Today we’d like to introduce you to Troy Gregory.
Hi Troy, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I am originally from Brooklyn, New York. I first came down to Florida from New York 7 years ago at 25. I left New York to change my life after being homeless at the age of 13. I stayed homeless on and off for 13 years. I remember the last day I was in New York like it was yesterday, muscling through zero-degree weather heading to catch the bus to Orlando, Florida. When I arrived in Orlando, I didn’t have a cent to my name or much direction as to where I wanted to go in life. While I was homeless in Orlando, I met a woman who advised me to attend Valencia College. This was the point my life started to turn around for the better. I had something to focus on outside of my survival. I started college while I was homeless, and with help from two women named Tisha and Terry, we figured out a way to get all the money back from my financial aid. This allowed me to move into student housing and start a company by the name of The Ghost Project.
The Ghost Project was originally intended to be a drum and bass podcast shared between myself and a friend, but when I left for San Francisco in 2016, the idea transformed into a universal collective of musicians and creatives. While I was in San Francisco, I was again homeless for about six months. During that time, the idea tanked. When I returned to Florida, I turned The Ghost Project into an event management company and orchestrated two mansion parties. These both had amazing turnouts. It was these events, alongside an event that took place in 2017, that led to me getting featured on NPR. The event was called Incandescence | The Nightwalker Festival. Incandescence | The Nightwalker Festival was a glow-in-the-dark festival that incorporated a glow-in-the-dark mural competition, a glow-in-the-dark art gallery, amazing performances, and much more. An attendee at the time referred to the event as a million-dollar idea executed for under $1,000.
After receiving both praise and backlash from the event, I eventually stopped doing events. Shortly after putting together these events, I fell homeless again. While I was sleeping on a young lady’s couch, an idea came to me. I now know there is a difference between ideas you think of and ideas that come to you. The Ghost Project was an idea I thought of, HVMAN is an idea that came to me. It is almost as if the idea produces itself through me. The logo came first, and I built the idea around the logo that started as an hour-long show that turned into a multimedia platform three years later. HVMAN (human) is a multimedia platform where we conduct one-on-one interviews about different people from different cultures to capture their life stories in hopes of bringing people together one culture at a time. The Ghost Project is now a creative/innovative solutions company that partners with artists, musicians, start-ups, entrepreneurs, and anyone with creative needs to advance their careers and businesses. It is knowing that an idea can change the fate of tomorrow for a better day.
I am no longer homeless and have finished college after promising my grandmother that I would finish something that I’ve started!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Over the course of my journey, I have had to overcome many struggles. One of the most impactful is the struggle with choosing to live off-grid versus indulging in the matrix. I had an opportunity to disconnect from society but I chose to stay within it, in hopes of bringing positive change to the world. Another struggle I managed to get over is judging people based on their skin color rather than their personality. I find it important for myself and others to not only check their prejudice but to also understand that there are both bad people and good people in every culture. Of all my struggles, chronic homelessness was one of the greatest I overcame. After falling homeless numerous times over the span of 15 years, I finally broke the cycle. At this time, I still struggle with my will to drive after being in ten car accidents and being hit by five cars. I struggle to get over the trauma my body has produced from being in so many accidents.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about The Ghost Project and HVMAN?
The Ghost Project
The Ghost Project values and embodies connectivity between people. The Ghost Project is a creative/innovative solutions company that partners with artists, musicians, start-ups, entrepreneurs, and anyone with creative needs to advance their careers and businesses. Knowing that an idea can change the fate of tomorrow for a better day.
The Ghost Project will not be rendering services until late 2023/early 2024. The reconstruction of The Ghost Project will start in late 2022. I would like for The Ghost Project to not only be known for how it can propel creatives forward in the future but also for the companies capability to build and sell ideas.
The DBA and brand owned by myself and The Ghost Project is HVMAN pronounced (human).
HVMAN is a multimedia platform that encourages people to find truth in another person’s perspective, bringing people together one culture at a time. HVMAN is broken down into multiple segments. Let me introduce them to below:
1. HVMAN focuses on one on one interviews that capture the person’s life story where they answer thought-provoking questions, allowing them to be transparent, giving them space to be themselves.
2. HVMAN [Campfire Sessions] Campfire Sessions addresses events taking place in the global community, giving people from around the world a voice where they can share their perspectives and expertise on different subject matters. This segment provokes thoughtful conversation and provides resources that people can use in their everyday life. Below are some examples of Campfire Sessions we have done in the past.
[Campfire Session] Subject Matters:
The Confidence War
The Confidence War addresses moments where we are at war with ourselves internally/externally and how it affects our confidence. In this session, we will be looking at what triggers these external/internal conflicts while exploring what we can do to build our confidence.
Sonic Alchemy
Sonic Alchemy is dedicated to the effect that music has on our lives. In this session, we will discuss the conscious and unconscious impact music has on us, how frequencies relay messages to the human body and how you can tell a lot about a person by the music they listen to.
The Will to Live
The Will to Live is dedicated to one of our supporter’s grandmothers who simultaneously battled pneumonia alongside covid-19 and persevered. In this session, we will be discussing what drives our will to live and the energy that goes behind it. The difference between those who strive to stay alive and those who unconsciously or consciously don’t put in the effort to survive.
3. HVMAN [Interpretations] is where we take a quote that has existed throughout time and adds an interpretation to it. We challenge our audience to do the same. Please check the example of HVMAN [Interpretations] below:
HVMAN [Interpretations] 011
“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” – George Bernard Shaw
In life, we spend a lot of time trying to find out who we are and what our purpose is. One reason why certain people don’t fit social norms is because at one point or another they decided to build themselves into the person they wanted to become. When you put forth the effort to take control of how the world’s programming and influences impact you, you can begin to reinvent yourself. If don’t know who you are, create the person you wish to become.
The original post can be found here: https://www.instagram.com/p/COLOH_unDbH/
4. HVMAN [Reach] is a program for the disadvantaged in several communities around the world. We will be devoting a percentage of our online store sales to this venture alongside us accepting donations to accomplish to begin giving away food, toiletries, and clothing to those in need around the world. In the near future, we will begin testing out several ways to jumpstart HVMAN [Reach] locally, to investigate how we can make donations on a global scale.
I think one thing that sets HVMAN apart from other brands is the multitude of ways that you can get involved with our brand to bring about positive change. I would also like to add that the clothing we sell on the behalf of HVMAN is the beginning of a clothing line and is not considered merch. I have developed a couple of designs for the clothing line and look forward to establishing the HVMAN clothing line in the future. I am proud of the fact that HVMAN unites people in a world that seems to thrive off division.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
The lesson I learned from the Covid-19 crisis is there is opportunity in the midst of chaos. You cannot give up in the face of adversity and you must push forward in the face of uncertainty. One thing that resonated/resonates with me is that you never know what the next day may bring so it’s important to tell those you value and love how much you cherish them. I think it’s unfair that we wait until a person passes away to honor their name.
Contact Info:
- Email: wisetruth@hvman.world, campfiresessions@hvman.world
- Website: www.hvman.world
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hvman.world/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hvmanworld, https://www.facebook.com/troywisetruth
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK8UmsG5FsKfZqKcGX8nv_g
- Other: https://www.mixcloud.com/hvmanworld/
Image Credits
Jason Fronzneck, Xavier, Truth Makes Leaders, Wisetruth, BertWill Creative.
