Some legacies are born. Some are made. But JoAnn Wabisca’s legacy was envisioned.
From the time she was a girl, JoAnn watched the world with dreaming yet decisive eyes. Captivated by film, she would sit in movie houses on Saturday afternoons, falling in love with Hollywood, frame after frame. The first time she saw Ava Gardner on screen, she knew – one day, she would work alongside Ava. And just like that, the seed was planted and JoAnn’s fate was sealed.
“Someone once told me dreams don’t have an expiration date,” JoAnn said. “So as a child, I began gathering this design for my life. I would see something and say to myself, ‘One day, I’m going to do that.’ Over the years, I’ve watched those dreams come true; if I see it, it happens.”
Of Native American descent, JoAnn grew up in a remote area of Canada. With a natural curiosity for all kinds of activities and interests, she was the perfect split between girly-girly and tomboy. After devouring the pages of high fashion magazines on her bedroom floor, JoAnn would spend her evening listening to Mohammad Ali fights on the radio. And sometimes, as she discovered the world, something would strike her, hitting her at her very core.
“I would see something and instantly feel connected to it,” JoAnn said, “like the time I saw my first Bruce Lee movie. It immediately meant something to me, and I knew it would have a place in my story. All these little seeds were planted – with no expiration date.”
When it came time for JoAnn to strike out on her own, she planned on a career in acting. But as she read the newspaper one morning, she stumbled across an ad for a makeup artist, and that same fleeting sensation came over her.
“That’s what I want to do,” JoAnn recalled telling her shocked parents. “I just got this impulse.”
Quickly JoAnn proved her talent and worth by working with infamously difficult actors, soothing them with her natural calmness and becoming an asset on set. Over the course 16 years, JoAnn’s work carried her from Hollywood studios to Parisian cafes to the Brazilian jungle. She met actors she’d idolized as a child and worked alongside producers and directors whose names film students study today, all the while, learning storytelling from the masters.
“I had a very enchanted, beautiful experience,” JoAnn said.
And like a plan falling into place, JoAnn found herself on the streets of London with Ava Gardner.
“I got to hang out with Ava Gardner,” JoAnn said, beaming. “Later she asked me to do her makeup before she went out with Frank Sinatra that night.”
It seemed the first of JoAnn’s dreams were materializing. Savvy to her ability to create her own way, she stayed open and kept dreaming.
Slowly, the pieces fell into place. Leaving makeup artistry, JoAnn went on to design and produce Cheyano, a couture line of Native American-made fashion from her studio on a reservation in Montana. Forbes even mentioned JoAnn as an up-and-coming designer. However, JoAnn was soon pulled toward another dream: physical expression of the body through marital arts.
JoAnn trained with a longtime student of Bruce Lee and began climbing the ranks in Boxe Francaise Savate. She was the first woman in the United States to receive the coveted rank of Silver Glove, a black belt equivalent, and in 2004, she became the Vice Champion of Boxe Francaise Savate at age 45 – beating out people half her age. Everyone said she couldn’t do it. But as she listened to Mohammad Ali win fight after fight on the radio, JoAnn knew one day she would experience the same physical success – so she did.
When another dream swept up JoAnn’s heart, it took her and her husband Ed a few years to find its home. But in 2007, they founded Ekata Training Center, a fitness and living center that strengthens the mind, body and spirit through physical expression and mindfulness. And since, JoAnn has been building and creating a community for complete wellness.
“Everything has gathered up to this point,” JoAnn said as she reflected on the realization of her dreams. “I cannot regret or wish to change anything because I wouldn’t be where I am right now.”
Though we don’t know what JoAnn will do next, we’re pretty sure she does.
For more information about JoAnn Wabisca or Ekata Training Center, please call 661-255-1114 or visit www.ekata.net.