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.
Jordyn Shetzline
Bare Skin MedSpa & Wellness was created in my mind long before it ever became a physical place. Today, it is a beautiful little med spa in Glen Rose, Texas, built around something I believe deeply in: wellness, confidence, connection, and helping people feel comfortable in their own skin. Read more>>
Gregory Baker
Dad had brought home from WWII a 16mm military issue film camera…and he made lots of home movies. Watching those home movies during the holidays and family gatherings became a thrilling and time-travel tradition. Mother’s artistic and classical musical training rounded out the entertainment and aesthetic development I needed. Read more>>
Jason and Jennifer Schall
Jason: I grew up on the Ashley River just outside Charleston, South Carolina, and I was on the water every chance I got. From my bedroom window I could literally throw a rock into the river. I built rafts, fished from canoes and kayaks, and spent just about every day outside. Fishing has really been part of who I am for as long as I can remember. Read more>>
Karla Turntine
My name is Karla Turntine, and I’m the owner and creative behind Gather Grace & Graze Charcuterie. Read more>>
Jimmy R. O. Smith
If you had told me as a kid in Forest Hill, Texas that I’d grow up to become a producer in entertainment, I probably would’ve laughed… because you would’ve been reading my mind. Read more>>
Camron Thomasson 
My family has always been shutter bugs, always taking photos, and some of my earliest memories were my grandfather taking our photos. So it was somewhat of a natural direction of interest for me but I never got into it until middle school. Read more>>
Allison Randall 
My journey has always been centered around athletics, health, performance, and helping people become the best version of themselves. I started as an athlete and was fortunate to compete at every level—from youth sports all the way to professional competition and the Olympic Games. I represented Jamaica at the 2012 Olympics and competed professionally and internationally throughout my athletic career. Those experiences shaped me tremendously. Read more>>
Bogun Olu 
Music has always been a big part of who I am. Growing up in Lagos, Nigeria, I was always that kid who knew what song was about to drop or what people were already listening to before it became mainstream. I’ve always been curious about what else is out there, and I loved putting people onto music they hadn’t discovered yet. Read more>>
Delaney Rose 
In November 2014, my life changed in an instant. I was involved in a bonfire accident in Aledo, just outside of Fort Worth, and suffered burns over 16% of my body, including my face, my dominant hand, and both of my legs. Recovery meant relearning things I had never thought twice about before. Read more>>
Edna Martinez 
My journey started in the classroom. As a former teacher, creativity was always a big part of who I was, but I never imagined it would eventually become my career. What began over seven years ago with a few window-painting projects grew through word of mouth, social media, and the incredible support of my Rio Grande Valley community. Read more>>
Mark Merchant 
I’ve been an artist for as long as I can remember. I started drawing seriously when I was young and began working professionally as an artist in the early ’90s. In 1994, after working hard, knocking on doors, and fighting for an opportunity to get my foot in the door, I began my career in tattooing. Read more>>
Ivy Reyes 
I’ve always loved photography and being able to capture moments people can look back on for years. What started as something I enjoyed eventually grew into Ivy Reyes Photography and a business I’m really proud of. I’m based in Bowie, Texas, and specialize in newborn photography, but I also photograph families and children. Read more>>
Brigi Fuzes 
I was born in Hungary in 1987 and art has always been a huge part of my life. I am a qualified painter, and even as a child I was entering and winning art competitions. I was always very independent and determined to learn as much as I could. More than anything, I wanted to find a way to make a living through my artwork. Read more>>
Cherissa Scott 
Pablo’s Lotus Garden and Apothecary started in 1987, when Pablo was born on a sketch pad. The Muse that remains with me to this day and continues to evolve. Pablo is a symbol of courage, strength, laughter and confidence that moved me through many chapters in my life. Read more>>
Sir Terrick Mcpherson 
I started being a creative as a child, and over the years life began to get a little harder and harder. I didn’t really understand what was going on so I tapped more into my gift that eventually became an escape and a safe place and the one gift that really saved my life was dance. Read more>>
Geoffrey Henning 
Born in Canada and shaped by years living abroad, I grew up with a global view of style. My parent’s introduced me to fashion as a language- shaped by culture, travel, and the way people make it their own. I began as a fashion illustrator, capturing the movement and mode of the runway. Read more>>
Elysse Jimenez 
