Huntingtonian of the Week is a new weekly installment presented by Huntington News Network, in effort to spotlight those who truly keep our Jewel City firing on all cylinders; this week we honor Josh Billups, floor supervisor at Glenn’s Sporting Goods, who has dedicated the last two years of his life to serving Huntingtonians of all ages and backgrounds in their quests for school spirit, better living, etc.
HNN surprised Josh at Glenn’s last Wednesday with the news of his HOTW award; he was kind enough to give us an interview, sharing his philosophy and outlook on living.
Here’s the transcript of our interview with Josh:
HNN’s Trey Cobb: You’re a natural born salesman, I feel like that comes out in your TikTok.
Josh Billups: (Chuckling) I go crazy on the TikTok!
TC: Is that part of your job now?
JB: It just kind of started as…our social media person Shannon said one day, “Hey Josh, be in this video!”
I just got on and started talking about something, just kind of being funny and goofing around. We posted it and the numbers did pretty good!
TC: Which one of those was the most fun to make?
JB: I don’t know…I really like the one where we’re selling the Merrells, the mountain climbing shoes. I really liked that one.
The basketball ones where I tried out for Marshall’s basketball team were pretty funny.
When we add the narrative that Josh kind of knows what he’s doing, but has no clue what he’s doing — my alter ego — that’s when it is funny.
TC: Where were you born, Josh?
JB: I was born at Cabell Huntington Hospital on June 21st, 1996, right over on Hal Greer Boulevard…where the legend began!
TC: What would you say are the highlights of your life right now?
JB: (Smiling) The highlights of my legacy? Well, I’m getting married in August. Shout out to Kaitlyn, my fiancé.
I’m doing some part time youth pastor work right now so that’s definitely part of the legacy. Just living life and trying to have a good time!
TC: You’ve probably seen a lot of crazy stuff in your position here.
JB: I have seen a lot of things. We had a woman come in here one time whose husband played on the Young Thundering Herd team, who died, and she came in to buy him a new Marshall outfit to be buried in.
TC: Oh wow.
JB: I had a man come in one day that said he was basically bed bound for a year, because his foot hurt so bad — til he bought a pair of Skechers. And now, we order him Skechers all the time and I know him as the Skechers Guy!
There’s just all these different people that come in. You get to know them, but you also have the ability to form a relationship with them…maybe have deeper conversations with them! Become a part of their lives just by selling shoes and Marshall shirts!
To me, Huntington is just a community where everybody can come together and understand that we’re all about the same goal.
One time I was at Glenn’s and…there was a lady in here. She gets a phone call and just breaks down in tears right in the middle of the store. We had no idea what was going on, so we went and talked to her. She got a phone call that her dad had randomly died out of nowhere…so we had a chance to just talk to her and kind of help her through her day.
To me, with an institution like Glenn’s, with Marshall, not only do we have a community of people who want to support each other, but we’ve all been in it for a long time…we’ve all been here, and so we can all take wisdom (and advice) from each other. We can just all help each other grow and keep going in this life with all the knowledge we’ve gotten from this area.
TC: Without using your name, who are you?
JB: I am…a Christian, a fiancé, a lover of fun, a lover of family, a lover of art, and…a friend to all! How about that? A friend to all. Trying to make everybody feel good. Trying to spread the kindness around.
Our Huntingtonian of the Week works a weekly 9-5 schedule at Glenn’s Sporting Goods; if you’d like to stop in and say hello, perhaps congratulate him, Glenn’s Sporting Good’s is located at 1040 Third Avenue, Huntington, WV 25701.