I'm Josh Matthews - born, raised, and building a life here in Indianapolis.
The day after graduating from Marian University (double major: Philosophy and Psych with Ethics concentration), I bought a one-way flight to the Himalayan Mountains of Nepal. I bopped around Thailand and India for a few months, and landed a job teaching Western Humanities and English at an international school in Hanoi, Vietnam.
When I eventually moved back to Indy, I kept teaching—until I realized a teacher’s salary wouldn’t cut it for paying off student loans. So, counterintuitively/naturally, the summer after my final year in the classroom, I kayaked from Indianapolis to New Orleans. It took 29 days and over 1,400 miles—mostly solo, though two friends joined for parts of the ride.
When I finally made it back to Indy and obsessed with Dave Ramsey, I began bartending, driving Uber, substitute teaching, and all around hustling. I paid off student loans in 18 months, which I recommend to any newly grad. (I also recommend newly grads to read: The Alchemist, Vagabonding by Rolf Potts, and The Four Hour Workweek)
After becoming debt-free, I moved to NYC in 2017. Dedicated myself to sobriety and a life of service. I reencounted my Catholic faith and began engaging that deeply. I got my NYC Real Estate License and learned the industry.
Thanks to early mentorship and hustle, my real estate career exploded in NYC. I traveled, including trips to Poland, Rome, Paris, Kyiv, Barcelona, Costa Rica, all over Portugal, and I hiked the 500-mile pilgrimage of El Camino de Santiago, across Spain.