{"id":61388,"date":"2019-09-11T14:31:40","date_gmt":"2019-09-11T18:31:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/?p=61388"},"modified":"2020-09-03T05:53:11","modified_gmt":"2020-09-03T09:53:11","slug":"meet-the-sales-trainer-who-competed-on-so-you-think-you-can-dance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/community-stories\/employee-spotlight\/meet-the-sales-trainer-who-competed-on-so-you-think-you-can-dance","title":{"rendered":"Meet the sales trainer who competed on \u2018So You Think You Can Dance\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

S<\/strong>uperpower on the Side<\/em><\/strong><\/a> <\/em><\/strong>features WeWork team members and how they spend their time when they’re not at work.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johnny Ahn has been performing for as long as he remembers. It began at age six, when he created a dance routine to the song \u201cOpportunities\u201d by the Pet Shop Boys. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next year, when he was seven, tragedy struck\u2014he lost both of his parents in a car accident. It was a devastating loss, one that shaped him into the person he is today. \u201cI think having lost my parents when I was young, I\u2019ve always had a sense of wanting and seeking approval from people,\u201d says Ahn, now 36 and a WeWork sales trainer in Salt Lake City. \u201cAnd I think that\u2019s what grew me into a performer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After his parents’ death, Ahn moved from Irvine, California, to Provo, Utah, to live with his sister, then a sophomore at Brigham Young University. <\/strong>It was there that he discovered a new way to earn recognition and praise: ballroom dancing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUtah is known for ballroom dancing,\u201d explains Ahn. \u201cBYU has a really strong program that then trickles down into the community and culture. So in junior high, you can either do ballroom dancing or P.E. And I thought, OK, let\u2019s try this dance thing out<\/em>. Then I found out I was pretty good at it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After discovering this new talent, Ahn jumped in with both feet. He joined the youth dance program at BYU, found a dance partner, and they started taking private lessons and traveling to competitions around Idaho and southern California. More often than not, they placed among the top finalists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ahn discovered his natural talent for dance at a young age.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m kind of competitive in nature, so once I started competing, I really got the bug for it,\u201d says Ahn. \u201cI think the fact that I was relatively good at it compared to my peers who were also in my class gave me a sense of approval, that I was \u2018cool.\u2019 And it drove me to keep competing because I was seeking more of that feeling of being looked up to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Ahn thrived on praise for his dancing, over time, he stopped finding fulfillment in it. \u201cThe more I competed, the more dance became about the competition and how well I could do,\u201d he says. \u201cMy happiness seemed to hinge upon it as opposed to enjoying dance for the sake of dancing.\u201d He shifted his focus to other activities as he moved toward college. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After graduating from BYU in 2006 with a degree in accounting, he accepted a position at a local firm. But a year and a half after graduating, he felt the pull to perform again. He quit his job to work at a local studio teaching singing and dance lessons. \u201cIn teaching dance, I always found satisfaction in helping out people who wanted to learn and being able to really fine-tune them and help them become better dancers,\u201d says Ahn. \u201cI just love to be able to get them on the right path.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As he reimmersed himself in the dance world, Ahn started practicing breakdancing<\/a> in addition to ballroom. In 2011, he decided to jump all the way back into his dance shoes, enrolling in the dance program at Utah Valley University, where he joined the school\u2019s international touring ballroom dance team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

For the next two years, Ahn and his fellow dancers traveled around the world competing on the international stage. In 2012, when producers from Fox traveled to nearby Salt Lake to hold auditions for the ninth season of So You Think You Can Dance<\/em>, Ahn decided to take his shot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c<\/strong>It took a few tries, but I ended up getting 10 minutes of airtime,\u201d says Ahn, who competed <\/a>with his dance partner Whitney Hallam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though he was ultimately eliminated in the fourth round, he says going on the show was a good experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ahn combines his love of performing and teaching in his role at WeWork.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was kind of a goofball on the show,\u201d says Ahn. \u201cI ended up playing like I was this ladies’ man. It\u2019s kind of hard for me to watch now, because it\u2019s sort of silly and slapstick. But it was fun! It was a television show and I knew [the humor] would sell more, so I kind of just went with it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By 2014, he was ready to start yet another new chapter. Craving the stability of a 9-to-5 job, Ahn spent some time analyzing his skill set. He realized that he could combine what he loved about teaching (helping people improve their skills) with his history as a performer who thrived on engaging people around very specific content, and use that expertise to build a new career training professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve talked to other people who have been trainers and educators in a workplace and they understand teaching is performing in a sense,\u201d says Ahn. \u201cIt\u2019s a little stage and the content is different; it\u2019s more structured. But it\u2019s that same thing of operating in front of a live audience, getting a live response. So I think part of the reason why I like training is for that aspect.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After building up his r\u00e9sum\u00e9 in sales training at a couple of other Utah-based companies, in January Ahn was hired at WeWork, where he focuses on enterprise technology. Though he spends a lot less of his free time dancing these days, he says he still feels fulfilled as a performer through his role at the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI take the same approach when it comes to sales training here at WeWork [as when teaching dance],\u201d says Ahn. \u201cWherever a person is coming from, I want to cut out the fat and distractions and get them on the right path of what they need to know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n