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
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