Ryne Johnson, 33

Born in Peru during the cholera epidemic of the 1990s, Ryne Johnson says his birth mother put him up for adoption in hopes of saving his life after his older brother died from the illness.

“I was given an incredible opportunity to come here and to be able to experience everything that America has to offer,” says Johnson. 

Photo by Mark Wemple

In 1983, the family that adopted him had founded Spirit Movers, where he began working over the summers while growing up in Bradenton, cleaning the warehouse and helping with the trucks. 

After getting his master’s in computer science and cybersecurity then interning in the field, Johnson was about to accept a cybersecurity job when he says he had a moment of clarity.

“Something told me that I was not going to be fulfilled…sitting behind a computer,” he says. “I wouldn't see the end-user. I wouldn't be communicating or interacting with others in the way that I was designed.”

Instead, he started working as a project manager at Spirit Movers, establishing a commercial portfolio that has helped the company capture new business amid the shifting relocation industry.

“People aren't moving as much,” Johnson says, referring to the volume of goods people move. “Shipping sizes are down, and they're also looking for alternative ways of moving than the typical men in trucks."

One of the company’s largest clients is Sarasota Memorial Hospital. “When they opened up their brand-new Venice hospital,” Johnson says, “everything that went into that new hospital came to our facility, and we not only received it, we stored it, inventoried it and delivered it out as each phase of that hospital was ready. That includes everything from toilet paper and batteries to AI-assisted robotic operating tables.”

At the end of 2023, Johnson’s mentor, who is also his father, officially transferred ownership of the company to him, though Johnson has been in leadership for nearly three years as vice president. One of the biggest lessons his father taught him, he says, is relationships are power.

“People aren't going to remember what you did or what you said, but they're going to remember how you made them feel,” Johnson says. He adds that he knows people do not like moving, and Spirit Movers wants to make it a positive experience. “We're here to move you…not just your things, but move you as a human. And it ties into our mission statement, which is, we move more than just your belongings.”