of being creative and using the computer. Read More>>

Karalynne Call

Over 15 years ago, I faced a critical moment in my battle with severe depression, which ultimately changed the course of my life. That moment became a catalyst for change, driving me to commit to a healthier lifestyle and eliminate toxins from my family’s diet and daily routines. Determined to heal, I searched tirelessly for solutions beyond medication. After years of seeking answers, I found a doctor who encouraged me to address the root causes of my struggle—focusing on gut health, inflammation, hormones, and more. Through dedicated work, lifestyle adjustments, and toxin reduction, I was able to reclaim my health and transform my life and my family’s future. Read More>>

Glory Thomas

For the most part, it was a smooth road. There were definitely some challenges when it came to implementing my ideas, but I had the most amazing support system. Some of the challenges when it came Kindness Week, was convincing people that my ideas were relevant despite how young I was. Thankfully, people could see the value in kindness and jumped on board. I also faced personal struggle, like mental health challenges and trauma, that impacted my personal ability to carry on. Multiple suicide attempts and deaths in my life by close friends and family members led to a lot of PTSD and depression. All of my struggles helped fuel my fire to continue my initiative. Read More>>

Patrick Beatty

I came into movies as a passion but also an escape from a sheltered background. As a native of northern Utah hailing from a strictly religious community environment, films and entertainment were seen as entertainment but also as taboos to avoid for several reasons. Nonetheless, I was obsessed with them as a vessel of creativity and free thinking. Now as an adult, I relish my opportunity to turn that lifelong devotion into a prolific career. Read More>>

Emelyne Peck

Positive reviews and word-of-mouth can go a long way, but in the beginning, it can take time to get that trust from customers. I’d say my next hurdle was marketing and visibility. Getting the word out about my business was tough when I had just started out. The bridal industry is competitive, and finding ways to stand out—whether through social media, wedding fairs, or partnerships with other vendors—required a lot of time and effort. My last real challenge was figuring out pricing and profit margins. I want to be affordable enough to attract brides, but also charge enough to cover costs and make a profit. Read More>>

Kara Lewis

From the very beginning, every member of the family has played a vital role. Kara’s husband, Clarence, a contractor, builds many of the farm’s attractions, including play areas and the Field of Fright haunted maze. Her father, Rex Larsen, is the backbone of the farm’s agricultural side, farming the corn and pumpkins each year to ensure a bountiful harvest. Meanwhile, her mother, Sherrie Larsen, manages concessions and organizes field trips, making sure every visitor has a memorable and educational experience. Read More>>

Allyssa Parker

My love for photography began in childhood and was reignited in adulthood when I stepped into the world of modeling. In 2014, I decided to explore the art of photography from behind the camera, which led to my work being published in Albuquerque the Magazine and featured on the ABQ BioPark Zoo’s website. Read More>>

Conor Kelly

Running the massive stillhouse up in Wanship was truly a wild experience with quite the cast of characters. While I did enjoy my time, my ambition to run a distillery like my own pirate ship eventually connected me to Tyler Halstead at Outlaw Distillery in Midvale. Today, I am the head distiller for Outlaw Distillery and fast approaching the two year mark. Together with Mr. Halstead, we work diligently to grow Outlaw to be one of Utah’s preeminent distilleries. Read More>>

Cynthia Ponce

I grew up in a humble family, often wearing my older sisters’ clothes. From a young age, I found joy in creating—I used to play with my Barbies not just for fun, but because I loved designing and making clothes for them and their little families. I kept doing this until I was 14, unknowingly nurturing a deep passion for fashion design. Read More>>

Charlie Cahill

It has not been an easy road. When you are making strides in your career and overall personal development you will reflect an image unfamiliar to others. You quickly find that the path to authenticity, purpose, fulfillment, and integrity will isolate you from many people. This is another reason why I like to host influencer events with professional talent, athletes, entrepreneurs, etc to connect them to one another so they can add value to each other and strengthen their respective communities. Believe in yourself. Don’t give up. You know yourself better than anyone. Many live their lives by default, few choose to live it by design. If you want to be influential, you have to do something of significance. Read More>>

