< PreviousAS A PARTNER OF the Arizona-based promotion company Relentless Beats, Ryan Auhl has built himself into a seasoned operator and live event producer in just over a decade. While he started more organically in dance music, building the Relentless Beats brand into one of the Southwest’s largest independent promoters and operators, Auhl has aspirations to open the brand and himself to new opportunities across the country. Having produced thousands of live music events, Auhl has cultivated the team at Relentless Beats, which has introduced dance music to the masses, into a company that has brought the Southwest into the conversation with L.A., New York, Chicago and more. What does it mean to be an innovator to you? It means continuing to push our company and product further than before in quality or features that aren’t otherwise being done in the Valley. I’m inspired by peers across the globe and am always working toward delivering better and better experiences for our fans here. • www.relentlessbeats.com, @relentlessbeats ENTERTAINMENT INNOVATOR RYAN AUHL AZFOOTHILLS.COM Relentless BeatsAZFOOTHILLS AZFOOTHILLS ENTERTAINMENT INNOVATOR CHARLIE LEVY Concert Promoter Phoenix concert culture arguably wouldn’t be the same if it weren’t for Charlie Levy, who started the concert promotion company Stateside Presents in 1995. Levy went on to launch popular music venues, including Crescent Ballroom, Valley Bar and The Van Buren, bringing more than 700 shows to the Valley each year across a wide range of genres. In 2021, Live Nation Entertainment acquired The Van Buren in Phoenix and Stateside Presents. www.crescentphx.com, @crescentphx www.valleybarphx.com, @valleybarphx www.thevanburenphx.com, @thevanburenphx DANNY ZELISKO Danny Zelisko Presents Legendary concert promoter Danny Zelisko’s focus has always been on putting the right acts in the right places at the right time with the right ticket prices in order to maintain fun and excitement for audiences and artists alike. Zelisko began promoting concerts in Arizona in 1974 with Evening Star Productions, bringing such talent to the Valley as Talking Heads, KISS, Bon Jovi, No Doubt and Nirvana to Tempe’s old Dooley’s Nightclub. By the time the ’80s and ’90s rolled around, Zelisko was the Southwest’s preeminent concert promoter, including host- ing Pink Floyd and Paul McCartney at ASU’s Sun Devil Stadium, and was instrumental in the opening of what is now the Ak-Chin Pavilion (formerly the Desert Sky Amphitheatre). In 2001, Evening Star Productions consoli- dated with other fabled promoters nationwide to join SFX, which was later purchased by Clear Channel Communications, now known as Live Nation. Currently, Zelisko owns and operates Danny Zelisko Presents which continues to bring top-name acts to the Southwest and throughout the country. www.dzplive.com, @dzpresents SCOTT PRICE Shady Park & Darkstar Scott Price is the owner and creative mind behind popular downtown Tempe music venues, including Shady Park, a hybrid restaurant and performance space that’s a favorite among electronic dance music enthusiasts, and, most recently, Darkstar, a 4,500-square-foot venue that features upcoming artists across genres. www.shadyparktempe.com, @shadyparktempe, www.darkstartempe.com, @darkstartempe RYAN HIBBERT Riot Hospitality Group A third-generation Arizonan, Ryan Hibbert is known as an accomplished and creative CEO leading Riot Hospitality Group (RHG), one of the country’s premier hospitality management companies that has co-created such unique restaurant, nightlife and hotel food and beverage brands as Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row, El Hefe, Farm & Craft, Hand Cut Chophouse, Riot House, and Cake Nightclub, while also managing The District, Maya Day and Nightclub and Clubhouse at Maya. Drawing from his business background and extensive work experience inside the hospitality business over the past 20 years, Hibbert has used the idea of a “culture based on interactive service” to turn RHG into a $100-million annual revenue business. www.riothg.com CHRIS TURNER Sawyer Twain After receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from Arizona State University, Chris Turner set out to build on his academic achievements and become a leader in the business world. Self-described as a humble innovator who prioritizes a work-life balance, Turner ventured into the niche market of upscale game room furniture. In 