Welcome to Ford NGL Full Circle, a series where we reconnect with former academy students whose journeys reflect the lasting impact of the Ford NGL movement. These stories remind us why this work matters. When schools, employers, and communities come together around a shared vision for young people, transformation happens. Students discover their voice, develop real world skills, and begin to see a future that connects their passions with meaningful work. Kevin Martin’s story is one of those journeys.
Kevin represents the heart of the Ford NGL movement. His path shows what can happen when education is community connected, when learning is relevant, and when students are given the opportunity to explore what brings them joy.
Today Kevin Martin works as a producer and editor with TNA Wrestling, contributing to one of the most recognized professional wrestling organizations in the country. He helps produce televised entertainment seen by audiences across the nation and around the world. Yet his journey began in a Nashville suburb where a young student with big dreams discovered that his passion could become a career.
Kevin was born and raised in Antioch, Tennessee, a diverse and vibrant community just outside Nashville. His upbringing reflects a blend of cultures that helped shape his outlook on life. His mother immigrated to the United States from Cambodia, while his father grew up in America. Though their backgrounds were different, their message to Kevin was always the same.
They wanted the best for him.
“They pushed me to strive for big goals and big dreams, and that came with making sure I was getting the most out of my education.”
Like many students, Kevin experienced the ups and downs of school. He attended Una Elementary School, Margaret Allen Middle School, and eventually Antioch High School. Some classes felt exciting. Others felt less relevant. Looking back, Kevin can still remember asking the questions many students ask.
“I asked myself on numerous occasions why I have to learn the biology of animals and what the square angle is on a house. I just never found it as something that I’d apply after high school.”
But something began to change during high school.
At Antioch High School Kevin became part of a career academy built around the Ford NGL framework. The academy structure connected students with pathways, mentors, and real world experiences that made learning feel meaningful. It was no longer just about completing assignments. It was about discovering how knowledge could be applied to the world beyond school.
Kevin found his place in the Hospitality and Marketing pathway.
“As a student in the career academy model, I feel like this is what brought the best out of me,” he says. “I’ve said this before at past Ford NGL events and speaking engagements for the school that the career academy model is the best preparation you can have for after high school.”
The academy model did something powerful for Kevin. It connected his classroom learning with the real world around him. Instead of learning concepts in isolation, students worked on projects with real purpose and real outcomes.
One of Kevin’s most memorable experiences came during his sophomore year when his marketing class partnered with Junior Achievement to create a student run company. The class developed a brand, built a business concept, and promoted a real event for people to attend.
For Kevin it was more than a project.
It was a spark.
“This was a real dip into that world, and it actually set me up for wanting to learn how to do graphic design and find successful marketing strategies for projects I would get myself into outside of school.”
What Kevin did next shows the power of passion driven learning.
He started applying what he learned in school to something he loved deeply. Professional wrestling.
Kevin’s passion for wrestling began in childhood. Like many kids, he and his father spent evenings watching matches together. To Kevin it felt like a real life action movie unfolding every week. Larger than life characters. Dramatic storytelling. The roar of the crowd.
But while many fans watched the action in the ring, Kevin was equally fascinated by what happened behind the scenes.
He noticed the cameras.
The lighting.
The production.
The energy that transformed a sporting event into an unforgettable entertainment experience.
At just ten or eleven years old he was already experimenting with creating wrestling content of his own. Kevin often smiles when he remembers filming wrestling matches with his action figures using his parents’ camcorder until they eventually stopped him because he was burning through videotapes.
Even then the dream was forming.
He did not just want to watch the show. He wanted to help create it.
Back at Antioch High School Kevin continued to develop skills that supported that dream. Through the academy pathway he joined DECA, a global organization focused on marketing and entrepreneurship. His class helped launch and operate the school store, turning it into a true student run business.
Kevin eventually became the student responsible for managing the store.
“We had to run it like a real business,” he says. “Marketing it, running it, and connecting with other students.”
The experience made a lasting impression.
“What this showed me is that I could find success and comfort in a career that revolved in this world.”
Kevin also became a Student Ambassador for Antioch High School, representing his academy and helping visitors understand the transformation happening within the school. Educators, employers, and community leaders from across the country visited Antioch to see the Ford NGL approach in action, and Kevin helped tell the story from a student perspective.
“My time as a student ambassador began my sophomore year in high school. I remember seeing the student ambassadors when I started at Antioch, and I saw that as something I strived to become.”
Over the next three years Kevin represented his academy at school events, spoke with visitors, and gave tours of the academy and the school.
“From there, over the next three years of my schooling at Antioch, I would help with representing my academy at school events, public speaking engagements when visitors would come to the school, and even giving tours around the school as well as through my academy.”
Kevin’s role as an ambassador did not end when he graduated. He has continued sharing his story at Ford NGL conferences and events, representing the student voice that sits at the center of the Ford NGL movement. When Kevin speaks with educators and community leaders across the country, he often reminds them of the impact the academy model had on his life.
