Today we’d like to introduce you to Stevie Kinnear.
Stevie, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
We actually met because of our kids. Mike had done martial arts as a kid and got back into it with his son, and I started in my 30s after my son joined. I had no idea what I was doing, I was just trying not to fall over while kicking (meanwhile Mike was already a third degree black belt). But somehow we ended up as training partners and friends.
Fast-forward a bit, the school we were training at changed direction, so we both kind of drifted away from it. But we missed training, so we started meeting up in Mike’s garage just to kick stuff and stay active. Mike actually reached out to his instructor from his teens and found out she was part of a newer organization called Global Traditional Martial Arts. We signed up to learn it for fun, full intentions of just training in the garage. But somehow it just going and kind of turned into this game of chicken about starting our own school. Neither of us blinked… and now here we are, with actual mats, students and a real building instead of a garage.
So Journey Martial Arts was born. We just kept building, getting more and more excited at the idea of creating a place that we could teach the way we wanted. Our own rules, our own priorities. So we kept focus around inclusivity and accessibility – trying to meet everyone where they were at on their own journey (see what we did there?).
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Oh, where do we even start? We opened Journey Martial Arts with about as much business experience as two people could have without technically being feral. We knew how to kick stuff (and teach others how to kick stuff). Not leases, insurance policies, or how to install a toilet paper holder straight. So we taught ourselves everything: real estate, interior design, painting, websites, logo design – all while trying to remember which way a mop bucket works.
Then came the fun part: figuring out how to actually open and RUN a business. We needed to understand finances in a way that wasn’t just Monopoly money. So we were knee-deep in loan applications, business projections and business jargon we pretend to understand. But somehow we make it work.
Then, two weeks before our opening day, life threw us the biggest curveball possible: I was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer. Suddenly, everything became about figuring out how to open a martial arts school while fighting for my life. Mike was going to have to take on a majority role at the school while I went through surgeries, chemo and radiation for months and months at a time.
Now that the doors are open, the challenges haven’t exactly stopped – they’ve just changed shape. We’re learning how to share our vision with the community: that martial arts can be far more inclusive than most people imagine. We want to reach anyone that has ever wanted to learn martial arts. That might be your typical youth, that might be neurodivergent students, adults over 40, and people who’ve always felt like “martial arts isn’t for them”. We want them to know that it is.
We’re also trying to figure out how to market ourselves without turning into pushy salespeople – because that’s just not who we are. And, of course, there’s the never-ending balancing act between keeping things affordable for families and keeping the lights on.
So yeah, the list of challenges keeps growing. But so does our ability to handle them.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Journey Martial Arts is basically the school we both wished existed when we started. We wanted a space where anyone could walk in (adults, kids, beginners, people with different abilities) and actually feel like they belong. No intimidation, no “you have to be fit first,” no one-size-fits-all approach. Just an open mat, a good community, supportive instructors, and training that meets people where they’re at.
We teach traditional taekwondo under the GTMA curriculum, but we do it in a way that’s accessible, encouraging, and fun. Our focus isn’t just on perfect technique – it’s on growth, confidence, and helping students find their version of strength. You’ll see five-year-olds learning self-control next to adults discovering they can still kick over their heads, and everyone cheering for each other.
What really sets us apart is how intentionally we adapt our programs. We recognize that older adults might need a lower-impact path – not everyone wants to spar a 17-year-old with unlimited knees and cartilage. So we’ve developed a low-impact curriculum that builds strength, mobility, and confidence without punishing joints.
We also offer sensory-friendly classes for students who need a different environment – things like dimmer lights, lower music, or noise-cancelling headphones are all totally normal here. And when kids come in buzzing with energy, we don’t see that as a problem to fix – we see it as potential. We give them safe ways to move, reset, and re-engage, knowing that focus doesn’t always mean stillness (and stillness doesn’t always encourage focus).
And as a queer-owned business, that sense of belonging goes beyond just the physical mat. It’s important to us that every student – no matter who they are, how they identify, or where they come from – feels respected and safe here. We’ll always honor your pronouns, your boundaries, and your individuality. Because for us, martial arts isn’t about fitting in – it’s about becoming yourself.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
We’ve learned that “owning a business” mostly means learning new skills you never wanted. Like plumbing. Or commercial lease law. Or how to politely email someone for the 14th time because they still haven’t sent your sign permit. We’ve learned that there’s no perfect plan – just showing up, figuring it out, and trying again the next day. We’ve learned that entrepreneurship is just adulting on expert mode. It’s all trial, error, caffeine, and pretending you know what you’re doing until you actually do.
We’ve learned that you can Google almost anything… except how to keep your sanity while doing fifteen jobs at once. We’ve had to figure out how to be painters, plumbers, marketers, and accountants (sometimes all before noon). And honestly? “Winging it” has turned out to be a surprisingly effective business strategy, as long as you’re too stubborn to quit halfway through.
We’ve learned that community is everything. The people around us (our students, families, friends, and each other) have carried us through every single challenge. That’s what keeps us going when we’re exhausted or covered in paint or spreadsheets.
And maybe the biggest lesson? There’s never a “right time” to start. You just have to start anyway. Because if we’d waited until everything made sense, Journey Martial Arts would still just be an idea we talked about between classes instead of the place it’s become.
Pricing:
- $150/month
- Family discounts available
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.journeyutah.com
- Instagram: @journeymartialartsut
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558728025134
