(upbeat music) - [Narrator] This is a production of PBS Charlotte.

- Just out on Carolina Impact, from mills to major money in sports, how Rock Hill continues to make a name for itself.

Plus martial arts kept a Charlotte man on track as a kid, how he uses his company to do the same for others.

And we go inside a Concord shop to see how one woman lives out her childhood dreams by making custom shoes.

Carolina Impact starts right now.

(upbeat music) Good evening.

Thanks so much for joining us.

I'm Amy Burkett.

Rock Hill, South Carolina once stood as a powerhouse in the manufacturing industry.

Today, this vibrant city has reinvented itself as a leader in sports tourism.

Thanks to a visionary blend of long-term strategy and a few calculated risks, this city has found itself competing on national and international stages.

Carolina Impact's Chris Clark explores the smart decisions that paved the way for a new era of success.

- [Chris] On any given weekend in Rock Hill, the city's parks buzz with energy as thousands of amateur athletes compete in everything from volleyball and softball, cycling to soccer.

- [Group] We're, we're, we're.

- Love the facility.

- This place is absolutely beautiful.

- [Chris] Once a thriving textile hub, Rock Hill's factories humped, weaving its identity into every thread of fabric.

But in the late seventies, the mills began to fall silent.

The town faced an undeniable truth.

To survive it would need to reinvent itself and stitch together a brand new future, - Much like most southern cities or towns, and trying to figure out a way to kind of divest itself into what was gonna be the future.

- [Chris] In 1983, the city found itself at a pivotal moment over what to do with 68 acres of prime real estate.

Many pushed for retail shops and restaurants.

Former mayor Betty Jo Rea and former city manager Joe Lanford had a different vision.

Their idea wasn't just about filling land, it was about transforming Rock Hill into something far greater.

- Our council and our leadership of our mayor and city manager at that time said, "Well, let's turn that into a sports complex."

- [Chris] Two years later, Cherry Park, the first jewel in the Rock Hill Sports crown, opened for business and set the tone.

- We got five softball baseball fields with a three story tower in the medal.

We have concessions offices and medal score keeping up at top.

It's got a mile and a half walking track that our local community can get their exercise in.

- [Chris] It quickly became a source of local pride, and in 1986 caught the attention of the National Softball Association, who have since held hundreds of sanctioned tournaments on its red clay.

Built for $4.6 million, in 1985, the park's estimated direct economic impact in 2024 alone soared to an impressive 10.1 million.

Great for softball, but what about football and soccer?

- As the community expanded, the wastewater treatment facility had to move out closer beyond the city limits.

This community was saying, "Hey, we got an idea of what to do with it."

And they were already not having enough space to play soccer and football in.

So that's where Manchester Meadows got created.

- [Chris] Here's what it looked like before, and here's what they transformed it into.

A sprawling 70 acre complex featuring both natural and artificial playing surfaces, soccer, football, and lacrosse.

In 2012, Rock Hill made a bold statement by bidding for and winning the right to host The Youth Soccer National Championships, solidifying its place on the national stage.

(players screaming) - We were up against two other cities, Boston and Kansas City.

- [Chris] The Velodrome opened in 2012, followed by the BMX Supercross Track in 2014, hosting a USA BMX Nationals event every year, along with two UCI BMX Racing World Championships.

- So to Boston and Kansas City, now Copenhagen, Denmark, we just hosted an event in 2024.

Copenhagen, Denmark is hosting it in 2025.

Bangkok Thailand, Zolder Belgium, Papendal Netherlands, those are the facilities that we're competing against.

- [Chris] Which is music to the ears of local businesses.

- When you start getting into that international component, they're not here for a weekend or a week.

They're here for 30 days, 45 days.

- But their biggest investment to date, oh that is right here.

This is the Rock Hill Sports and Event Center and coming in at $28 million, this place cost almost as much as all of those other parks combined.

It features a championship court with 1200 seats, eight full size basketball courts, or 16 volleyball courts, 700 permanent seats around the edge and a walking track.

- For what you're getting when you walk into this arena, like I said, it's nicely maintained.

We've been in other facilities that cost more and don't offer as nice of a facility.

- The other thing is the sheer size of this place.

So to be able to hold the venues like this, we're able to host a large event and that attracts people from all over the place.

- [Chris] Over a quarter of a million people in 2024 flocked to the Rock Hill Sports Center.

