Justin Gissandaner

1Dallas, and the long way round

Where did you grow up, and what brought you to DFW?

I grew up in Dallas, I’ve been here since I was a child and have watched it grow and change over the years. I have stayed in Dallas because it’s where my people are at.

I have met a great deal of people in my time here from all over the world, and it is a fantastic thing to see (especially the food).

What do you do, and how did you end up doing it?

I work in IT, I ended up doing it partially by chance and partially by will, as with many my life path got changed in 2020 and six years later I am at a place I would not have expected back then, for the better.

The hardest part of this is how many times things came apart and were put back together. If 2026 Justin told 2019 Justin, 2019 Justin would not have believed that he would have pulled through.

The path I took to get here was winding, filled with periods of ups, downs, joy, pain, laughter, sadness, care, apathy, fear, safety, mistakes, guilt, forgiveness and a lot of lessons and listening to those lessons.

What I am building towards now is some kind of creative outlet, 2020 pushed me down one road out of necessity and now I’m slowly coming back to a road of choice with a different perspective and trying to seek and do good because… well why the hell not.

There are years that ask questions, and years that answer.

Zora Neale Hurston, quoted by Justin.

2Bass lines and brown sugar

Making anything at the moment?

I am in the very early stage of learning how to play the bass guitar (do not ask me to play a melody, I’m not there yet okay?)

I also have been learning to make food since 2020 which has been a ton of delicious fun, yes even the food mishaps as well. Do not cook French toast with brown sugar in the oven, it will probably overcook before you realize (ask me how I know.)

If you are a regular at the Trivia/Karaoke potluck I usually bring some kind of entree so others can experience the joy of good food, so come find me.

What do you do with your free time?

Now after work, I’m immediately taking a quick nap, I have no brain energy (IT can be mentally taxing sometimes y’all).

But after that nap, it’s going to be either: Cooking, Reading, or a show (and now YAS events!)

Now when I have actual free free time on the weekend, it’s going to be Hiking, Running, and practicing the Bass guitar, Cooking and catching up with friends and sometimes it’s just completely random whimsy side quests.

I try to tailor my weekends to my needs.

Do you collect anything, or have a hobby people find delightfully quirky?

I like funky punk music from multiple UK and American bands from around the year 1980, some are better known, some are obscure.

Disco and Punk music had an overlap that spawned a lot of awesome music at that moment and forever afterwards until today.

I have collected a modest, (yes I do mean a modest, I am not a huge item collector) amount of CDs and a few shirts from bands during this time.

I will not elaborate further because I do not want to write an essay here but I am very happy that the electric bass guitar exists, keep dancing and letting off that steam y’all.

(Slightly less quirky, I also really love Star Trek.)

Best place you have traveled, or the place you are determined to get to?

Not sure what beach this was but I sat on a beach in Hawaii one time and I felt like the day time lapsed, it went from mid afternoon to dusk in what felt like an instant when I sat there in a chair.

Hawaii hit me with max relax while I was a teenager.

3RNG on Eventbrite

How did you first find DFW Young & Social?

RNG on Eventbrite, I think the first thing I did was one of the Salsa Dancing classes and just kept going to different events. I kept going to different events because I kept meeting more and more people doing different things.

Which of our events do you show up to most?

The Book club(s) I do not miss.

Trivia/Karaoke, and Hiking stuff I’m almost always there.

I drop in to others to try new things which keeps things interesting especially if I can’t make a regular event due to time/life stuff.

Is there an event you would like to see in the future?

A talent show or movie nights (why not add a potluck on to this please give me another excuse to make food) would be cool.

Tell us about one moment here that stuck with you.

Not one moment, but the amount of extremely intentional, deeply wise or exceptionally wholesome conversations… on top of the very funny nonsense conversations. This was… unexpected but it’s been great!

If you are one of these people you may not know who you are, but I’m glad you are out here, the little things you do makes peoples lives better even if you may not ever see the effect or result.

Thank y’all.

What does having a community like this mean to you right now?

I think that it is extremely important to have a place for people to go to who do know you and acknowledge your existence.

As somebody who has existed on both sides of this a few times in my life, I can attest to what it feels like to not, and that not feeling is quite bad.

I have been trying new things (learning that learning can be the fun bit!) which past me of last year would have not believed I could even do with others.

4One foot in front of the other

What would you tell your younger self?

Showing up is half the battle, the other half is trying to understand.

Anything you are looking forward to this year?

As plain as this sounds, I’m just here for the simple season change this go around rather than anything big or extravagant.

For me right now it is just one foot in front of the other and just checking the path every once in a while to make sure I didn’t wander too far off.

If you have not met Justin yet, try the book club, the trivia and karaoke potluck, or the next hike. He is an amazing individual to talk to and feel at ease with. We appreciate all the support he has given us over the past few months and volunteering with the club!