Extol December 2018-January 2019 | Page 53

Out and relieved In his junior year in college, though, Kiger did come out to his fraternity brothers. The reaction was so supportive and so positive that he was able to put at least that demon to rest. “It was a huge relief,” he said, “not looking over my shoulder anymore, not waiting for something to happen – even if nothing ever happened.” Foundation, he was hired by an insurance company as an adjustor. “It was an awesome job. Good pay and lots of travel.” He started in Louisville, but the insurance company moved him to Minneapolis, then to Ft. Lauderdale. Then he moved to Chicago, for another company. charismatic personality. “I remember being impressed with how focused he was on his business,” she said. “I watched him build it, brick by brick. He was on warp speed, trying to accomplish all those things.” “In Chicago, I decided I’d had enough of the insurance business and moved back to Southern Indiana.” But “warp speed” is generally exhausting. Kiger joined a Re/Max Advantage office in Floyds Knobs that was owned by his sister Paula Kiger and Linda Finney. It was 2007. The real estate market was about to go into free fall. He bought a historic New Albany mansion on East Market Street, extensively renovating it and starting a new career at the same time. “My first year, I netted about $2,000,” he said. “I basically lived off my credit cards. By the next year, though, I was making six figures.” Alcohol and Adderall Keeping it real estate So Kiger’s life went into overdrive – working hard, partying hard, drinking hard. “My sister, Paula (Kiger), was in real estate, and she taught me how to get licensed and build my book of business. Everything in real estate is relationships, so I began assembling my local network. I joined everything. If it had ‘New Albany’ in the name, I was involved.” In 2010, Kiger was named Realtor of the Year in Southern Indiana. He was just 30. The next year, he was featured on the HGTV show “House Hunters.” But there were still malingering demons. “The struggle, generally, became my driving force,” he said, “to make something of myself. The ‘I’m going to prove that I’m better than all of you!’ syndrome. I think that’s typical for the LGBTQ community.” “What do 20-year-olds do? You go to the bars, that scene, those relationships. But I never really liked staying out late. I had myself tested for ADD (attention-deficit disorder) and was prescribed Adderall. That became a miracle drug for me for the next 10 years.” But it also turned into a vicious cycle. “Adderall was an upper that allowed me to stay out later, so I could drink more.” Not that it in any way affected Kiger’s career. Based on his successful work for the Ball State That’s when he met Farmer, who was president at the time of Develop New Albany. “Boy, did he get involved,” she recalled. “He joined our board, and we immediately clicked. It became a mentoring relationship, for him and for me.” She also saw the hard-charger behind the “If there was a spotlight, I always found a way to be in it,” he joked. Conversely, he said, his success was a justification for his drinking and drugs. Hey, no problem “There had been no repercussions from my addictions,” he recalled. “I was never going to be that guy who made an ass of himself at a bar. There were no DUIs, my business was good, I was making money. But that only made the whole thing worse. I concluded that I had no problem EXTOL : DECEMBER 2018/JANUARY 2019 51