This steady stream of spectators is a lifeblood for the restaurants surrounding the venue, turning the area into a bustling hub of activity and opportunity.

- It helps our weekends exponentially.

We do a lot of different events throughout the year.

The American Cornhole League competition each year tends to be one of our busiest weeks and a little bit crazy at times.

The basketball and volleyball events also going on pretty much year round.

- [Chris] The initial investment to build these world-class facilities totaled $58.3 million.

Yet the estimated direct economic impact for fiscal year 2024 alone reached nearly $125 million.

This remarkable return underscores the city's ability to adapt, evolve, and remain a leader no matter which sport captures the nation's attention next.

- Nobody saw air guitar being held here.

Nobody saw cornhole being played in here.

Nobody saw dodge ball or knives being thrown.

It's unique, it's different.

But if they'll spend money in our community and they create room nights, we'll host 'em.

- [Chris] What began as a vision to breathe new life into a fading town has transformed Rock Hill into an international sports destination.

With each new facility, each new championship, Rock Hill has proven it's not just keeping up with the times, it's leading the way.

For Carolina Impact, I'm Chris Clark.

(pleasant music) - Thank you Chris.

They're showing no signs of slowing down either.

Rock Hill is currently building a 105 acre park featuring a full-size baseball field with seating for up to 600 pickleball courts and an amphitheater for dance and cheer competitions.

Well, sports does more than just bring in money and entertain crowds.

For one Charlotte man who grew up in a rough neighborhood, it was his way to stay on the right path.

Martial Arts not only gave him something positive to do, but it gave him the skills he needed to be a mentor and run his own martial arts company.

Carolina Impact's Dara Khaalid and videographer Marcellus Jones explore how he's fighting to steer kids in the right direction.

- [Instructor] Ready and move.

(kids shouting) - [Instructor] Ready and move.

(kids shouting) - [Instructor] I need everybody- - [Dara] no matter which night of the week you stop by Legacy Martial Arts And Fitness, there's always some intense action.

- You need to put in a lot of hard work and effort.

- [Dara] Whether they're kicking their legs fiercely, defending or punching like pros, you'll find these young people fighting to develop their martial arts skills.

- You just have to put in the work and that's what they do in here.

They come in, hit get the work, they get work in here.

- [Dara] That's founder Jay Henderson, but on the mat, he's Arjan Jay, which means teacher in Thai.

(instructor and students grunting) And if you look at the precision of his moves and listen to the sturdiness in his voice, you can tell it's a job he takes seriously.

- No better place to be than on that mat because it's real world hand to hand.

You actually, the emotions, everything is right there real time.

So you get to share in all the happiness.

- [Dara] Jay's been experiencing that happiness since he was 10 years old.

- You didn't see many of the kids in my neighborhood being able to actually go and train in karate and martial arts.

The opportunity, you know, came about and you know, my dad was like, "All right, cool.

Let's do it."

- [Dara] From there, he was all in and immediately began to soar as a martial artist.

But the West Charlotte native saw himself change in other ways too.

- Your interactions with other kids and other people sometimes aren't the best, especially over here at that time.

So, you know, it was very often that I would have, you know, fights when I was a kid and once I started training in martial arts, I would say maybe about a month, two months in, I started to notice that there was a change in my interaction with people.

I was a little more patient, a whole lot more patient.

- [Dara] Ultimately this helped him make better decisions and stay out of trouble.

But that wasn't always the case for other kids in his neighborhood.

- I have a lot of buddies that took a different route, you know, and while all of them weren't too bad, some of them ended up, you know, incarcerated, different things like that, but it was based on the influence that they had around them at the time.

- [Dara] This harsh reality showed Jay just how impactful environments can be.

So when he opened the doors of his gym in 2015, he wanted it to be a positive place for young people.

- I love the environment.

It teaches me a lot about self-defense a lot.

It keeps me in a good state of mind.

It allows me to calm myself in a way.

- [Dara] Maximus is just one of about 100 kids who train here at Legacy each year.

They learn the Lotus Self-defense system that was founded in Ubon, Thailand in 1969.

It combines different elements of martial arts like Muay Thai Kickboxing, Kenpo Karate, and judo.

- Walk in a bit and hit it, walk in and hit.

