Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephenie Gayler.
Hi Stephenie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Hi, I am Stephenie Gayler. I am the owner of White Tiger Taekwondo. I started training in taekwondo at 8 years old so I have been training in taekwondo for about 29 years. I reached the 1st Dan black belt at 13 years old. In the school I trained at my Instructors had a tradition of giving taekwondo names that fit the student’s taekwondo style. My name was The White Tiger. I am now a 5th Dan Master Instructor and still training. My life goal is to reach the 9th Dan Grand Master.
The 1st class I ever taught, I was as an assistant to my Instructors and I helped teach younger students in their classes. I loved it! Some of the those kids still remember me teaching in their classes which is wild to me. I am glad I made a good impression on them even back then. I reached 2nd Dan black belt at 16 years old and my Instructors decided to close their school and make some changes so I took a break from classes and trained at home. A few years after high school I had a friend who owned a dance studio in town and needed another class in the gym, so I decided to try starting my own class at her gym. My 1st class was in 2012, there were about 10 kids in the class. Some of those 1st few students are now a part of my assistant instructors team. White Tiger Taekwondo is a family owned business, I started the business and then my 2 sisters Natelie Antillon and Hope Sowell quickly began training and joined my teaching staff and now my 2 daughters and niece are also part of my team. In 2017 my classes had grown to the point where I needed more gym time so I decided to go out on my own. I rented a small space on Vernal Ave and painted it and prepped it and saved to slowly fill it with equipment.
Our classes steadily grew and grew. We stayed there for 5 years and then the building was sold and we decided to move on. We then rented a spot on Main street which has been great but we have out grown it.
We are opening in a new location November 1st at 1172 w hwy 40 Suite 250 behind 5 below. This location is perfect for our gym and I so excited for what it will provide for my students. It is my dream location.
We have grown over the last 13 years to having 15 classes a week, a team of Instructors, and around 300 students. We also now compete at tournaments both locally and traveling and several of our students have placed 1st in sparring, weapons, and forms. The last 2 years we have hosted a tournament in Vernal, UT which I count as a huge accomplishment because it can be tricky to get other schools to travel to Vernal because we are out here so far. Our 2025 tournament had 100 competitors which is awesome.
I love Taekwondo! I love Vernal, Utah. I grew up here and I love being able to provide this amazing class to our home town. I love teaching and sharing with kids and adults alike. I love shopping at the grocery store and a student I taught 10 years ago comes up to me and says hello. My goal for all of my students whether they attended 1 class or 10 years worth of classes always remembers something good they learned in my class. 15 years down the road if you don’t keep training you may not remember every form you ever learned but you will definitely remember how to block a punch.
There is nothing like the feeling of knowing how to protect yourself and your loved ones.
Taekwondo is a korean martial based in the 5 tenants of Taekwondo: Courtesy, Integrity, Perserverance, Self-control, and Idomitable spirit.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely has not always been easy but I wouldn’t trade it for anything! Owning a business can be tricky. Especially being a woman in a mostly male dominated sport. Some of the things we have struggled with over the years was finding locations to continue classes, finding Instructors in the city to keep my own training up to date so I have the best to give my students, to keep costs affordable for families, best ways to tackle large events, advertising, and learning all the parts of running a business.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about White Tiger Taekwondo ?
Taekwondo is a korean martial art and combat sport that has been around since 1955. “Taekwondo” can be broken down into “tae” meaning strike with foot, “Kwon” strike with hand, and “do” meaning the way of. Taekwondo’s base is the 5 tenants of Taekwondo. Courtesy, Integrity, Perserverance, Self-control, and Indomitable spirit. This martial art has 3 main components Poomsae (forms), Kyorugi ( sparring), and gyeokpa ( breaking teachniques). Taekwondo is one of the 1st martial arts to be accepted into the olympics. Taekwondo has been part of the olympics since 1988. I pride my business in sticking to the traditional expectations for taekwondo. We teach the Kukkiwon ( the Korean leadership team in Korea) version of Taekwondo, we also follow the guidelines of the World Taekwondo Federation. Our black belt testings are intense as intended. You don’t just receive a black belt because you went through the classes. You prove why you earned one. The stats for earning a black belt are 1 in 100, the stats for getting to 2nd Dan are 1 in 1,000, and for 3rd Dan 1 in 10,000. Most people are not willing to put in the kind of effort it takes to really learn a martial art. Our students work hard and learn to persevere through challenges, which does not only apply to class but to life. Taekwondo is a way of life. We have up to today probably taught somewhere close to 5,000 students over our time teaching so far and we have had 67 students make it to 1st Dan, and 25 students make it beyond that. Which is excellent in comparison to the average amount of people who make it to black belt typically. We pride ourselves on our students striving for excellence always and having fun doing it. Part of our success I think is people do better at something they love. They dedicate their time to what they love and enjoy doing. I have built a taekwondo school that respects the traditions of the art and expects excellence and trained my students to know that enjoying life is part of that excellence.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://whitetigertkd.wixsite.com/whitetigertkdvernal
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whitetigertaekwondo
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WhiteTKD
- Youtube: https://YouTube.com/@WhiteTigerTaekwondoVernalUtah
