Heber Valley Life

Tag: lifestyle

  • A Leap of Faith and a Little Heavy Lifting

    A Leap of Faith and a Little Heavy Lifting

    At the start of a world-wide health pandemic, Justin Fuchs took a leap of faith and opened Iron Backs gym to share his love of health and fitness with the valley. From the beginning, the mission of the gym has been to offer an environment of support and encouragement, where anyone could feel comfortable showing up as they are in the present moment at an affordable cost. Justin expressed, “I wanted less people without dads and granddads because of health issues. That’s something we can control . . . health and fitness we can absolutely control.”

    Simultaneously, the Kole Wright Foundation, a youth mentorship program focused on creating positive mental health through fitness and other avenues, was struggling to stay running due to program restrictions and difficulty finding mentors and volunteers. Founder, Terra Wright, said, “At the end of 2020, our board had disbanded, we were going to shut down the foundation for good. Something kept stopping me saying, ‘No, just wait, just wait’. So we came into early 2021 and I was like, we are done.” However, she could never bring herself to push the button on the computer that would cause the final closeout.

    In May 2021, Terra and her husband Chase, started attending Iron Backs gym and talking with Justin, who was in the process of qualifying for a non-profit to sponsor young athletes who couldn’t afford the monthly gym fee. His goal is to help as many individuals as he can, which is why, from the gym’s opening day, he has offered a discount to first responders and veterans; it is why he and his fellow coaches have offered a free class for special needs youth for nearly a year. Several patrons have been told to just come and use the facility if they can’t afford it. The purpose of the Iron Backs Barbell Club would be to help cover some of the costs of these benefits. However, as Justin and Terra continued talking, Terra realized that she knew why she couldn’t officially close the foundation and thus began the collaboration and combining of the entities, all under the Kole Wright name.

    Chase and Terra Wright with Alec Sargeant, Tactical Games

    @ironbacksfitness  /  ironbacks.com

    Terra reached out to the disbanded board members to determine interest in coming back on with the new charter; two of them joined up again. With Terra, Chase, and Justin on the board it was now full and the foundation immediately began working towards its new mission. Terra shared, “My goal always with the foundation had been to turn it into a CrossFit gym setting. Now we all have the gym space, someone leading the way with the business model, and we can focus on mental health through fitness.” Probably the largest shift in the forward movement of the foundation is the expanded focus from youth only to encompass adults as well. Terra mentioned that this filled a void, allowing her to keep the mission as steadfast as possible.

    Both Justin and Terra appreciate the benefits that exercise has offered them, not only physically but mentally as well and they are excited to share these benefits with anyone that needs it. According to the CDC, physical benefits from exercising can include: decreased risk of heart disease, slowing down of osteoporosis or prevention, help with warding off certain cancers — including breast and colon, regulation of blood sugar and weight to inhibit development of type 2 diabetes, increase agility, and strengthens the muscles and bones1. There are also many mental health benefits from exercising like; reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety; alleviating stress and increasing the body’s ability to adapt to it; boosting self-esteem; improving sleep; and strengthening memory and delaying cognitive disease2.

    Veterans, in particular, are a special focus and the foundation is excited to participate in Tactical Games, which are “obstacle courses paired with shooting challenges; basically a Spartan race with guns.” Terra and Justin are both veterans and hold respect and honor for our country and those that fight for it. They have a passion for helping Veterans who often get released from their service and struggle with PTSD and the loss of being part of a team. Many struggle finding their place outside of Military service; having knowledge and incredible skills that may have less application in the civilian world — hence the Tactical games, which will allow them to use some of their skills in a fun and competitive yet collaborative environment. Not limited to Veterans, the foundation will also largely focus on all First Responders and Special Needs individuals. However, the sponsorship will not be limited to these groups. Anyone can apply to be considered, and the foundation will help as many people as possible. Eventually, they want to expand the services offered to include counseling and other forms of therapy for those that may need it.

    The foundation has been funded, to date, through community fundraisers and businesses; the plan and hope is for that to continue. Terra spoke about the support that the Foundation has received over the last couple of years and how grateful they are for it. They will continue to hold the Spring Clean and other CrossFit competitions as well as an annual dinner and silent auction where they will showcase the accomplishments that the participants have achieved throughout the year. Their 2022 focus and hopes for expansion include, finding recurring sponsorships and a larger gym facility to accommodate the growing numbers of members for both the Kole Wright Foundation and the Iron Backs gym. What a wonderful blessing it is to have people who work hard to create a healthier mental community, who share such a passion for it, right here in the Heber Valley.

     1Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, November 1). Benefits of Physical Activity. 

    2Walden University LLC (2022). 5 Mental Benefits of Exercise. 

  • Heber Valley Business Launch

    Heber Valley Business Launch

    Jakob and Brodie Kahler have always been close. Close in age, close in proximity, and now close in business.

    When I say close, I’m referring to being near each other in time and space; to be fair — the two brothers were like most siblings — fighting, arguing, and not fully appreciating each other until later in life. Fortunately, for brothers and best friends, Jake and Brodie, their ‘later in life’ happened during High School.

    KNIT TOGETHER

    Growing up, Brodie was content to let Jake take the lead. He shared, “As the older brother, Jake has always set the way, and been a good example for me to follow. I’ve learned a lot from him.” Last year — their roles flipped — with Brodie taking the lead.