(kid shouting) - [Dara] It doesn't come easy, but Jay's little brother and co-owner of the gym, Shelton takes pride in helping people perfect the craft.

- I'm always looking for the the next best thing within my students.

I get goosebumps when I see the students actually picking up the material that we've given them in previous weeks.

So it's just a pleasure to see them learn.

- [Dara] He isn't the only one in the family working here.

Jay's wife, Maisha, greets students with a smile.

She does everything from customer service, admin work to social media and to her it's all worth it.

- When he's not here, he's doing nothing but martial arts.

He watches it on YouTube, he gets videos, DVDs, he studies it.

He has a true passion for it.

Whatever I can do to help drive and continue to make the load a little lighter for him, I do just that.

(pleasant music) (student shouting) - [Dara] With strong support behind him, it makes it easier for Jay to be a strong support for his students.

- He's like a big brother, father, and an uncle all in one.

You know, just a great male role model in my life.

Yeah, he just made me a better man overall just teaching me determination and focus and drive.

- It's so nice to see everybody.

Who's happy?

I'm happy.

Me too.

- [Dara] And for Melinda Gutierrez, who only planned to be a martial arts mom.

- And then I became a student.

- [Dara] Soon found herself on the mat learning, then teaching others.

- Oh, it's the best feeling in the world because you get to see them in their element, you know?

They get to really learn and express themselves and more importantly, it's their own unique way.

- [Dara] And to Jay, that's what it's all about.

- That's the purpose behind us, to carry on and build legacies.

- Keep going.

- What is that?

- You did that real easy.

That was real light.

- [Dara] And that legacy isn't just for his students, it's for his family too.

(students cheering) For Carolina Impact, I'm Dara Khaalid.

- Thank you, Dara.

His hometown is so important.

Jay wants to reach out as much as possible and do everything he can with his business to help others.

He plans to start with nearby schools and churches.

Well, we've all heard the saying in the right place at the right time.

Carolina Impact's Jason Terzis joins us with the amazing story of one area man, who truly lived that out.

- Okay, so picture this, you are somewhere by yourself, could be home or driving or anywhere else, and you experience a medical emergency.

What happens?

Can you get to a phone and what are your chances of getting help before it's too late?

The man we're about to introduce you to had one of those medical emergencies.

But if it weren't for multiple factors, including being at the right place at the right time, he likely wouldn't have made it.

(upbeat music) He'd been training.

- I was ready.

- [Jason] Practically nonstop.

- I was gonna do it.

- [Jason] About to tackle one of the world's toughest endurance challenges.

Nothing was gonna stop me until that December 13th and then it happened.

(EKG beeping) I've asked myself a question.

Is this it?

- [Jason] His heart stopping For nearly a full minute.

- We realized that he had flat lined, so the eyes had rolled back.

- He was not responsive.

- [Jason] Two strangers in just the right place at just the right time.

- We didn't know who he was at that point.

- [Jason] Working together in a frantic effort to save a man's life.

- That's when I said to Chip, we have have to do this.

- I would not be sitting here today if God hadn't sent Chip and Jennifer to be there at that time.

(singing in foreign language) - [Jason] Val Kovalenko grew up in Ukraine.

Admittedly, he wasn't an athlete.

- Growing up, I've never played any sports.

- [Jason] Nor was he a scholar.

- I didn't go to college.

I barely finished high school.

I actually dropped out.

- [Jason] He immigrated to the United States 25 years ago.

- I've proved myself over and over again that hard work pays off.

- [Jason] With a wife, five kids, and a successful home construction company, life was good, but Val felt like something was still missing.

So at age 38, he started working out.

- My weight actually has gone up to about 207 pounds.

Once I started training, I've got my weight down to 165 pounds.

(feet thudding) - [Jason] Losing weight was at first the primary goal.

Then it turned into something more.

- I wanted to accomplish something big by my 40th.

- [Jason] Val set out to complete a triathlon, a multi-sport endurance challenge consisting of swimming, cycling, and running.

- I said, if I am gonna train enough and hard for it, I will be able to achieve it - [Jason] And achieve it he did.

Val completing his first full Ironman in November, but it came though with a warning.

- A day before that Ironman, I've actually started experiencing some burning pain in my arm, extending to my chest.

- [Jason] That same radiating pain returned every day afterwards.

But Val kept pushing through.