Julie McRae

Like any journey, there are so many ups and sometimes a few downs! Cake trends are always coming and going. There are times when trying to figure out a new technique can be extremely frustrating. I have to remind myself it’s a bump in the road and reach out for extra help! Social media is amazing and I have been able to find cake designers all over the world who are so kind in sharing their knowledge! Read More>>

McCade Gordon

Freelancing is always a challenge, and in the early years it was quite stressful and a lot of sacrifices had to be made to make ends meet. You might not know when your next job is, you might have an important thing in life planned and a week before be hit up for a project that you need to take for financial reasons. It’s a lot of ups and downs emotionally and physically. But if you stick with it for long enough to start to understand the ebbs and flows, it can be an extremely rewarding path. Read More>>

Nikki Dixon

Each of us carries a sound within us—a purpose, a message—that, when shared, creates waves of impact. My journey has been about using my story to draw people in, to expand perspectives, and to encourage faith. I didn’t just want to create a radio station; I wanted to create a movement—one that reminds us that life isn’t just about what we hear, but about what we do with what we’ve been given. Read More>>

Brenda Famina

In 2018, I began recording professionally, and in 2019, I released my first single, “Is It True?” The positive feedback from friends and family gave me the confidence to pursue music full-time. Since then, I’ve released a joint EP titled Say It All with my friend and manager, Kickays. Over the years, I’ve performed in various venues around Salt Lake City, and I’m excited to see where my journey takes me next. Read More>>

Addie-Eileen Paige

It has NOT been smooth sailing whatsoever. As mentioned, I worked in the corporate world. I had gotten fired from several jobs. That eventually taught me I’m meant to work as an entrepreneur. I had a false idea that people would line up for shoots with me. I have to drive for Uber most of the time to have an income. Photoshoots come sporadically at this point, but I hope exposure like this as well as some other projects on the horizon can get my name out there. Read More>>

Liza Spencer

In 2020, during the pandemic I had some time on my hands and spent a lot more time in my kitchen. At the urging of my children, I built an Instagram account and website displaying photos of uniquely decorated pretzel rods and other sweets. I began creating custom dipped caramel/chocolate pretzel orders for friends and acquaintances; the word was spreading! These treats became a welcome relief from the dismal reality of a pandemic, and I found a lot of joy using my creativity to bring smiles to people’s faces. Read More>>

Tiara Monson And McKayla Broadurst

Our story started together as two moms and best friends of over a decade with very different but equally eye-opening postpartum experiences. For me (Tiara), becoming a mother at a young age meant juggling motherhood and personal growth at the same time, while also feeling completely lost and sinking into the unknowns of newborn care and the postpartum period. I had not one, but two cesareans which made for a tough postpartum recovery on top of everything else. Read More>>

Megan Hunt

In the midst of this trial I had just taken on building from the ground up a new building for my salon. Finacial risk loomed in all directions as we had no choice but to push forward with faith that with business would pencil and allow me to be home to take care of my daughters intense medical needs. As time has gone on I lean into the empowering knowledge that I have sufficient for my needs and money is merely a conduit to assist in the journey but should never be a traffic light for life controlling your forward progression. Charge your strong and keep your faith strong that $ is abundant and there will always be enough no matter what your bank account tells you! Read More>>

Emily Aguilar

My husband was laid off from his executive job a few months later and then Covid hit…not a great time to be unemployed! Real estate continued to be extremely busy for me. He took over at home and handled the homeschooling and everything else that Covid brought. I was able to quickly adapt to the market and had to become an expert at both selling a home and buying a home in an extremely competitive and record breaking market. I was fortunate enough to be a part of many different transactions and met so many wonderful clients along the way. Read More>>