“Being able to follow the Ford NGL Academy Model was beyond helpful when it came to my education and plans for the future.”
He often points to the transformation in how students experience learning.
“Part of the framework is ‘transforming teaching and learning,’ and this way of learning was the kind of learning that I believe should be implemented in schools everywhere.”
Kevin also values the opportunity students had to share their voice.
“Being a student and getting to speak my voice in how learning could be presented to students felt empowering and fulfilling.”
This is the power of the Ford NGL movement.
Together, we mobilize educators, employers, and community leaders to prepare a generation of diverse young people who graduate from high school ready for college, careers, and life. They are prepared to apply their passion and skills to improve and contribute to their communities and to succeed in a life defined by them.
Kevin embodies that vision.
His education was not isolated from the community around him. It was deeply connected to it. The community connected approach of the career academy model meant Kevin learned alongside mentors, industry partners, and educators who helped him see real possibilities.
He began job shadowing professionals in hospitality and business. He practiced public speaking. He applied marketing strategies to projects he was exploring on his own.
Step by step he built confidence and experience.
Along the way Kevin was supported by educators who believed in his potential and helped guide his growth. He credits several teachers from Antioch High School for helping shape his journey including Audrey Woodward, the teacher of his Leadership class, Elaine Plummer, the teacher of his AVID college preparation class, and Dr. Jennifer Gatlin, the teacher of his Marketing classes during his junior and senior years.
Professionally, Kevin also recognizes the mentors who opened doors into the wrestling industry. Jason James and Tim Thomason helped him take his first steps into the world of professional wrestling. Anthony “Crimson” Mayweather gave Kevin the opportunity to develop his knowledge of live event production while working with Tried N True Pro Wrestling events in Clarksville. That experience helped Kevin connect with Eric Tompkins, Vice President of Television Production at TNA Wrestling.
Kevin credits that connection with helping him grow into his current role.
“I credit Eric Tompkins for giving me the opportunities to learn and grow within the company as a producer, and take ownership of projects that currently air on television as part of our weekly episodic show, Thursday Night iMPACT on AMC.”
Today Kevin works as a producer and editor helping create content for TNA Wrestling. The work combines storytelling, marketing, and live production to create experiences for fans across the world.
Sometimes the reality of that journey still surprises him.
The young boy filming wrestling matches with action figures is now producing wrestling entertainment seen by national audiences.
Kevin reflects on that moment with a sense of gratitude and perspective.
“I’m proud to be a small part of that workflow.”
Kevin’s journey has also led to unexpected moments along the way. Recently he met musician Jelly Roll at a wrestling event in Nashville. When Kevin mentioned that he also grew up in Antioch, Jelly Roll immediately connected with the shared hometown experience.
“He jokingly said that we may have been the two luckiest people to come from Antioch, and quite honestly, he may be right.”
Moments like that remind Kevin how important it is to stay connected to the community that raised him.
“Nashville to me is home. Always has been, and in my opinion, as of right now always will be.”
Even though his work allows him to travel across the country and sometimes across the world, Kevin continues to build his career in the community where his journey began.
That is another hallmark of the Ford NGL movement. Education that is community connected does more than prepare students for work. It strengthens communities by developing young leaders who remain engaged, invested, and committed to giving back.
Kevin plans to do exactly that.
“I see my future career growth as me becoming a leader in the company I’m a part of. I aspire to be able to take the lead on show initiatives, mentor new team members, and continue to create engaging content for those that watch our programming.”
He also hopes to continue sharing his story with students who are still discovering their passions.
His advice to them is simple.
“Don’t settle. Explore everything.”
He encourages students to trust the process of discovering what fulfills them.
“It may come at first sight, but it may not too. It may take some trials and figuring out, but don’t stress that, because you are finding what makes you feel the most fulfilled.”
Kevin also encourages students to hold on to their passions, even when others question them.
“For years, so many people told me, ‘Oh, you still like wrestling?’ or ‘Isn’t that stuff fake? How could you make a career out of it?’ But I stuck with it, and I’m so happy that I did.”
When asked how he defines success, Kevin’s answer reflects a lesson he learned from his parents.
“Success doesn’t equal wealth. Success to me is defined on fulfillment and happiness. And right now, I’d say I’m successful.”
Kevin Martin’s journey reminds us why the Ford NGL movement exists. When education connects learning with purpose, when communities come together to support young people, and when students are encouraged to pursue what brings them joy, transformation happens.
Kevin Martin followed his passion. He applied his skills to his community. And he designed a life defined by him.
That is what the Ford NGL movement is all about.
And Kevin’s story is a powerful reminder that when students are supported, inspired, and connected to real opportunities, their journeys do not just move forward.
Sometimes they come fully, beautifully, powerfully full circle.
