Phoenix’s Most Inspiring Stories

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.

Heather Campbell

I used to watch my grandfather talk to crowds. He was a professional Santa and I’d watch him entertain little kids, including me! He’d wow crowds when he called motorcycle races as a part of his job for Harley Davidson. And my favorite was when he’d talk to the people at St. Read more>>

Janet McConnell

I never imagined that helping people age well would become my life’s work. I’ve always loved fitness, but over the years I noticed something that changed the way I looked at my profession. So many people over 50 had quietly accepted that getting weaker, slowing down, and losing independence was just part of getting older. I didn’t believe that had to be their story. Read more>>

Tara Coalter

Our story transverses a road full of interesting pot holes and plot twists. We both grew up in Southern Arizona (Tucson & Sahuarita) and have always had a passion for learning and exploring new problems. Read more>>

Jeff Burkett

From the time I was three years old, I knew that I wanted to compose and perform music. From laying on the floor in the living room as a small child, listening to my older brother’s and sister’s records -The Beatles, Elvis Presley, The Beach Boys, The Association, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, the list goes on and on. Read more>>

Jonathan Ham

Turquoise House Scottsdale actually started back in 2016 after our family stayed at a vacation rental in Palm Springs. We had such a great experience that it completely changed the way we thought about traveling. Read more>>

Alberto Devon

My artistic journey began in an unconventional way. I learned how to paint while I was incarcerated in my twenties. During that time, I read a book about Jean-Michel Basquiat and became deeply inspired by both his life story and his creative approach. Read more>>

Kandi Neal

My story is really a tale of two careers. I’m both an author and a yoga teacher. Writing gives me the opportunity to connect through words, while teaching yoga allows me to connect with people face-to-face. Together, they’ve shaped who I am today. I’ve loved writing for as long as I can remember. Read more>>

Chiara Magni

I’ve been painting for as long as I can remember. Creating has never felt like a career choice to me. It has always been the way I process the world and connect with people. I started professionally about ten years ago, building everything from the ground up without following a traditional path. Read more>>

Shawngela Pierce

My journey to a Spiritual Healer was a gradual one. The quest for inner insight and wisdom truly began when I was diagnosed with a disease considered chronic by modern medicine. What I was being told by the doctors did not resonate with what I believed my body could do. I knew I could heal but I just did not know how. Read more>>

Breanna Stone

Honestly it all started with an oil change of all things! I waited way too long to get mine done and ended up needing a whole new engine. Read more>>

Magdalena Alvarez

I grew up in a humble neighborhood in Ensenada, Baja California, where tacos were more than just food they were part of everyday life. They were affordable, comforting, and something that brought people together. Some of my favorite memories are of my mother’s cooking. Her recipes were filled with love, and even after moving to Arizona, I deeply missed those authentic flavors from home. Read more>>

Destiny Bradd

After moving to the Phoenix area to attend college and start a new chapter of my life in 2021, I quickly realized how difficult it was to make genuine friendships as an adult. Outside of school or work, there weren’t many opportunities to meet like-minded women in a way that felt natural and comfortable. Read more>>

Christina Culinski

I grew up in a family of hairstylists. My uncles owned a successful trendy salon in Southfield MI Where I worked in high school and I was bit by the beauty bug. I attended hair school at Vidal Sassoon Academy. Earning my professional cosmetology license and taking it to Hollywood CA where I was blessed to land an amazing agency to represent me! Read more>>

Kat Burns

Weirdo Wash originally started in my hometown in West Texas in 2022. My bucket of handmade soap for my sensitive skin was empty. There were no markets post-COVID & I was doing oil changes (which is awful for the skin) so I decided to try making soap for myself. I loved it! Read more>>

Maleshah Brisbin

Hello, my name is Maleshah, and I am entering my eighth year in the real estate industry. I chose to pursue a career in real estate because it offered the flexibility to build a career while prioritizing my most important role being a mother. Read more>>

Rikki Brockett

Wild River Studios started with a simple dream: to create a space where people felt genuinely cared for. I began my career behind the chair 17 years ago, and after working from a small in-home salon so I could be closer to my family, I took the leap to open Wild River. Read more>>

Jonathan Puu

I’ve always been drawn to building things. Long before Real Quick Design & Consulting, I was building businesses, creating websites, learning SEO, and figuring out how to use technology to solve real-world problems. At the same time, I was deeply involved in Muay Thai. Read more>>

J Ross

Beats Lyrics Leaders began in 2015 while I was on tour. I had recently been signed to Universal and had just finished a tour in Nigeria when I was headed to Washington to begin a U.S. tour. Read more>>

Kim Fisher

In 1982, my best friend and I dreamed of opening a women’s-only gym in Reno, a place where women could train with real weight. The funding fell through, so I built something better and entirely my own. I became one of the first independent female personal trainers in the country, five years before there was even a certification for it. Read more>>

