10 minute read
Voices
Celebrating UTAH Moms + Business Owners
Publishers Note – My intention when I started this magazine in 2016 was to inspire moms to get outside and explore Utah’s epic backyard with their families. Also, I wanted to create a business where I could take my daughter to work with me and have some awesome and memorable adventures with her. Now my daughter is 13 and no longer eager or easily persuaded to be my adventure partner…which I totally get…I would not want my mom following me around with a camera all the time, as she so eagerly has pointed out to me on several occasions. NOW WHAT is the question that has been running rampant in my head for the past several months.
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After some much needed refl ection on my WHY: What is it that motivates me and ignites my passion? At the age of 50, I’m fully aware that if my heart is not in IT, neither is my head. No matter how many times or ways I try to ignore or deny this I know this to be true for me and my ADHD brain. What came out of my self-refl ection was this…I’m a person that is highly motivated by impact as well as adventure.
How do I pivot this magazine so my desire to make an impact takes the helm with this adventure driven publication?
Here’s what I came up with… you will see a bigger and louder voice for protecting the outdoor places where we play in Utah by highlighting more aspects of the Leave No Trace and Responsible Recreation ethics in the
outdoors through leadership, education, and stewardship. Taking action to promote more inclusion in the outdoors, being a voice for women’s leadership both as a mom and as a woman, and highlighting strong passionate women throughout Utah.
And a strong emphasis on mental health, and the link between nature and mental health is one that has become clearer in my mind and body over the past two years. I have so much gratitude and appreciation for having easy and abundant access to nature and outdoor recreation, and my awareness of this as a privilege has increased throughout the pandemic. This is where I go to find solace daily and filter through all the uncertainties in our world. When I try to imagine living without close access to the outdoors, it makes my heart race and generates uneasiness throughout my body. Personally, I know that my mental health would suffer greatly if I wasn’t able to get outside regularly. On the following pages you will hear from five Utah moms who are successfully mixing small business ownership and motherhood. Their specific businesses are impactful in their communities and beyond, and focused on the mental health, wellbeing, and outdoor recreation industries.
The ASK…As a fellow mom and Utah business owner I would love to feature you and your business in the upcoming issue of the Discover Utah Kids magazine. You are receiving this email because you have personally inspired me as a powerful female who is following her passion both as a business owner and a kickass mom. This journey is not easy, but it’s our intense passion that keeps us moving. In your own words tell us your: why you do what you do; what inspired you to start and continue with your business.
SHANTI HODGES La Verkin Wild Utah Tours + Land Beyond Zion When I moved to Utah four years ago, I never could have imagined the life that has unfolded around me. We live in La Verkin, Utah, which is the turn off town as you head up to Zion National Park. This place has been one of the most beautiful places I have ever lived in. There is so much to do all around us when it comes to hiking, biking, climbing, and just being in nature. We started our guide business, Wild Utah Tours, right around the beginning of the pandemic because I could sense people wanted to get outside and I knew that with my years of outdoors experience and having a media background, I could combine my love of learning with getting outside. In just a few years we went from an idea of having a family friendly, women and senior focused, BIPOC & LGBTQ friendly guide business idea to actually taking people out anywhere from three to seven times a week. Guiding is so rewarding because I love blowing people's minds when they come to the Zion area because we are able to get outside of the park into the backcountry of the Zion area. This is so different than the crowded main vein of the park.
The other hole I found in this area was that people are looking for unique outdoors sleeping experiences, so in April 2022, I added Land Beyond Zion, a unique all-human-friendly glampground for our offerings. At the camp we offer a glamp tent, bring your own, van pull ups, a little tiny house type sleeping area, and a trailer. We have an outdoor shower and outdoor kitchen. It's a fun space for gatherings and I can't wait to see how this evolves.
WildUtahTours.com @landbeyondzion @wildutahtours
RANDI JO GREENBERG Park City Yoga With Randi Jo
I moved to Park City, Utah (from LA) 17 years ago to put down roots, start a family and teach yoga. I was pregnant when I arrived and wanted to take Pre-natal yoga classes but there weren't any being offered. The Shop offered me a spot and I started teaching pregnant moms. This class eventually grew into Post-natal, Mommy & Me, and then classes at local preschools. Eventually, I began teaching for the Park City School District and Weilenmann School of Discovery.
I am now teaching yoga and mindfulness classes for kids, adults, and families in schools, recreation and art centers, private homes, retreats, summer camps, and businesses. The classes are playful and accessible for all ages, body types, and experience levels. I love to see faces light up when learning and practicing something new.
