# Turning a Passion Into a Profession with Akaya Robey

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/kanawha-valley-hustlers-6379539/turning-a-passion-into-a-profession-with-akaya-robey
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/kanawha-valley-hustlers-6379539/turning-a-passion-into-a-profession-with-akaya-robey.md
Podcast: [Kanawha Valley Hustlers](https://stenobird.com/podcast/kanawha-valley-hustlers-6379539)
Published: 2026-06-25T16:32:12+00:00
Episode link: https://www.joejustice.org/turning-a-passion-into-a-profession-with-akaya-robey/
Audio file: https://www.joejustice.org/podlove/file/334/s/feed/c/mp3/KVH313.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/kanawha-valley-hustlers-6379539/episodes/turning-a-passion-into-a-profession-with-akaya-robey
Duration seconds: 550

## Resource

In this episode of the Kanawha Valley Hustlers podcast, I talk with Akaya Robey of Kyber Kai Academy, a combat and fight choreography school in Charleston, West Virginia. I learn how a hobby that started years ago grew into a business that is becoming his full time focus. Akaya shares how he brought lightsaber choreography from New York to West Virginia, built a community around it, and recently transitioned the organization into an LLC. We talk about the difference between choreography and full contact saber combat, the equipment involved, and the global competitions that exist in the sport. He opens up about investing too much in gear before having enough students and the lessons that came from that mistake. We also discuss networking, handling criticism, working with different kinds of people, and staying open to new opportunities. Akaya's message is simple: keep going. No matter what others say, persistence and consistency are what move both a business and a passion forward.

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## Transcript

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