Maurine Herman

In 2019 my dad asked if I wanted to start a food truck and when I agreed, we became business partners. We continued to grow through 2020, and we opened our first shop in Provo in August 2020. Now we have 4 shops and have grown bigger than I ever imagined. I have found so much fulfillment in creating and growing this business, I’ve been surprised how naturally it has all been for me, having not studied business or baking. I absolutely love that Momo’s brings high quality delicious cheesecakes to so many people and that my desserts bring people together and help create special memories Read More>>

Thomas Ridley

It was so unique to this area (northern plains), my designs were Ute from Utah and a lot of people took time too look and buy my art. Read More>>

Callie Buttars

I opened my business during the Covid-19 pandemic and that was really scary because I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to pay for any of the product let alone any of my rent. Lucky for me when I started this career I had been working with Western Governors University and those paychecks were able to keep my business open until I was able to have clients again. My first three months I had maybe 15 clients. It was very stressful, but I just knew it would all work out. Read More>>

Teresa Richey and Jessica Damschen

My sister, Teresa and I had an idea years ago to start a podcast and it wasn’t until we both finally got sober that we were able to make that dream a reality! We have both been sober for over 5 years and love doing the podcast! We started it about 2 years ago and recently got into Audible. We love telling people our personal histories as well as our views and perspectives on things that are happening everyday, in life, in the world and everything in between. We were always told by the friends who would come over for coffee that we should have our own show and the more we heard it the more we kind of started to believe it. We love hearing from our listeners that they’re relate and they feel like they’re sitting they’re talking to us. They feel heard and seen. We love hearing that we’re helping, one way or another. Read More>>

Aulora Record

I followed my dream. I’ve wanted to be in the hair industry since I was 14 years old. I did have a bit of a late start to my career, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Because I wouldn’t be here without the amazing support I’ve gotten from family, friends, and my current clients that have been with me since the beginning of my career and new clients I’ve made along the way. Read More>>

Tina Tazehabadi

At first, it seemed as if no challenge was hard enough and everything was achievable. This was thanks to the support of my artistic family which I was born into. I especially drew inspiration from my mother, who herself was a screenplay writer, director, and podcaster. She taught me many things that I know today, and my main encouragement in my artistic journey was to listen to her cheers and watch her happiness upon each of my successes. Unfortunately, my mother passed away seven months ago, following an unexpected diagnosis.  Read More>>

Shelby Crockett

I’m coming up on 3 years of owning Sparkle & Shine. It started out with apartment move-out cleans for a few big properties in Cache Valley. We have deep cleaned over 1100 homes in those 3 years. We plan to do about 400 this year! I started taking home clients late last year and it has really taken off! I currently have 5 employees and plan to keep growing as much as we can this year. I thrive to be the best and most reliable cleaning service Cache County has. Read More>>

Roan Oberg

Every film production is loaded with obstacles and freak occurrences that require you to pivot massively. It’s sort of the nature of the beast and part of being a good filmmaker is being prepared for things like those. On this movie, we had one of our main actors bail out 5 days before filming and we had a key location flood 2 days before filming. On top of it all, our lead actor was moving away 3 days after we were planning to finish shooting so we had no room for failure. We also had to operate on a budget of whatever me and my producer Seth happened to have in our wallets at the moment. Read More>>

Krista Stewart

When working with raw honey and ghee, you quickly understand why some companies cut corners and use cheap synthetics. Using raw honey is logistically challenging. We never heat the honey above 90 degrees to preserve its natural enzymes, electrolytes, and B vitamins. As a result, the packaging process slows down. Read More>>

Laura Portilla

My journey into real estate was a natural blend of my passions and skills. I come from a creative background—design and digital marketing—which gave me a deep understanding of branding, visuals, and how to connect with people in meaningful ways. At the same time, I’ve always been drawn to homes, architecture, and interior design. I love everything about how a space can tell a story and make people feel something. Read More>>

