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goal, is not just to show art but to build an inspiring, diverse, inclusive and affordable setting that creates opportunity, fosters innovation and impacts the community in a variety of ways including moving it toward greater social equity. "I want Triangle Arts to be a place a kid can come, an underprivileged kid or whoever, and be inspired to realize they can reach their dreams," he said. "It might be through art, music or it might be learning how to drive a nail to help with an exhibit. Or they might be older and want to promote a concert or start some venture. "The idea is everyone is included, and as far as possible we want to say 'yes' then partner with them and get behind the dream with them. What others do here will make Triangle Arts what we want it to be, and that may be different than what we've thought of so far." To understand better, it helps to glimpse Geyer's backstory. From Akron, he set his sights on corporate success and attended University of Akron night classes, later getting an MBA from The Wharton School. He worked in marketing and strategic planning for years in Detroit with major accounting and consulting firms like Arthur Anderson and Deloitte Consulting, and with Ford Motor Co. in project planning. "I loved it but got fed up with how slowly big corporations move," he said. "I got tired of the status quo and le . I worked with city government and started my own consulting business, mainly helping small businesses and nonprofits. I felt more at home in urban situations than sipping wine at corporate functions." As a result of having friends on both the rich and poor sides of town, Geyer got a call one day asking him to take charge of giving a van full of frozen turkeys to churches and food kitchens serving the poor. The same happened with a load of basketballs. "I was in the worst parts of Detroit, but I saw nothing but smiles," he said. "It made me feel good, really good, and I saw what helping others and connecting people could do." Geyer bought an empty warehouse in a blighted neighborhood and let people create art and music there. Seeing someone invest and bring life to the area caused the woman mentioned earlier to tug at Geyer and thank him, saying, "Nobody does anything for us down here." It was a landmark moment. Problem was, it was the late 2000s. The economic crash put Geyer in bankruptcy and in divorce courts, losing everything. He le Detroit for Atlanta to be near his son and again bought a dilapidated urban space for events and to welcome street artists. He used his Deloitte pension money to do it. "It was at 787 Windsor so we named it that," he said. "We got almost immediate permits and zoning and it was a huge success. It was home to Atlanta's Afropunk Festival, other music, culture and art festivals and concerts, weddings, corporate happenings and reveals for people like Miller Beer, Brooklyn Brewing and Reebok and for Red Bull shows. It was named venue of the year in 2018 by Creative Loafing." But Geyer said he wanted to move from the big city to a mid-size town. "I fell in love with Macon, moved here and bought the Triangle Arts property," he said. "I started working on something similar to Detroit and Atlanta." With COVID-19 concerns li ing, work began again in earnest in May, clearing the way for city approval to rent studio space and to have crowds at shows and events. Geyer said the lucrative sale of JUNE/JULY 2021 | maconmagazine.com 39