2017 he founded Sawyer Twain, a luxury brand offering unique game room furniture, gaming tables, such as table tennis, billiards and shuffleboard, and home and recreation décor. With annual revenues in excess of $12 million in under five years, Turner credits continually creating successful vendor relationships to the growth of Sawyer Twain, which will help him achieve his overall goal of expanding its offering of high-quality products that customers can embrace. www.sawyertwain.com, @sawyertwain DANNY ZELISKO RYAN’S PICKS WHO AN D WHA T I NSPI RES H I M AZFOOTHILLS.COM ENTREPRENEURSHIP INNOVATOR T. DUSTIN WILLIAMS Fascinated with art, fashion and entrepreneurship, Williams grew up in Arizona taking private art classes, learning how to utilize space, color and contrast.AZFOOTHILLS AZFOOTHILLS ENTREPRENEURSHIP INNOVATOR CAMERON BAWDEN Entrepreneur In addition to being Williams’s business partner at Hype Pharm, Bawden is the founder of Green Mango Pest Control, one of the largest pest control companies in Arizona, and Black Hat Security, the fastest- growing private home security provider in the state. www.greenmangopest.com, @greenmangopestcontrol, www.blackhatsecurity.com, @blackhatsecurity CRAIG BREINHOLT Breinholt Insurance Group Breinholt Insurance Group is a professional inde- pendent insurance agency specializing in brokerage and consulting services with deep roots in the Arizona desert. www.breinholtinsurance.com DR. BRIAN HARRIS Dentist A nationally recognized and top-ranked cosmetic dentist, Dr. Harris is known for his ability to create beautiful-looking smiles. Harris Dental in Phoenix offers comprehensive dental services: from general dentistry and cosmetic dentistry to dental implants and virtual smile consultations so patients know what to expect even before coming into the office. www.harrisdental.com, @harrisdentalexperience KURTIS TOOLSON Chunk Cookies Kurtis Toolson is the founder behind Chunk Cookies, delivering fresh and warm, melt-in-your-mouth cookies straight to customers’ doorsteps, as well as at two locations in Gilbert and Tempe. www.chunkcookies.com, @chunkcookies BRAD LEAVITT A Finer Touch Construction Brad Leavitt is president and founder of A Finer Touch Construction, a Scottsdale-based luxury residential and commercial builder. AFT Construction, as it’s known through- out the industry, is an award-winning construction firm which has continued to exceed industry standards and create strong client relationships based on integrity, reliabil- ity and quality. Leavitt also hosts “The AFT Construction Podcast,” which covers marketing, social media, entrepre- neurship, organization, building science and construction with a focus on bringing value to its listeners, no matter the industry. www.aftconstruction.com, @aft_construction WILLIAMS WAS ALWAYS intrigued by the business world, wanting to infuse an artistic perspective into the corporate environment. He began his entrepreneurial journey by identifying industries that seemed lackluster or outdated, finding that pest control, carpet cleaning and auto glass services had been run and branded the same way for decades. He established Hype Pharm, Arizona’s premier home service companies, which includes Agave Auto Glass, Coconut Cleaning and Green Mango Pest Control, as a solution. Williams credits his business partner, Cameron Bawden, pictured left, for “being the reason I could be balanced as he [Bawden] is a world-class operator, allowing me to be creative and push limits.” “By creating an unforgettable experience with unparalleled results and a creative artistic brand, we revolutionized the industry,” says Williams. What does it mean to be an innovator to you? Being an innovator to me means transcend- ing boundaries that others too easily accept and not settling for mediocrity in the perpetual pursuit of greatness. • @tdustinwilliams, @hype_pharm HYPE PHARM/ GREEN MANGO PEST CONTROL T. DUSTIN’S PICKS WHO AN D WHA T I NSPI RES H I MAS CEO, CONLOW HAS watched the company grow from a handful of employees working out of a garage to an office of more than 90 employees. Since the begin- ning of the company in 2019, Lectric has become one of the fastest-growing eBike providers in the U.S. and has sold over 185,000 bikes in its first three years. Lectric is currently on track to help electrify more Americans in 2022 than GM, Ford, Rivian, Nissan, Volkswagen and Audi com- bined. Most of the company’s growth