Name: Joe Hindman 

How long have you been in Greenville? I was born and raised here [Greenville], born in 1988.

I was raised by a very conservative and large family; my parents built our house after they graduated from school. I have six siblings as I was the baby of seven, was raised in a large traditional Baptist family next to a horse farm. I went through my K-12 schooling, and even undergraduate studies nearby at Bob Jones University. 

From there, I went to work for a marketing agency. About three and a half years later, when I was twenty-four, I quit my job and moved to Denver, Colorado. As a native of Greenville, I wanted to explore more of the United States for job opportunities. 

Luckily, I was able to work remote [from home] which allowed me to travel all over the United States; I followed the NASCAR circuit with a marketing company. It gave me an experience as I was able to see forty states within nine months. I got a huge deep dive in such a short amount of time. But it was good, I was able to see how much we have here in Greenville. That was the crazy part: I didn’t realize how much value Greenville meant until I left.

What is the most interesting fact about yourself? What most people get a shock out of, when I say it, especially out of Greenville, is that I went to the same school for eighteen years [Bob Jones University]. 

What are your hobbies? I view work as a passion and also an art. I inherited my father’s work ethic; it is very focused and consistent ...almost borderline work-a-holic. Honestly, I do not enjoy periods of downtime. But if I need downtime, I do like: volleyball, hiking and a good music festival or even an art show. I really like event-based experiences. 

What are you reading and/or watching? Most recently, it was an audio web series called, ‘New Family Values.’ It is a fascinating discovery about the family unit and how families in our modern age are different.

As a member of the LGBTQ community, being a gay male in the South, I can totally understand how individuals coming out are forced to find their family. Not just the biological family, but their ‘siblings’ or their ‘mother’ or whatever ‘quote/unquote role’ that they need to play. 

Where is your favorite morning hangout? I enjoy most of the coffee shops here, especially Village Grind which I have visited frequently. I am also a huge fan of Methodical Coffee. 

What is your favorite evening hangout? Ok, I am about to show my full cards: I don’t really cook a lot for myself as I am on the go. That said, I am either downtown [Greenville] eating or either walking my dog downtown. I also like to attend community events.

Recently, I have been motivated and compelled to attend and be involved with city-led meetings. It is amazing to see how we make decisions in Greenville, I love being involved within our community. 

What about Greenville makes you proud? I am overly proud of the fact that I am accepted here in Greenville when in the past, I would not have been accepted. I am proud that I feel at home; we are actually doing the leg work on inclusion and diversity. Greenville is heading in a positive direction. 

What would be your happiest Greenville moment? This sounds backwards: but, when I moved to Colorado, when I had a going-away party, I saw how many people cared about me here in Greenville. That was important. 

Who do you work for? As of October 2018, I work for myself, 100%. I do graphic-work, interior design, you name it. I also manage AirBnB’s which has been a blessing. 

I also have Modal, which is a partnership with both David Stone (Stone Properties) and myself. It has been a good balance as David has a wonderful balance of real estate but also of demeanor; some of the things that I personally lack [laughs]. David jokes that he is the ying-to-my-yang and I agree. 

Tell me more about Modal: Believe me, I did not wake up one day and say, ‘hey I am going to open up a hostel!’ 

When I moved to Denver, I wanted to go and explore the mountains, get out of the city. That allowed me to come across Breckenridge, Colorado which had a hostel, which was something that I had not experienced in the United States. 

Wyatt [ShareGVL], I paid forty bucks a night to stay in a hostel that left such a good vibe. It was amazing, I loved it. This led me to thinking about opening a hostel with a partner here in Greenville. I know for a fact that Greenville needs what we are doing at Modal.