Janica Sampang

My journey into baking started with a front-row seat to my mom’s kitchen. Watching her bake Filipino favorites without looking at measuring cups was my first introduction. My passion for baking is deeply rooted in my heritage. I have watched my mom bake warm delicious Pandesal and incorporate the now well known flavor: Ube in classic desserts.. Read more>>

Shari Flam

Living chocolate is 11 years old and began under the cottage law in 2015 in a home kitchen. We did farmers markets, wholesale and a little bit of shipping. The spark was a passion for chocolate and a path led by God! Read more>>

Kaity Zaiser

I’ve always been drawn to helping people discover what’s possible for their future. My career began in education as a high school mathematics teacher, where I spent several years teaching Algebra, Geometry, College Mathematics, and helping develop one of Arizona’s first secondary Data Science courses. I actually began my teaching career while simultaneously pursuing my master’s degree in School Counseling. Read more>>

Austin Reckard

I care about this so much because I was born and raised in the service business industry by two young college dropouts determined to provide for their family. I’ve lived first hand the negative reality of too little too late: 2001: I grew up in business hustle. Read more>>

Chris Tansey

Wow, where to begin! I was a youth pastor with a passion for climbing and a dream to open a climbing gym one day. I put all my eggs in that basket in 2019 and was fully funded with an SBA loan in January of 2020 right before the pandemic hit. Read more>>

Blaise Aki

Owner/operator of Pacific Rim food truck and restaurant, Chef Blaise Aki, a Hawaiian native, was raised on the island of Kauai. Where he first started in the food industry and learned the cultural food from the Pacific realm. A United States Marine Corps Veteran. Went to culinary school in Portland Oregon as well as sushi school. Read more>>

Mahiba Keys

My creative journey began with a passion for fashion and design. I attended The Art Institute of Phoenix, where I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Marketing. While in school, I discovered that I loved not only the creative side of the industry but also the strategy behind building brands and helping businesses stand out. Read more>>

James Gordon Patterson

I was a journalism major in college, the University of Arizona. Photography was a required course. I petitioned out of that class because I was a radio reporter. What did I need a photo class for? That was in the mid-70’s. Fast forward thirty years and cameras came out that would produce a digital file. I tried it. I liked it a lot. Read more>>

Andrea Jefferson

When I moved to Arizona in 2007, I worked in real estate and was self-employed for about 10 years. Looking back, I don’t think owning a business was ever the goal, I was always drawn to careers that gave me flexibility and the opportunity to build relationships with people. Read more>>

Trixie Leuck

Honestly, my story didn’t start with a business plan. It started with a health situation that came out of nowhere and forced me to stop. When you’re moving fast, building, leading, always in motion, you don’t get a lot of quiet. This gave me quiet whether I wanted it or not. Read more>>

Alesha Christensen

Many years ago, I owned a beauty and body art studio called Bold Beauty Company, where I began teaching fine line tattooing and piercing. Through that experience, I saw a significant gap in the industry. Many aspiring artists wanted to learn, but traditional apprenticeships were often difficult to secure or simply inaccessible. Read more>>

Garrad Perry

I was born and raised in New Jersey and Sinatra/Rat Pack music was everywhere growing up. I went to a performing arts college in New York with the goal of being on broadway. Ended up getting a job as a train conductor in New Jersey when the small performing jobs weren’t cutting it. Read more>>

LiZÉ

I’ve always been very close to the local rap game since I before I could even walk. In my family there are a lot of musicians, mostly ones who play instruments but there’s a few who rap/produce/engineer. Read more>>

Terry Yetter

My wife and I started our travel agency 7 years ago. We started as the Covid pandemic was just beginning. After taking our first cruise together, I was hooked and we decided right then and there that we wanted to start a travel agency. We had no experience, but we knew that we had wanted to incorporate travel into our lives, personally and professionally. Read more>>

Andrea Pass

Focusing my career on the public relations field proved to be a bonus as I pivoted into my current role as Executive Director of the Fair Lawn (NJ) Chamber of Commerce. I started in the PR Department of the CBS Radio Division where I wrote press releases and coordinated interviews for a variety of CBS Radio broadcasts including Sports, Entertainment and News. Read more>>

Andrew (SVNDAY DRVR) Wimmer

From a young age, I’ve always been drawn to the creative and arts and music. I studied classical piano for 6 years and trained as a vocalist for 3. I used to write lyrics in highschool, hip-hop and some alternative stuff. These were my first steps towards where I am now. Fast forward to college, I was introduced to EDM. Read more>>

Tasha Schultz

Tasha Schultz is the founder and creative force behind Tchotchkes Design Studio. Originally from the Twin Cities, she and her family relocated to the Valley in 2021. Read more>>