is powered by the success of Lectric’s most popular electric bike, the Lectric XP, which in 2021 was the third most popular electric vehicle in the U.S. behind Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y. What does it mean to be an innovator to you? When I think of what it means to be an innovator, I think of the people who forge forward and are real trailblazers in their space. So many people think that you have to be in the tech industry to be considered innovative, when in reality it’s less about what field you’re in and more about your state of mind. If you’re constantly obsessing over doing things better and/or more efficiently, you have that innovator mindset. Frankly, it’s all about growth and constantly making your product and business the best it can be. Innovators are never satisfied; it’s just one of those things that’s in the DNA of someone who has that kind of mindset. • www.lectricebikes.com, @lectricebikes AZFOOTHILLS.COM SUSTAINABILITY INNOVATOR LEVI CONLOW After moving to Phoenix for college from Lakeville, Minn., Conlow and a friend co-founded Lectric eBikes, a direct-to-consumer eBike company, at the age of 23, after noticing a gap in the market for a ordable electric transportation. “SO MANY PEOPLE THINK THAT YOU HAVE TO BE IN THE TECH INDUSTRY TO BE CONSIDERED INNOVATIVE, WHEN IN REALITY IT’S LESS ABOUT WHAT FIELD YOU’RE IN AND MORE ABOUT YOUR STATE OF MIND.” LEVI CONLOW AZFOOTHILLS AZFOOTHILLS AZFOOTHILLS.COM SUSTAINABILITY INNOVATOR ARIZONA COMMUNITY TREE COUNCIL With a mission to encourage and facilitate the planting and care of trees across the state, Arizona Community Tree Council programs bring together communities to encourage green spaces, urban forests and great neighborhoods with shade and other benefits through professional training, public education and awareness, partnerships and advisory support. www.aztrees.org, @azcommunitytree SOURCE GLOBAL Headquartered in Scottsdale, SOURCE is the world’s first renewable drinking water system. Its groundbreaking Hydro- panel™ technology taps into the endless supply of solar energy and moisture in the air to produce clean drinking water that’s entirely off-grid in a self-contained system for industrial, commercial, residential and community applications across more than 40 countries. www.source.co, @sourcewater WAYMO Waymo is an autonomous driving technology company whose mission is to make it safe and easy for people and things to get where they’re going. www.waymo.com, @waymo CULDESAC Real estate developer and property manager Culdesac builds neighborhoods that embrace community, open space and mobility to prior- itize biking, walking and transit over cars and parking with residential units that integrate local retail and commercial uses as well as nature and public plazas. Culdesac partners with leading mobility companies to deliver convenient and affordable transportation services to create a vibrant, urban lifestyle without the need for a private vehicle. www.culdesac.com, @liveculdesac LUCID MOTORS An American electric vehicle manufac- turer headquartered in Newark, Calif., Lucid is the future of sustainable mobility, designing luxury electric cars that further reimagine the driving experience. www.lucidmotors.com, @lucidmotors LEVI’S PICKS WHO AN D WHA T I NSPI RES H I MDEBBYWOLVOS DW P H O T O G R A P H Y 602.909.1109 dw-photography.net FOOD + DRINK PEOPLE TRAVEL INTERIORS “IT TAKES GRIT, PERSEVERANCE AND COURAGE TO SHOW UP FOR YOURSELF WHEN OTHERS DON’T BELIEVE IN THE VISION.” SAGE AUBREY AZFOOTHILLS.COMFASHION INNOVATOR SAGE AUBREY ESTABLISHED IN by former women’s boutique owner Sage Aubrey, the self-taught designer’s eponymous label creates accessible luxury handbags and accessories that are consciously crafted. Her love of community, iconic style and women’s advancements continue to guide her design approach and influences: shapes, conversations and aesthetic. What does it mean to be an innovator to you? I believe it’s having the courage of seeing things differently and executing on the vision. It’s pushing the boundaries in your said field. It takes grit, perseverance and courage to show up for yourself when others don’t believe in the vision. To think outside of the box or to go about a different direction isn’t always popular, so it’s understanding this, having patience in the process; it is a virtue. • www.sageaubrey.com, @thesageaubrey AZFOOTHILLS AZFOOTHILLS Next >