At 30 years old, Abbie Dwiggins is making her mark on entrepreneurship while empowering and providing a foundation for the next generation of gymnasts.
Abbie founded DTA Tumbling (Dwiggins Tumbling Academy) six years ago with her husband, Reid, after spending close to a decade as a tumbling coach at several different gyms, including her hometown recreation center in American Fork, where she started gymnastics at the age of 11.
Dwiggins said her drive to help athletes of all ages and skill levels realize their potential in the sport is fueled by her passion for tumbling—and her entrepreneurial aspirations.
“I dreamt about this gym when I was 12 years old,” she said. “I started as a private lesson coach when I was 16, and I made a little business card that said ‘basics builds champions’—and that's now the logo on our giant 155 foot wall.”
Dwiggins worked at least 10 different tumbling gyms as a coach and teacher, and she rose to management positions before opening her own gym in the fall of 2020.
“Covid was happening and so I had been doing a lot of one-on-one lessons; and then the opportunity just kind of presented itself for us to kind of take a step into—I guess our own adventure, if you will,” she said.”
DTA Tumbling initially opened in a 2,700 square foot building just off State Street in Lehi, a few blocks away from its current Lehi location. Abbie’s original plan was for DTA to be a gym for private lessons, but as interest from more parents and individuals started to grow, she wanted to accommodate more aspiring athletes.
“We only had four parking spots at this tiny little space, and he (the landlord) says ‘Hey, how's it going? And I'm like, well, we need more parking because we're ticking everyone off. And he's like, well I just bought the (old) Lehi police station two blocks down—are you interested?’,” she recounted.
In September 2021, DTA Tumbling moved into its current Lehi home, at 580 W. State Street. Dwiggins said the building’s landlord offered them the entire 12,000 feet building, but she wasn’t sure if they’d need that much room, so they originally only took half of the building. They soon needed the remaining space, and two years later even needed to open a second location in Lindon.
“Within a year we outgrew that side of the building, and we needed expansion already,” she said. “It has been a path of growth, and it's been remarkable.”
DTA Tumbling offers a variety of programs catering to aspiring dancers, cheerleaders and gymnasts, like acrobatic dance, tumbling, partner stunts, and more.
“Whether someone wants to grow up and compete in dance or gymnastics or power tumbling, or if they just want to tumble for fun—maybe they want to be like Cosmo (the Cougar) one day, or something like that. All of those types of characters also use tumbling—we're kind of just like a melting pot for anyone that wants to learn that,” explained Dwiggins.
Dwiggins said the company has built trust with families because of its high-quality coaching, and their coach-to-student ratios—all packed into a community where athletes feel seen and supported.
“I think it's just that extra mile getting to know the athletes, and then emphasizing a positive coaching culture—even though we're teaching kids at a competitive level,” Dwiggins said.
DTA averages between 1,700 students a week in the summer and 1,500 in the fall. With more than 300 classes held each week, and a bigger demand when kids are out of school, DTA has around 70 instructors in the summer, and 65 in the fall.
Last October, DTA Tumbling placed number 21 among the top 30 fastest growing businesses in the state by Utah Valley Business Q magazine, as DTA has seen a 479% growth rate over a three-year span.
Dwiggins attributes the success thus far to DTA’s “quality-first mentality”, their focus on bringing out the best in each athlete and their flexibility with parents.
“We know it's hard to get all your kids in and schedules are crazy, so we try to make the experience easier for parents. And then we also offer a lot of makeup class options so that we can be flexible with what life gives them,” she said.
A company built from the ground up that continuously pours into athletes to help them shine, Dwiggins credits staff at their locations in both Lehi and Lindon for DTA Tumbling’s ongoing growth, and hopes to expand to more areas.
“This is a cool entrepreneurial journey we've been on—we have made a lot of goals happen and we've impacted a lot of families. But really it's just a dream of a 12 year old that happened, and we feel so grateful every single day, and the community has exceeded our expectations,” Dwiggins said.