Fab40: Curtis Blair
A “business alchemist,” Curtis Blair has led five companies to multi-million dollar status — including growing a marketing company from zero to $15 million in six years and then orchestrating its successful exit in 2019. He could choose to spend his days Glunching (read on to define his made-up word), but instead he took on […]
Fab40: Clayton Mueller
Clayton Mueller’s photography is fierce, authentic and one-of-a-kind — an accurate reflection of himself. He was born to be behind the lens AND in front of it, being featured in a Southern France Female Empowerment art exhibit, ranking in the top five of Good Morning America’s 2013 ‘Roar with Katy Perry’ contest, and recently shooting […]
Fab40: Scout Smith
While many might think you have to live in New York or LA to make acting a full-time gig, that’s not the case for the fabulous Scout Smith. Her love for the arts began on the stage where she has starred in countless roles at Hale Center Theater both in Orem and in Sandy. In […]
Fab 40: Meet our 2020 Collection of Shining Stars
The stars in the sky are immeasurable, but we had to narrow down Utah Valley’s Shining stars to this year’s Fab 40. We asked these 40 fabulous luminaries their go-to wishes, their star-is-born moments and their shoot-for-the-stars goals. Its our 13th round of fabulousness, and we ain’t superstitious. But an uncanny number of these shining […]
2020 Fab 40: Ben Hopkin
Ben Hopkin, Actor + Teacher Age 48 • Provo • Taurus Ben plays roles of actor, teacher, director, writer, husband and father. In 2000 Ben graduated from Old Globe Theatre acting MFA program, which is one of the top five acting MFA programs in the country. While running the Acting for Film program at the New […]
2020 Fab 40: Angelina Capella
Angelina Capella, Martial Artist Age 14 • Orem • Gemini This teen packs a punch. At age 6, Angelina began competing in martial arts nationally. The second time she attended a national competition, she won her first gold medal. Angelina has claimed many impressive titles since. In 2019 alone, Angelina competed in 21 tournaments and was […]
2020 Fab 40: Amber Andrews
Amber Andrews, AF Canyon Winner Age 34 • Orem • Taurus Amber’s feet are fly. In 2019, she ran the St. George 5K, the St. George Marathon, the Rex Lee Run 10K, the Freedom Run 5K, the Utah Valley 10K, and AF Canyon Run Against Cancer Half Marathon (a three-time Best Of Utah Valley winner). Amber […]
2020 Fab 40: Valerie Kukahiko
Valerie Kukahiko, Co-Founder of Crust Club Age 36 • Highland • Aquarius In 2016, Valerie took a leap of faith for a piece of the pie in Utah’s food industry. Valerie and her husband, Tyler, started Crust Club, a food delivery company that produces thousands of sweet and savory pies, cookies and other foods. Crust Club […]
2020 Fab 40: Scott Root
Scott Root, Wildlife Ambassador Age 56 • Springville • Aquarius Scott is living the dream of having his occupation and his hobbies align. For the past 29 years, Scott has been the public relations and outreach manager for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. In this capacity he connects people with nature through wildlife presentations, wildlife […]
2020 Fab 40: Brian Hawkins
Brian Hawkins, Tiny House Movement Age 38 • Lehi • Scorpio Brian is attacking the big bad affordable housing crisis with a tiny solution. In 2015 this father of four quit his job at Vivint to start Tiny House Movement by manufacturing shipping container homes. In 2018 he partnered with a manufacturer in China to make […]
2020 Fab 40: Bronson Kaufusi
Bronson Kaufusi, NFL Knockout Age 28 • Provo • Cancer Bronson recognized his passion for sports when he was just a little boy. (Wait, he was never actually little.) As a Timpview student, Bronson received the All-American High School Player award despite a season-ending ACL tear his senior year. Although he faced physical debilitation, Bronson was […]
2020 Fab 40: Amy Wilcox
Amy Wilcox, Crossing Guard Age 39 • Provo • Cancer Amy helps the students of Edgemont Elementary safely cross the street in style. Because this lady of laughs values kindness and comedy, Amy started wearing costumes to the crosswalk (like Winnie the Pooh or a Whoopee Cushion). Amy and her husband, Matthew, have six children. After […]
2020 Fab 40: Ben Kjar
Ben Kjar, House Flipper and Speaker Age 36 • Pleasant Grove • Gemini Ben has a diverse toolbelt. He’s flipped more than 150 houses and he’s shared his story with millions of people — sometimes with 10,000 at a time. Ben was born with Crouzon Syndrome and has had several reconstructive facial surgeries. His doctors said […]
2020 Fab 40: T.C. Christensen
T.C. Christensen, Director Age 66 • Farmington • Taurus T.C. Christensen is the most well-known Utah director of this generation. Throughout his 40 years of filmmaking, T.C. has worked on dozens of film projects, mostly as a writer, director and cinematographer. His name is behind film titles like “17 Miracles,” “Ephraim’s Rescue,” and “The Cokeville Miracle.” […]
2020 Fab 40: Makenzie Weatherspoon
Makenzie Weatherspoon, No. 1 Archer Age 16 • Lehi • Virgo While “The Hunger Games” craze caused an influx of female, first-time archers to penetrate the male-dominated sport, Makenzie’s mother, Amy, says with mama-pride, “Makenzie was cool before Katniss.” This teen has her sights set on becoming the No. 1 female archer in the world. […]