Jon Carter

My journey with ODD BALLS started with a simple but stubborn desire: I wanted to create a truly clean, healthy energy bar for outdoor pursuits. Every bar I found in stores still had those unpronounceable ingredients—the kind of stuff I wouldn’t even stock in my kitchen. That wasn’t good enough. I wanted something real, something functional, and something that actually did what it claimed to do. That’s when I stumbled across a podcast about functional mushrooms. There seemed to be a mushroom for everything: inflammation, anxiety, focus, etc… and sure enough, there was one for energy. Read More>>

Kyle Sheppard

We built our business around Zion National Park and developed an eye for pairing portraits and beautiful landscapes. That experience naturally led us to focusing on outdoor weddings and elopements. Now we work with couples from all over the world to help them plan their dream elopement experience and capture it for them to relive for years! It’s an incredibly rewarding and fun job! Read More>>

Jennifer Lea Lee Ann Vigil

But life had other plans—I was a single mother of three amazing boys, and I had to put my passion aside while I focused on getting them through school. Years later, when COVID happened, I found myself picking up my camera again. I started doing portraits and milestone photography for friends and family, and before I knew it, my business began to grow. What started as something I loved turned into something bigger—a way to connect with people, tell their stories, and turn moments into lasting memories. Now, I get to do what I love while also inspiring others to follow their passions, no matter the detours life brings. Read More>>

Cody Martensen

One day after visiting with my kids I had the epiphany that my children were reflecting my behaviors in the way they were treating others and I thought to myself, “I better get to work and learn a new way to live because I am teaching my kids to be exactly like me”. I didn’t want my kids to go through the pain, years of misery and suffering that I went through. I realized life wasn’t going to make space for me to heal, I had to make the space for myself to heal. That nobody was coming to save me that I was the only one that had to do the work. Read More>>

John Cottrell

I have to say, my journey didn’t turn out the way I expected, but I’m grateful for the outcome. I grew up in Northern California and attended school in the Bay Area. In my formative years, I had a great family, wonderful friends, and I loved school. As long as I could remember, I wanted to study psychology. But while pursuing my education, I also explored and appreciated extra curricular activities. In school, I enjoyed drama, performing in school musicals, and dancing. Little did I know, these things really helped me along my path. Read More>>

Billy Tripps

I’ve been immersed in music for as long as I can remember. Growing up, I was drawn to the raw energy of rock, metal, and industrial music, which eventually led me to pick up multiple instruments and start experimenting with songwriting and production. Over the years, I developed my skills as a musician and producer, working both in bands and behind the scenes in the studio. Read More>>

Krista Ramaley

Even before attending hair school, Krista was honing her craft, learning the art of dreadlocks and other intricate styles, which would become one of her specialties. Over the past 16 years, her dedication to education has led her to attend industry seminars across the country in places like Las Vegas, New York, Florida, California, Colorado, and Atlanta, keeping her at the forefront of the latest trends. This commitment has earned her a variety of certifications and a reputation as a skilled, versatile stylist. Read More>>

Mackenzie Nelson

I began to create a lot more art, deepening my skills and refining my style. I dove into the world of creative entrepreneurship and discovered that I loved the business side of art almost as much as art creation itself. I learned how to design patterns and added that skill to my profession. I discovered art licensing and built portfolios to pitch to companies in various industries like wallpaper, fabric, wall art, home goods, and more. I now have patterns and artwork licensed with wallpaper companies like Loomwell, fabric companies like Carriage House Printery, and Wall Art with home decor companies like Kate and Laurel. It is extremely satisfying to see my artwork out in the world in so many different ways! Read More>>