- I went to see a doctor and I've explained what was going on, and he said that it was probably a tightness in my shoulder or something that was, I needed to see maybe a chiropractor.

- [Jason] His sights now set on completing an Ultraman.

It's a triathlon times two.

- Ultraman is a 321 mile race that I was prepping for.

I've spent around 500 hours training for that race.

That morning December 13th started just like a regular morning.

- [Jason] Val went to the gym that morning for his workout swim nearby two people he had never met.

Jennifer Carter, a nurse and lifetime fitness trainer, Chip Halbert, a retired Special Forces medic.

- God saved my life in December of 1987 when I was wounded, when I was in the military and I was supposed to be dead.

- [Jason] Getting his laps in, Val's pain returned, this time worse than ever.

- All of a sudden it was getting hard to breathe.

It was getting blurry in my eyes.

- [Jason] Val was having a heart attack.

Then cardiac arrest, his heart stopped beating.

(monitor beeping) - It's hard to relive it.

When I try to remember I'm reliving those moments.

(Val exhales) - Saw that he was in distress and then kind of jumped in, pulled him outta the pool and began our adventure.

- My body was staying behind and my spirit was leaving my body.

- So when I came upon Val, he was very blue, very gray.

- We could tell he was incoherent at the time.

- It then looked like his eyes kind of like glazed over.

- It was just these few seconds of this desperate, desperate, deepest cry of my soul.

I just said, "God, please help me."

- [Jason] Chip and Jennifer, two complete strangers.

Now, instant teammates with Val's life on the line.

- You know the fact that Chip and I happened to be there when I got on the scene, and I announced that I was a nurse and Chip said he was Special Forces.

I had such a level of confidence.

He knew exactly what to do.

- Jennifer said, we need to begin CPR, and I immediately began chest compressions.

- He was working with me to bring you back to life.

- I knew that we could do this.

I knew we had it.

- [Jason] They grabbed a nearby automated external defibrillator or AED machine, shocking Val multiple times.

- The AED is gonna read whether there's a pulse or not, and there was none.

So that's why it does the shock.

- [Jason] After about 45 seconds, Val's heart restarted.

- I could feel that somebody was doing CPR.

Just wanna say thank you.

Everybody who prayed for me and who thought of me and who continues to pray for me.

- [Jason] Call it divine intervention or something else.

So many variables came into play on the morning of Friday the 13th.

- He's supposed to be swimming earlier.

She could have like, "I'm not gonna, it's too late.

I'm not gonna do it."

I'm not supposed to be teaching the class.

Teaching the class, I should have packed up and gone.

But I went to go talk to somebody else, which is the only reason that we saw Val.

- [Jason] Cardiologist at Atrium Health Sanger Heart and Vascular Institute placed a stent by Val's heart and put him on blood thinners.

- I had a 95% blockage in my artery.

- [Jason] And gave him the news that his days as a triathlete were over.

- I think she got mad.

She is like, "You were dead."

And she's like, "There's no way."

- [Jason] A fair trade considering how lucky he is to be alive and with no long-term effects.

- What truly matters is the things that we don't treasure sometimes and it's the family.

It's the relationship with God.

- [Jason] And he now has two new best friends in Chip and Jennifer.

- It's wonderful.

I mean, I hate that it was under these circumstances, but I'm not sure that I would've ever met Val or Chip without this happening.

- My doors are always open and I want them here for all my holidays and my celebrations 'cause they're part of my family.

I appreciate you saving my life.

Thank you.

- Any day.

Any day.

- Thank you.

- What an incredible story of survival.

How is Val doing now?

- He's doing pretty good now.

Obviously a lot to deal with emotionally.

He's set to undergo a stress test later this month.

That'll help determine if he can return to the gym, but it definitely will not be any Ironman training.

One of the cool thing to come out of all this, Val, Chip, and Jennifer have all gotten together with their spouses to go out for dinner.

The incident has brought all of them closer together and they each say they feel like they've known each other all along.

Val actually just celebrated his 40th birthday on March 2nd.

He's also advocating for everyone to learn CPR and be trained on those AED machines because you just never know where and when it might be needed.

- Oh, thank you so much.

Another great story of making a positive impact and neighbors make all the difference in the world.

Well, before we say goodnight, we've got one more story for you.

When was the first time you said out loud what you dreamed of being when you grew up?

For me, it was kindergarten.

