Clogger Ashley Shimberg was used to judges turning their backs on her during a cappella competitions where sound is everything. It just meant she had to stomp harder—especially when she was up against heavier male cloggers. Shimberg, a slim teen, wore ankle weights to make her steps louder, and her efforts paid off with a bronze medal at the 2004 AAU Junior Olympics. 

Since then, Shimberg has won 11 champion titles and was inducted into the Clogging Hall of Fame at the ripe old age of 14. She started giving lessons through the Asheville Clogging Company at 16 and opened her own clogging studio in Arden at 22. Now, her big dream is to clog with 50 of her students in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.