🗓️ 2024
PROGRESSION SPORTS PERFORMANCE
Los Angeles’ first nonprofit 501(c)(3) taekwondo studio which provides free, subsidized, or low cost martial arts and strength and conditioning training to at-risk and economically disadvantaged youth to promote wellness and community involvement.
Summary
This project involved creating an inclusive space for all athletes. What started as an empty building (with some very suspicious leaks) was transformed into an inviting, bustling, and engaging space built for martial arts and strength and conditioning training.
This project was born out of love, dedication, and commitment—a testament to the perseverance and passion of the community and family we built through taekwondo.
BUILDING A SPACE FOR US
Challenge
In Los Angeles, access to quality taekwondo training is often restricted by high costs, competitive exclusivity, and environments that unintentionally discourage girls and underrepresented youth. As a result, many young athletes lack safe, supportive spaces to build confidence, leadership, and community through martial arts. We saw a need for a studio that removes financial barriers and actively champions inclusion and equal opportunity in the sport.
Role: Marketing and Strategy Lead, Taekwondo Instructor & Coach, Athlete
Website Design & Onboarding
Marketing Material
Material and Supply Organization & Coordination
General Building Construction & Interior Design
Process
With insights gathered from athletes and families, my team and I worked to transform our vision into an accessible, community-centered, and inclusive training space.
Designed the physical floorplan to support multi-use functionality, allowing the space to seamlessly flex between taekwondo, weightlifting, kickboxing, and community events.
Built the initial website (progressiontkd.com) to streamline volunteer onboarding and enable easy updates, ensuring low-friction long-term sustainability.
Created promotional materials to drive early awareness and supported community-based fundraising efforts to activate local support and introduce the mission to the neighborhood.
Through a combination of space strategy, brand enablement, and grassroots outreach, I helped lay the foundational infrastructure for a studio built to scale access, not exclusivity.
Studio Outcomes
Once creating a physical space for athletes was finished, the real work began. Drawing from my passion and experience in my sport and community, I dedicated myself to uplifting and supporting athletes as they navigated similar mental and physical challenges.
The studio currently:
Serves ~100 full-time youth students.
Maintains an active competitive sparring + poomsae team that travels to local and national tournaments.
Provides financial aid support to both regular students and competitive athletes.
Cultivates a tight-knit, supportive community centered on mentorship, belonging, and inclusion.
Hosts taekwondo classes, kickboxing sessions, and open weightlifting hours as a multi-purpose shared space.
Key Takeaways
Build for your community. When projects are led by the heart, they’re 100x more fulfilling.
Know when to lead, and when to listen. Your team is your greatest asset; work together.
Adapting is key. Not everything will go as planned- be flexible, embrace change.
Reflection & More About Me
Taekwondo has shaped nearly every part of who I am. Since my first class at age seven, the studio became more than just a place to train — it became a second family, a consistent source of confidence, and a space where I learned discipline, resilience, and identity.
As I grew older, I experienced firsthand the challenges of navigating a male-dominated sport without adequate representation or support systems. Advocating for myself eventually evolved into advocating for the girls who came after me — and this experience is what grounded my belief in creating equitable access, mentorship, and community for marginalized youth.
Being part of launching this nonprofit studio allowed me to convert that personal experience into structural impact. I wasn’t just opening a gym — I was helping build the kind of environment I wished existed when I was younger. A space where inclusion is intentional. Opportunity is shared. And where every student — regardless of gender, background, or financial means — has a place to belong, grow, and succeed.
This project reaffirmed for me that design, community building, and strategy are most powerful when they remove barriers and make room for others.