While watching the evening news with Walter Cronkite, my grandfather said, "Buddy, you could do that one day."

And I said, "Okay grandpa, I will."

Not everyone makes their dreams come true, but producer Russ Hunsinger and videographer Max Arnall introduce us to a Concord woman who did.

(pleasant music) (gadget clacking) - I am Shoe Bee Doo.

When I have a new idea, I have a bee in my bonnet.

That's where the bee comes from.

So I use that little tagline all the time.

So I'll say bee, B-E-E, bee good to your feet.

This is bow Hide.

It's like my favorite for shoes and bags.

It's kind of thick, but it's still soft and supple.

I absolutely love leather.

I love the smell, I love the feel.

I love the softness and the texture of it.

I make all kinds of leather goods.

So I make belts and variety of bags, baby shoes, sandals.

(machine whirring) The very, very beginning when I was a young girl, I decided I wanted to make shoes 'cause as when I was like nine, mom took me shopping for new school shoes like everybody does.

But my feet were already so big, I had to wear women's shoes, and I didn't like that very much.

So I said, "Well one day I'm gonna make shoes."

So I did.

(people shouting) (pleasant music) (people faintly speaking) - Good day.

How are you?

We are at the Carolina Renaissance Festival.

It's a big inspiration for a lot of the shoes and bags that I make.

Do you have your Mary Jane on today?

- I do.

- She does.

- When I graduated high school, all my friends went off to college and I went to the local shoe repair shop and I apprenticed with him for a couple of years and eventually he taught me how to make custom made sandals.

In 2005, I needed to do something for some income for our family.

Alright.

Does that feel too tight?

Do you wanna any looser 'cause I can loosen it.

I started making little fleece things, little fleece baby shoes and mittens and hats and things.

(gentle music) Then you know, just the bug was bit and I wanted to work with leather and so my husband and also a neighbor of mine suggested, "Hey, you know, I think your things would be really good at the Renaissance Festival."

- Oh yes, I'm a president of her fan club.

It was really fun and each new thing, we'd come along and she'd go ahead and try something new.

(upbeat music) - I guess at one point I just thought, you know, it's really time to have a brick and mortar space so I can meet people and then I can have my things out all year round also, and then I can really kind of do anything.

So this is the paper pattern and I've already gone ahead and cut out the pieces.

This is gonna be a Mary Jane.

It doesn't look like it now, but it'll go like this, like this well and like that.

This is a custom Mary Jane, and really the only thing custom about this is that she chose her color.

(upbeat music) - We met at the Renaissance Festival actually probably 10, 15 years ago.

My foot issues were, I'd start out in the morning, probably a seven and a half or an eight wide.

The front part of my feet would swell so much that they'd be just scraping the inside of my shoes.

My feet are really wide at the front.

They're basically shaped like the foot of a duck.

It really did change my life because I can take the dog for a walk.

The dog and I are walk, he walks two miles and I walk his two miles and then I turn around and walk my two miles.

- Would you be wearing socks with these shoes that I'm gonna make for you today?

I learned the anatomy of the foot and all the things that cause problems when you have bad shoes and it goes from the foot to the knee, to the hip, to the back.

I never wanna make a shoe that's going to cause a problem.

- What I want to do is make a pair of like colonial shoes.

- [Cindy] Yep.

- The reason I keep coming back is because if I bring something in and tell her what I want her to do, we always seem to be able to find a way to do it.

(upbeat music) - My shoes that I make, I want them to be cute, but I want them to be functional and I want them to be long lasting.

(machine whirring) It is an unusual business I know.

(metal thuds) I love being a shoemaker.

I feel like I still have so much to learn.

You know, I've been doing it for like almost 20 years, but I feel like I've kind of barely scratched the surface.

(upbeat music) - Thank you, Russ and Max.

Cindy's shop is on Union Street in Concord if you wanna check it out.

Well that's all the time we have this evening.

But before we say goodnight, I wanna say thank you to the amazing students from Monroe Middle School, who came to be a part of our studio audience.

They asked some really good questions.

First, they wanted to know how much my outfit cost.

I'm a good bargain girl, but now it's time to say goodnight 'cause we're outta time.

Thanks so much for joining us.

We always appreciate your time and look forward to seeing you back here again.

Goodnight my friends.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] This is a production of PBS Charlotte.

(gentle music)