Welcome back. This week we've got a gospel choir at First Presbyterian, the War Party 10K, new heritage signs downtown, and The Black Olive's opening. Plus, I'm thinking about proximity and why small town networks aren't what people think they are.

In today's post:

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Heritage Trail Refresh: Kingsport is rebooting its Heritage Trail with new signs throughout downtown. Perfect time to rediscover the city's history.

New Restaurant: The Black Olive held its soft opening in Kingsport. Mediterranean cuisine has officially arrived.

Sports Central: Check out I-81 Sports for local sports coverage across the Tri-Cities.

Someone asked me recently what it takes to build a creative career in a small town.

Here's what I've done: worked on ad campaigns for Samsung, won an MTV VMA with BLACKPINK for a virtual music video inside PUBG Mobile, represented some of the largest Twitch streamers in the world, managed studio relationships for ActionVFX, keeping their visual effects technology in the pipeline at Netflix and Marvel.

All from Kingsport, Tennessee.

It started in 2016. I was rolling burritos at Barberitos and stocking shelves at Best Buy. One day a group walked in wearing "OneKingsport" shirts. One of them mentioned checking out the Facebook page. I found the company producing their content, sent an email with zero experience, got a response in an hour.

I quit two jobs to take one that paid less, without knowing if I could do the work.

One of my first projects was filming a "Quality of Life" video for NETWORKS Sullivan County Partnership. We drove all over the Tri-Cities filming parks, downtown streets, local businesses, families. I was behind the camera seeing this region through a completely different lens. I grew up here, but I had never really seen it.

They run on proximity. Who you know matters. Being in the right place matters. And that's not corruption or nepotism.

It's how trust works at scale.

In a city of millions, you need credentials. Degrees. Portfolios. References from strangers. The system has to work without personal connection because personal connection is impossible.

In a town of 50,000? The person hiring you might have just walked into your workplace. They can look you in the eye. They can take a chance on someone with zero experience because the risk is smaller, the feedback loop is shorter, and if it doesn't work out, you'll both see each other at Food City next week.

Proximity creates accountability. And accountability creates opportunity.

That early risk turned into a decade of work. Agency representation for top-tier gaming creators. Music videos that won awards. Commercial campaigns for global brands. And now, helping Tennessee startups raise capital through my work at SyncSpace.

All of it traced back to one person walking into a burrito shop at the right time.

I'm not saying small towns are perfect. I'm saying they're different. And the difference matters if you're trying to build something here.

This is a place where the person who can change your career trajectory might walk into your workplace on a Tuesday afternoon. Where proximity isn't a limitation, it's the entire game.

It's the whole point.

Showing up matters. Being present matters. And choosing to stay, to build here, to invest in the people and places around you, that matters most of all.

The documentary slate is filling up through the end of the year. KATS bus rides, Nashville recording sessions, 9/11 Memorial stair climbs, Fun Fest medallion hunts. The stories keep coming.

But I want to add something else to the mix.

I'm looking to visit and feature small businesses around Kingsport. Nothing crazy. No huge time commitment. Just showing up with a camera, learning what you do, and telling your story to the people who should know about it.

Maybe you run a shop I've never been to. Maybe you're doing something interesting that flies under the radar. Maybe you've been in business for 30 years and nobody's ever really asked you about it.

If you own a small business in Kingsport and you'd be open to this, hit reply. No charge. Just good storytelling about the places that make this town work.

This newsletter works best when it's a conversation. If you know a story that needs to be told, a person doing something interesting, or a place in Kingsport that matters to you, send it my way. Every documentary, every feature, every post starts with someone saying "you should look into this."

That's it for this week. Thanks for trusting me with your inbox. Let's tell some stories.

Talk soon,
Ryan