Meet Justin, a 28-year-old Chicago native who manages properties and engineers building systems for a nonprofit running addiction recovery programs, a food pantry, and community services on the South Side. Before that, he taught computer science and physics to ninth graders through City Year—fully remote, post-COVID, helping kids who were learning how to learn again. Before that? He studied astronomy and chemistry at U of I. And before any of that, at age 12, he built his own computer from scratch.

He's still upgrading it. He calls it the Ship of Theseus. Of course he does.

Justin is the kind of person who thinks carefully about everything—how buildings work, how relationships work, how the universe works. He writes poetry, builds worlds on paper, and keeps a running list of short stories he's meaning to finish. His ideal first date? Underground ramen, a barcade, skee ball, and see where the night goes. He also has strong opinions about the $12 gallon of pho in Chinatown that is, scientifically, one of Chicago's best meals.

We talked about what it actually takes to keep a whole building running (and why he loves the problem-solving), the creative worlds he's building on paper, what trust means to him (he thinks of it as the load-bearing element of any real relationship), and his readiness to show up to karaoke and do Black Sabbath. Justin is warm, funny in a quiet way, and genuinely interested in the people around him. He'll ask what you're reading. He'll ask how your day actually went. And he means it.

Do you know a woman in Chicago who's ready for someone this thoughtful?

If you know her, let's connect her with Justin. Details below 👇