Our kid's mantra is: "I can do it!" Even if it is super challenging or seems impossible, just keep telling yourself "I can do it" and practicing. It will come eventually. I also encourage kids to be kind and tell a friend, “you can do it," and the whole class, "we can do it.” I create self-care through traveling with my family, hiking with my dogs, camping, snowboarding, and watching movies. I recently co-founded a non-profit called Mindful. Summit County. We plan to move mindfulness beyond self-care into community care by creating strong communities through mindfulness education.
yogawithrandijo.com
SHAUN DEUTSHLANDER Park City Inspired Summit Adventures
I am a dreamer and have chased a version of a life lived intertwined with nature, adventure, and the human spirit of discovery. I came to Park City, Utah in 2005, chasing this vision as a summer mountain guide and stayed to be a wintertime professional big mountain skier. This dream came true and eventually led me to meet my husband.
As it became clear I wasn’t going to be an athlete forever, I started wielding the next chapter: a dream to share more of the mountain experience and to create a company that could share the profound experiences that being in nature offers. In 2012 I launched Inspired Summit Adventures, a year-round mountain guide service with a mission to provide a deeper connection to nature for our clients, staff, and community through guided experiences, education, mentorship, and advocacy.
Today, I am a mom of a five-year-old and a “Mother” of Inspired Summit’s 25 team members. Being a mom, wife, and a dreamer isn’t always easy, but I can say with certainty, it is an incredibly rewarding journey! For all who dare to dream, dare to act as if your dream depends on it, because it quite literally does.
InspiredSummit.com
ASHLEY KORENBLAT Moab Western Spirt Cycling + Public Land Solutions
Mountain biking brought me to Utah. I grew up in Arkansas, went to Dartmouth, got a job on Wall Street, left to run a bicycle manufacturing company, and became a mountain bike racer. I served as the chair of the International Mountain Bicycling Association, moved to Moab to become an outfitter, met my husband, and ended up in the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame—right around the time my son was born. Teaching him to ride, ski, hike, paddle, and play soccer, has led to some of the most rewarding, heartwarming, and heart-breaking moments of motherhood.
When he was about 12 my son hated mountain biking, much to the dismay of my husband, who is the real core cyclist in the family. But the Utah NICA League (National Interscholastic Cycling Association) came to the rescue and now we are one of the growing thousands of Utah families who participate in high school mountain bike racing.
My advice is to just keep dragging the kids outside. These days I am spending a fair amount of time working with Public Land Solutions, a non-profit helping communities pivot from resource extraction to recreation and more climate friendly economies—work that is also motivated by motherhood.
WesternSpirit.com
PHOTO BY: GILBERT ROWLEY
NATALIE RANDALL Monticello Roam Industry
While I currently live in the Southeast Utah frontier of Monticello, I grew up in Northern Virginia. As a Girl Scout our troop would bake and sell quick breads (and of course cookies) to raise money for ski trips. I knew at a young age I wanted to trade pavement and high-rises for single track and mountains. Ultimately what brought me out west was University.
After graduating I moved to Utah where Dustin, my husband, and I met. After a few years we made the move to Monticello, where Dustin grew up, to pursue the dream to start our guiding business Roam Industry. The jump to small town living stemmed from our collective desire to provide the community, especially kids, with access to human powered activities.
We were able to leverage both of our strengths to build Roam, while I simultaneously jumped into community development with the city, county, and eventually the tourism industry. With Roam we have offered youth and women climbing clinics, expanded our annual Abajo Enduro Mountain Bike Race to be a great entry to enduro racing for ladies (and gents), have a couple backcountry ski bothy wagons, and offer a U-Explore
Intro to Bikepacking course. Much of my motivation comes from the shared miles bikepacking the region with these students. Particularly the ones who have spent limited to no time in a saddle yet have the grit to sign up and then show up and complete the type II fun experience.
Now with our four-year-old son Roman in the picture, I have been even more inspired by the mothers who wear multiple hats, or helmets in my case. The best advice I once received for finding balance in riding, work, and family is to break the routine of work (which too often becomes the majority of life) and to take the spontaneous weekend campouts and rides.
RoamUtah.com
CASSIDY DUHADWAY Heber City Purple Sky Counseling
I am a Badass CEO and Mental Health Therapist. I have built a business that I am passionate about and created a team of strong, compassionate therapists choosing to hold space for others in their healing. Purple Sky Counseling is a space where all people are seen and heard, can heal, and where mental health is a priority. I knew I needed to have creativity and control of my work. I stepped into being a business owner so I could build the life of my dreams in a way that worked for me. So, when I was pregnant with my now seven-year-old, I started my business and I have created a space that is amazing. AND I get to also be myself and show up for my Kids.
I currently have two children, two dogs, an amazing partner, and a few chickens. I am a mountain and desert girl, and for adventures.
I LOVE working with people and helping them uncover their true self and heal any past wounds so they can flourish and thrive. You can join me for therapeutic retreats, see me speak about mental health or trauma, or work with one of my AMAZING therapists. I have offices in Heber and Murray and do virtual sessions.
@therapywithcassidy PurpleSkyCounseling.com
RIVER TERRACE
Green River, Utah
Castle Country’s Most Luxurious Lodging
Quality, Comfort and Outstanding Service
• Free Full Breakfast • Outdoor Pool • Large, Spacious Rooms • Private Balcony or Patios overlooking the Green River
