We had the good fortune of connecting with Ryel Kestano and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ryel, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I’d been searching everywhere for the best and most effective tools and skills to support me in having better relationships with people when I discovered the practice of authentic relating about ten years ago. It completely transformed my life, yet at the time was a very small niche practice that very few people were familiar with. I felt a strong calling to build a vehicle to bring authentic relating to a much bigger audience, and that’s how ART International was born. Since its launch in 2017, it has become a global presence in over 50 locations around the world and online, with almost 10,000 graduates from our programs and courses.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
ART International is the world’s largest and most successful conscious relating training organization, based on the practice of authentic relating. I was the visionary and co-founder of previous successful ventures, and was able to combine my expertise in startups with my passion for this transformational practice.

Establishing and leveraging strong relationships with contacts around the world were key to jumpstarting our operations after initial founding, working with people who already had local networks that would be interested in our offerings. We also developed workshops that could accommodate anyone no matter their prior experience, at a very affordable cost. We relied heavily on word of mouth to serve our value for relational marketing.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Many people and organizations that make up the lineage of authentic relating. The great psychologists of the 20th Century including Carl Jung, Fritz Perls, and Carl Rogers. The early pioneers of authentic relating and circling like Guy Sengstock, Jerry Candelaria, Michael Porcelli, Robert McNaughton, and Decker Cunov. And the people who helped me build ART International, my fellow co-founder Jason Digges, along with Jamie Grant, Chris Gray, and Dayna Seraye.

Website: authenticrelating.co and ryelkestano.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ryelkestano/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryelk/

Other: My book on Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/ Authentic-Relating-Meaningful-Nourishing-Relationships/dp/B0BCD519VK/

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutColorado is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.