    While Jake was away serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Brodie was ‘chilling’ in his room sketching the amazing designs running through his imaginatively talented head. Brodie graduated from high school right around the same time Jake came home from his mission, and the two soon headed out to Provo for school and work. Jake decided to take a summer job selling solar panels in California and wanted Brodie to come along with him. “I’ve always wanted Brodie to be a part of everything I’m doing, and when I got the sales job, I wanted him to come with me. I thought it would be a good opportunity for him to develop a lot of good skills.” But Brodie had other plans.

    While working at Smash Athletics, a screen-printing business, Brodie thought, “I like to draw, and I like to create stuff. I might as well put them [the drawings] on some clothes. I have a book where I write down my ideas, and I started drawing things I thought would be fun. Eventually, I was like, I want to try and create a clothing business because I’ve always really liked fashion and clothing and the idea of designing and having my own fashion line.”

    Brodie shared his idea with Jake, and, like any good big brother would do, he jumped at the opportunity to join his little brother on this new adventure together — and Kujoh was born! Well, according to Brodie, it took a lot of tries and a few weeks to come up with a name he loved and could envision what he wanted the brand to represent. Brodie shared, “I was eating dinner one day, and it just came to my head: Kujoh. It [this particular spelling] doesn’t mean anything in any language — I looked it up — but I really liked it.”

    Both Brodie and Jake have been looking things up, researching, and doing their homework as they’ve worked together creating their brand and business. The two complement each other perfectly. Jake explained, “Brodie is a very talented kid, very artistically talented. He has a lot of gifts in drawing, and just being able to see something, and I am not at all that way. I’m good at seeing the whole picture and helping to organize and structure a lot of things. I’m good at seeing a process through, taking an idea, creating a finished product, and getting it out to people.”

    Jake is very much an extravert, while Brodie is more of an introvert — which works out quite well. While Jake networks, makes connections with various companies, and creates the marketing plans; Brodie goes to his room, turns out the lights, lights some candles, gets out his book, and goes to town creating. Brodie also decides on all the merchandise and does the screen printing for each piece. Jake stated, “Brodie is for sure the heavy lifter in all this, and I’ve just sort of helped map it out. My purpose is to help Kujoh get exposure so Brodie can concentrate on creating clothing that not only he will wear but that others will want to wear too.”

    Jakob Kahler | Brodie Kahler
    Kujoh

    After speaking with both boys, I have to say I was very impressed with how evenly matched they are. In my opinion, they are both heavy lifters — just in different ways. When asked how they were funding their business endeavors (I assumed their parents were helping out financially. Well . . . you know what they say about making assumptions), Jake modestly shared, “I was the one who funded the business to get us on our feet and get started, get our website set up and help us create the test products. We haven’t had to reach out to anyone for help or take out any business loans.” He explained how that was possible, “What I made during the summer we put into the business and whatever we make from sales will go right back into the business. We want to make sure that we can stay on top of everything without ever getting behind or ahead of ourselves. So, that is where I stepped in and started the ball rolling on the business side, making sure that I got all the funding taken care of for everything,” pretty impressive for a 20-year-old.

    For now, Smash Athletics is allowing Brodie to utilize their equipment. “I get to go in the shop and set the screens with my design, I choose the colors, and everything — it’s nice.” However, Brodie said that as their need for larger quantities grows, they plan on acquiring their own equipment. The brothers hope to eventually have a production/merchandise warehouse, in addition to a storefront where people can not only purchase their clothing but also come and hang out and have fun, “maybe watch a football game or participate in an activity.” More like a café meets sports club meets merch vibe — Kujoh is not necessarily about a lifestyle but about experiences.

    Brodie shared that, “. . . throughout Instagram we will be posting photos where our clothing drops are more like events you can come to. I really want to make the brand a kind of interactive thing. It’s not just clothing; it’s deeper than that. I’m just really excited to be able to explore that in the future.”

    What do Jake and Brodie hope for the future of Kujoh? Well, for now, they are looking forward to introducing their brand — Kujoh went live Sunday, February 20th! Pictures of their base layer: a hoodie, a crew neck, and a hat — just for starters — were posted on social media beforehand. If all goes well, which I have no doubt they will, the brothers hope to create fun pop-ups around the country, and eventually nationally. In conjunction with their pop-ups they would also like to start their own non-profit or collaborate with an existing one to share their brand and help others. Brodie explained, “I’d like to do these little pop-ups for a few months at a time in different places where we can get to know other people and immerse ourselves in their culture and help where we can. I also want to collaborate with different brands and companies. I’ve already looked into starting my own charity and what that would take, but it might be easier to work with one that already exists. I want to do a lot of charity, that is important to me. For now, though, we are just concentrating on getting our brand out there.”

    Remember earlier when Brodie said that they want their brand to be more about experiences than about clothes — to be deeper? Well, Brodie is already working on a second clothing line called Kujoh and Kin. He said, “I really like the idea of kin being family.” Jake and Brodie shared that they couldn’t have done any of this without the support of their family and friends throughout this entire experience. They both laugh when Jake shares, “Our parents are our best clients right now — they’re wearing all the stuff!” Jake also shared that many of their friends have jumped in with both feet helping with photography, photoshoots, getting the word out, etc., etc.

    Kujoh is truly about the experiences we share with our family and friends, and above all else, it’s about two brothers celebrating each others’ unique gifts and strengths; doing their part to make the world a better place by bringing people together through shared experiences!

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