Addison Kanoelani

At one point, I had to step away from art due to personal challenges. But when I returned, I felt a pull in a new direction. I needed my art to be more than just an expression—I needed it to be healing, both for myself and others. I asked myself: What has always brought me peace? The answer was clear—nature. It’s been my refuge, my constant source of healing throughout my life. So I found a way to merge that deep connection with my art, incorporating organic materials like flowers, sand, and crystals. Now, my work is not just about creating something beautiful but about offering a sense of peace, grounding, and restoration to those who experience it. Read More>>

Mark Cancilla

I truly love this industry, particularly the remodeling world! My goal is to empower homeowners through my building process and management skill sets. With constant communication regarding scheduling, budgets, and expectations, my team and I can create not only an excellent product but also a reasonable, peaceful experience—at least as peaceful as remodeling can be while your home is under construction. Read More>>

Maisie Lay

When I moved to Utah almost 4 years ago, I was scouted by a company to shoot their fall campaign. This photoshoot really inspired me and helped inspire me to try modeling again here in Utah. I was amazed at how much bigger and accepting the modeling industry was here! Only having Indiana to compare it to, it felt like the most amazing thing to me. Because of all my self portraits, I have a pretty large portfolio to show. Read More>>

Dustin Bybee

Whiskey Throttle School District’s journey began in 2013 with nothing but a dream, a school bus, and four best friends with a passion for adventure. We affectionately named that first bus “Sandy Bus” because, well, she got us stuck in the sand on our very first trip out! Little did we know, that was just the start of an incredible ride. Read More>>

Al Deans

Inspiration came as I toured with a rock opera called The Deeplove. I wanted to write a rock opera of my own. So, I wrote “The Adventures of Walter Ergo”, a rock opera set on an alien world about a man dissatisfied with his life enough to steal an interstellar spacecraft to meet his destiny on another world. And so that brings us to today. I no longer record/produce other people’s music, but I make a living repairing orchestral instruments, such as, violins and cellos, etc. and I am in the process of producing a show with my rock opera. Read More>>

Chelsea Snyder

I struggled a lot in the beginning with my self confidence. I was nervous and unsatisfied with most my work I put out. How could people like what I tattooed if it wasn’t perfect? I was extremely hard on myself, finding flaws when I’m sure no one else could even see something wrong. I channeled a lot of that frustration into learning as much as I could to be better. Along the way though I started practicing self compassion and it has slowly helped me to be less judgmental of myself and has also allowed me to enjoy myself more. That ultimately helps me to know I’m just doing my best and as long as my client is happy, I can be too. Read More>>

Sarah Dyrr

I create high-impact travel content that doesn’t just look good—it moves the needle. My specialty is videography and social media strategy for tourism boards and brands that actually care about sustainability. My goal is to showcase the spots that are making a difference to help travelers choose and have the information right there for them. When you plan a trip what do you look for? Good restaurants? Fun Activities? Wildlife sightings? All are important and in crafting places to promote that also help the world. We don’t have to change what we do to have fun, but we can show how choosing place A over place B can not only make for a more memorable memory for the customer but also have a positive impact on the space. Read More>>

Snetu Karania

I grew up in India and came to United States for my Masters degree in Environmental Engineering. Experiencing the privileged life we live in the US, I felt strongly compelled to help those who are not so privileged. I volunteered with a non-profit that supports the education of underprivileged children for over a decade. Throughout those years, I took on various roles. I coordinated large fundraising events, did accounting as a treasurer, visited and surveyed various schools we were funding as well as performed administrative tasks. For a couple of years I also was on the Board. Read More>>

Sharon Felzer

With this inspiration I launched the Jackson Hole Book Festival: Conversation for the Community with Event partner Kathleen Brown of Jackson, WY. The Jackson Hole Community has always embraced and celebrated ideas, civilized discourse, learning, and conversation, as witnessed in the high level of attendance at/interest in lectures, conferences, workshops, debates, readings, and panel discussions, the three independent bookstores and the vibrant public library. The Book Festival was intended to reinforce these institutions and create a new one for the Valley and beyond. Read More>>