When I was about 14 years old, my family and I experienced a really difficult chapter in our lives. We were homeless and stayed in a women’s domestic violence shelter for a little over a month. Read more>>
George Chiavelli 
I would say that I was always a bit of a creative but I never specifically gravitated towards art. I was interested in how things went together and building with legos as a child. I ended up studying computer aided design in high school, due to its technical nature I didn’t see, at the time, that this was the beginnings of my artistic understanding. Read more>>
Chukwudi Ubido 
My journey with music started in childhood in Lagos, Nigeria, where I sang in my church choir. My mother encouraged me to keep developing my voice, and as I grew, I moved through the different levels of the choir system. Read more>>
Alex Gil 
My name is Alex Films. Well, technically, my name is Alex Gil, but if you’ve met me through a camera, a concert, a music video, or somewhere along this journey, there’s a pretty good chance you know me as Alex Films. It’s funny because what started as a name I put behind my work eventually became a huge part of who I am. Read more>>
Nicholas Nathanielsz 
I moved in the Dallas Metroplex in Feb 2021 from Northern CA. I had worked with Fox Sports Philippines and loved the work I did there as a TV play by play broadcaster and sports journalist after graduating with a Journalism degree from the University of Oregon. Read more>>
Tiffany Mccullar 
One could say my purpose was found out of the remnants of pain. I was going through one of the worst times of my life. I lost my job and found myself homeless with two children and nowhere to turn for help. Read more>>
Sharae Averhart
I’ve always been a creative person, but I don’t think my career—or my life, really—has ever followed a perfectly straight line. I’ve spent more than a decade working as a designer, eventually building a freelance career that gave me something I came to value more and more as I got older: flexibility. Read more>>
Dr. Adrianne M. Toney, Ph.D. 
I was born on the Southside of Chicago where Giants are made. I am not surprised at all the a Presidential Library and Center sits on the soil of my childhood. As a literacy advocate and transition expert I teach with my life. Read more>>
Taylor Davis 
I was raised in a very musical house where all genres belonged. My father is a prominent musician in the choral world and my mom, a retired educator, has always had an avocational love for the arts. Read more>>
Rachel Muldez 
My artist story truly started when I was 5 years old. I would sit alone in my backyard, in New Mexico, and build homes for insects with natural materials. When that did not work out well, I started to observe the creatures and how they constructed their own homes/nests. Read more>>
AUSTIN ROSS 
What a question to answer. My parents divorced when I was young, and I saw firsthand what can happen to a family when two people are unable to come together and repair what has been broken. I was exposed to a great deal of conflict and emotional pain from both sides. Read more>>
Leslie Powell 
We are a husband and wife team who co-founded ConfiDent Smile Sudio. We had a shared vision to change the paradigm of dentistry. We sought to create a safe space for people to get quality care while feeling at home. Building our practice from the ground up has challenged us and helped is grow as dentists, business owners and partners. Read more>>
cristina Zuniga 
Cristina Zúñiga was born in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. After earning a degree in Communications, she moved to the United States, where she began a successful 20-year career in radio broadcasting. Since arriving in Dallas in 1995, Cristina has been a prominent voice in Spanish-language radio. Read more>>
Dante Scalvenzi
I did not come from fashion. I came from marketing automation, and I still work in it, at a communications agency in Italy. That is where the idea for Kali Shoes was born, though not in the way you might expect. One of our clients imported products from China in enormous volumes. Read more>>
Evette Perrodin
My name is Evette Perrodin, and my journey has been one of growth, reinvention, and following opportunities that aligned with my interests and strengths. I earned my college degree in Healthcare Administration from Texas Southern University, an HBCU that gave me a strong foundation for beginning my career in the insurance industry. Read more>>
Sergey Bogolybov 
I started writing and producing music relatively late in life, after I turned 30. But music had been a dream of mine since childhood, back when I was attending music school. My life took a pretty complicated and unusual path, so I’m grateful that, even though it happened later than I expected, I was eventually given the chance to do what I truly love. Read more>>
Amber Hevey
My journey into the world of music started when I was just a child, long before I ever touched a turntable. I grew up with an older brother who was 21 years my senior. His musical knowledge went far deeper than standard radio play. Read more>>
LaKelya Godbolt
I grew up around family who has a lot of talent and skills. At a young age, I would watch my grandmother in her beauty salon transform women with beautiful hairstyles. I followed in her footsteps my senior year in highschool, by taking cosmetology classes and finished obtaining the required hours at a local college in order to take the cosmetology exam. Read more>>