2020 Fab 40: Matt Bushman
Matt Bushman, BYU Tight End Age 24 • Orem • Scorpio The Bushman family lived in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, which led Matt and his family to relocate in Tucson, Arizona. As a high school senior several years later, Matt became the perfect storm on the field and was invited to play […]
2020 Fab 40: Shaun Johnson
Shaun Johnson, The Johnson Files Age 36 • Lehi • Pisces Shaun and his wife, Nicole, started a comedy Instagram account called “The Johnson Files” in 2016 when living in Florida and needing a creative outlet. They post humorous skits, usually starring Shaun and his multiple creative personalities (including ‘Sandy’ who comes out with the blond […]
2020 Fab 40: Chelsea Rippy
Chelsea Rippy, Wellness Coach + Entrepreneur Age 45 • Highland • Leo Chelsea’s mind is always spinning on stellar business ideas — and her favorites are those that fill a need for women not currently being met in the market. Chelsea founded Shade Clothing in 2003 and led the modest undershirt movement until 2010 (many women […]
2020 Fab 40: Natalie Madsen
Natalie Madsen, JK! Studios Co-Founder Age 30 • Provo • Gemini In 2018, Natalie and the other nine original cast members of BYUtv’s Studio C joined forces to create the comedy network JK! Studios. Since leaping into the independent venture, the JK! Studios team has fulfilled its dream of creating original content by blending marketing with […]
2020 Fab 40: Lyza Bull
Lyza Bull, YouTube Sensation Age 14 • Lehi• Taurus Joining the circus turned Lyza Bull into a viral YouTuber. The Bull family had been creating and posting music videos starring Lyza for about a year when they made a “The Greatest Showman” mashup featuring Lyza, dancers from The Dance Club and Lyza’s little sister, Evelyn. The […]
2020 Fab 40: Laura St. Onge
Laura St. Onge, Thanksgiving Point Whiz Age 51 • Alpine • Libra Describing Laura takes a lot of commas. She was recently honored as the Employee of the Year at Thanksgiving Point, she has hiked 2,000 miles each year since she moved to Utah, she has a daylily named after her (“Lusty Laura St. Onge”), and […]
2020 Fab 40: Doran Briscoe
Doran Briscoe, Etch A Sketch Artist Age 29 • Provo • Libra Doran Briscoe toys around with art. In high school, Doran learned how to create complicated drawings on an Etch A Sketch. Now he sells his detailed finished products and commissioned work on doranetch.com. His specialty is doodling on the “World’s Smallest” Etch A […]
2020 Fab 40: Roger Livingston
Roger Livingston, R&R Barbeque Co-Founder Age 61 • Canyon Rim • Scorpio Meet one of the Rs behind R&R Barbeque. About 15 years ago, Roger teamed up with his twin, Rodney, to compete in barbecue competitions. Together, they earned nine grand championships and six reserve championships. They then took their recipes to the restaurant space, opening […]
2020 Fab 40: Michael Hicks
Michael Hicks, Music Professor Age 63 • Provo • Gemini Dr. Michael Hicks may be retiring from his 35 years as a BYU Composition and Theory professor, but he is far from reaching a diminuendo in Utah Valley. A successful author of soon to be nine books, favorite college professor, poet, composer, web author, religious […]
2020 Fab 40: Hollie Fluhman
Hollie Fluhman, Author + Actress Age 45 • Provo • Pisces Hollie sensed a need for this generation of women to share their stories with the rising one. Her vision became a 193-page anthology of 33 essays where modern women share faith-filled wrestles with feminism, roles, career and discrimination. Deseret Book published “A Place To Belong” […]
2020 Fab 40: Parker Gentry
Parker Gentry, Founder of Skill Struck Age 24 • Orem • Aquarius Skill Struck started as summer coding camps, jumped to “piano lessons of coding,” and has now morphed into a curriculum used by 20 schools across the state of Utah. And Parker founded this venture as a sophomore studying entrepreneurship at BYU. This new father […]
2020 Fab 40: Jason Hewlett
Jason Hewlett, Author + Funnyman Age 41 • Salt Lake City • Cancer Although Jason has lit up stages as an entertainer, impersonator, emcee and keynoter, his slightly serious side is winning readers and audiences. His focus on “The Promise” helps corporations redefine corporate culture and personal vision. Jason’s career kicked off with shows at […]
2020 Fab 40: Stephanie Sosa
Stephanie Sosa, Professional Dancer Age 20 • Orem • Virgo Stephanie began busting a move at age 7 at Center Stage Performing Arts Studio. Later, she took her fancy feet to Season 16 of “So You Think You Can Dance.” She and her brother Ezra were the first siblings ever to dance in the top […]
2020 Fab 40: Kristin Petrucci
Kristin Petrucci, Gratitude Guru Age 42 • American Fork • Sagittarius In March 2016, Kristin experienced a grand mal seizure in her sleep — an episode so severe that her husband, David, thought it was an earthquake. Instead, he found his wife’s motionless body beside him and their 7-month-old infant. After her seizure, Kristin felt […]
2020 Fab 40: Dexonna Talbot
Dexonna Talbot, Miss Utah Age 20 • Spanish Fork • Capricorn While her friends know her as Dexonna (pronounced Dijion-a), the rest of the state knows her as Miss Utah. Since she was eight, Dexonna has devoted herself to service, ballet and “Pageant-Land” as she calls it. Young Dexonna was dazzled by pageant participants’ beauty, […]