As I transitioned into my high school years, I gradually became less involved in the arts and explored different interests from volleyball, culture clubs, to strength training and computer science.

Simultaneously I had been working as a golf caddie at Bryn Mawr Country Club for about 7 years, resulting in being awarded the Chick Evans Scholarship for Caddies.

In 2018, I stumbled upon Hōkūle'a Academy where I started training in Polynesian dance. It was here where I fell in love with Polynesian culture, developing a keen understanding of its history, traditions, and art forms. This was also where my journey with Siva Afi (Fire Knife Dance) began.

As I grew at Hōkūle'a, I became a professional dancer where I eventually started performing for pay in their professional division. Since then, I've performed for hundreds of clients across the midwest to-date.

In 2019 I graduated from high school to The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as an undeclared major, unsure of my next direction.

That's where I decided to work toward a degree in Information Sciences with a concentration in UI/UX design, falling in love with the positive impact technology could have in people's lives.

COVID-19 was a major shift in my life as I adopted Stoicism philosophy and sought ways I could take ownership in my life.

I began changing bad physical, mental, and emotional habits into a lifestyle filled with health and authenticity, seeking out meaningful experiences and connections.

During this time of self-discovery, I was fortunate enough to study abroad as COVID slowly died down. For three months, I stayed with a host family in Barcelona, Spain where I attended Universitat Pompeu Fabra studing IT.


With the extra time I had following my studies, I planned a solo backpacking trip and visited 11 countries in a span of 2 months. From seeing Hans Zimmer live in Paris, floating on the Dead Sea in Israel, to hiking a fjord in Norway, I was able to rediscover myself in such a time of uncertainty.

In my final year of college, I fell in love with entrepreneurship and immediately learned as much as I could through all sorts of resources. This led me to work on my first startup called Timely, a platform connecting people based on shared skills and helps plan a time to do them together.

Timely taught me what it was like to be an entrepreneur, manage a team, and bring something abstract to life. Over the course of 9 months, we successfully launched a beta version of our app, reaching ~45 users.

After graduating in May and finishing up an accelerator program for Timely in August, I was conflicted. I had something that I worked extremely hard for over 9 months, yet I felt so empty inside. Why?
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After some honest self-reflection, I realized I had entered the tech world not out of genuine passion, but to feel intelligent and validated after years of being praised mainly for my appearance and performance skills. I chased a “smart” identity—studying IT, even becoming a founder—hoping it would give me the fulfillment I lacked. While Timely taught me how much I love the entrepreneurial process, it also revealed I was in the wrong domain.

At this point I spent the last several years training at Hōkūleʻa, so combining that passion with what I learned from Timely and my background in the performing arts, Luke Embers Entertainment was born. I adopted the name Luke Embers as a reflection of all the times I struggled with my identity, ultimately finding my way in the end.

Ever since EMBERS was created, my mission has never been clearer: creating authentic connections and build confidence with fire. As it continues to grow, my work is dedicated to expanding its reach across entertainment, athletics, and digital media.
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EMBERS signifies my dedication to this mission and the impact I hope to bring long after my flame has been extinguished. This births my mantra:

Be What Remains.‍