Robyn Jamison 
Fresh out of art school at the University of Kansas in 1975, I moved to Fort Worth, Texas and took a position as a guard at the Fort Worth Art Museum (now the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth). That little museum had recruited a pre-eminent curator, Richard Koshalek, away from The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. It was a real coup! Thanks to Mr. Read more>>
Corey Singletery
I started out as an avid fan of hip hop. It was almost as if it spoke to me. I started with rhyming in poetry and then one day my cousins were playing a beat and told me to rapt what I wrote so I did and it on from there. Read more>>
Erin Gallagher 
DFW Pulse started from a simple problem we kept running into ourselves: there is always so much happening around Dallas-Fort Worth, but finding it can be surprisingly difficult. Events are scattered across social media, city websites, venue calendars, and dozens of other places, so it often takes more time than it should just to figure out what to do. Read more>>
Bridgette Burke
My Journey has always been rooted in creativity, a love for fashion, and a desire to create something meaningful. Over the years, my relationship with fashion has evolved from designing garments to teaching others the craft and eventually building a space where creativity and opportunity could coexist. As a fashion designer, I understand that brining a vision to life requires more than talent. Read more>>
Peter Off’Keefe 
My love for fashion started at an early age. My mother always made sure I was well dressed. That’s where my story began. I can remember my mother being a stylish woman and that apparently rubbed off on me and my siblings. Once I become of age to develop my own style I believe that’s when my mind was open to a new world. Read more>>
Parker Jason 
I’m a young lad born and raised from the depths of Oak Cliff , grew up as an avid music listener from the tender age of 8 . I developed interest in music after listening to Drake’s “So Far Gone” which sparked curiosity in my ability to express myself sonically. Read more>>
Leea Jackson 
My journey with DivaDance actually started as a member! I had just moved to DFW and was looking for a fun way to move my body, meet new people, and find a sense of community in a new city. I quickly fell in love with not only the classes, but the values behind DivaDance and the welcoming, confidence-building environment it created. Read more>>
Sarah Wiesner
My journey with Motivisualz really started with a camera, curiosity, and a love for telling stories visually. I’ve always been drawn to the way a single image or piece of content can capture a feeling, tell a story, or completely change the way people see a brand. What began as photography and content creation gradually grew into something much bigger. Read more>>
April Hawkins 
My story really started with knowing that I wanted to be an entrepreneur, even before I knew exactly what that would look like. Over the years, I’ve tried a little bit of everything. I’ve sold products, done makeup, and explored different business ideas and creative things that I was naturally good at. Read more>>
Cylas Langdon 
I initially started posting online around 2018, when I was sharing my journey toward running my first marathon. At the time, it was simply a way to document something that was really meaningful to me and connect with other people who were on similar journeys. I was also working as a registered nurse, which I did for more than a decade. Read more>>
Srihith Pallamreddy 
My name is Srihith and despite being born and brought up in the US, I’ve always been an avid consumer of Telugu media, whether it’s Telugu music, TV shows, movies, or occasionally even radio stations. I started noticing a gap in Western markets where Telugu audio content was not prominent, especially considering that it’s the fastest growing language in the US. Read more>>
Angelica Whaley 
I was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and in 2007, I made the decision to leave home and begin building a life of my own in Atlanta, Georgia. Read more>>
Corey Iles 
My name is Corey Iles and my journey started with applying to the University of North Texas in Denton where I majored in journalism. I was also UNT’s 2026 Class Ring Award Winner and the Dr. James L. Rogers Public Relations Scholarship Recipient. My concentration is public relations. Read more>>
Griffin Holtby
I’ve had the honor of being interviewed about my solo career with Voyage Magazine in the past, but today I want to talk about a project I’m really excited about, TEXAS TURMOIL! We’re a country and rock cover band, with 2 years of playing gigs and entertaining people in the DFW. A few years ago I had a rock band, The Deadmen Walking. Read more>>
Blessing Taylor-Ryer 
I started my career in business at the age of 14 as a student in Eaton High School’s Business Academy of Entrepreneurship. During my 4 years in the program, I was equipped with insight on the primary channels of Business including but not limited to Branding & Design, Operations, Human Resources, and of course Marketing. Read more>>