FOUNDER

Cole Stott

Owner & Founder - Stage 8 Dance Brands

Cole Stott was born into the cheer and dance world. His mother owned two facilities in Ohio. One location focused on gymnastics and dance, while the other was dedicated to gymnastics, and by the time Cole was ten, it began offering cheer classes. He was a gym rat growing up and participated in gymnastics.

Cole is the current owner of Premier Athletics, which will soon celebrate 30 years of cheerleading, dance, and gymnastics business. In addition, Cole has spent over two decades as an Event Producer. He is the former president of Varsity Knoxville, where he hired Sabrina Salter to create The Groove Experience, which was the first true All Star brand dedicated solely to All Star dance. As a studio owner, he understood the need for quality events that catered to the All Star Dancer. Prior to Groove, dance events were hosted by cheer event producers as an add-on or a way to generate additional revenue. Cole continued to use his visionary prowess to elevate Varsity Knoxville to its peak, during which he managed 12 event brands that hosted 68 events.

His passion for dance led him to partner with Cheryl Passalacqua in 2020 to launch Stage 8 Dance Brands to once again bring incredible new experiences to the All Star dance community. Stage 8 is only the second company in the industry to focus exclusively on dance. 

Cole remains a highly influential figure in All Star. As a gym and studio owner he continues to shape the industry. More recently, he co-founded The CX Brands, a new cheerleading event company, alongside business partners Casey Jones, and Stacy Rowe. Together, they also launched MotUS, a gym networking organization that now includes over 200 gyms, all working together to support each other’s growth.