An Inspired Chat with Joshua Paul Hooks of Downtown

We recently had the chance to connect with Joshua Paul Hooks and have shared our conversation below.

Good morning Joshua Paul, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What is a normal day like for you right now?
My routine is built around discipline, clarity, and efficiency; qualities that allow me to lead multiple companies, travel globally for partnerships, stay deeply involved in the brands we scale through Iconic Brand Group, and fulfil my most rewarding job of being a family man. While no two days are identical, the structure remains consistent…

When I’m working from Tampa, my day starts at 4:30 AM. I keep my mornings intentionally simple, even down to wearing the same style of outfit every day, which eliminates decision fatigue and helps me stay focused on what really matters. By 5:00 AM, I’m in my home office, beginning with a practice that has anchored my success for years: handwriting my goals and priorities for the day. Putting pen to paper creates an unmatched level of intentionality and helps me stay purposeful with every hour. I pair this quiet strategy session with a light breakfast of Greek yogurt and fruit before diving into my highest-value tasks.

Around 8:30 AM, I transition to our Iconic Brand Group headquarters to work alongside my team. Late mornings are dedicated to strategic planning, client direction, and building the systems, messaging, and opportunities that accelerate our partners’ growth.

I skip lunch every day, not as a trend, but as a personal preference that keeps my energy steady and my focus sharp. At 1:00 PM, I break for the gym, which is just as much a mental reset as it is a physical one. After training, I return to my home office to handle meetings, calls, and any remaining priority work.

My evenings follow a consistent rhythm as well. I eat the same kind of dinner daily: a protein, a serving of greens, and a sweet potato, a simple, clean structure that fuels me without complicating my routine. After that, work is done. From 5:00 PM on, my focus shifts fully to my family, which is the most important part of my day.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Sure! I’m Joshua Paul Hooks, a serial entrepreneur and consultant known for scaling startups into nationally recognized brands. As the founder of Iconic Brand Group, I help founders and investors transform ideas into high-growth ventures by combining operational systems, creative marketing, and global market strategy. In my career I have consulted for startups and Fortune 500 companies alike, guiding them through product development, branding, and U.S. market entry. Driven by family, community, and a passion for building impactful businesses, I bring a rare mix of visionary leadership and hands-on execution to every project I touch.

Okay, so here’s a deep one: What relationship most shaped how you see yourself?
Without question, the relationship that shaped me most is the one I had with my father. He grew up in a poor farming family and, through sheer work ethic and vision, built a company in his early twenties that eventually became the largest privately held food service operation in the state of Florida before being acquired by a major national brand.

Watching him build something extraordinary from nothing wasn’t just inspiring, it was the foundation of how I see myself, how I lead, and how I approach every challenge. He taught me what it means to be resilient, to stay humble no matter how much success you achieve, and to prioritize people above everything, especially family.

His example shaped me into the entrepreneur I am today, but more importantly, into the family man and leader I strive to be. His legacy is woven into every business I build and every major decision I make.

What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Suffering taught me the lessons that success never will. Success can validate you, but suffering builds you. It strips away ego, comfort, and assumptions, leaving only the truth about who you really are and what you’re willing to fight for.

In the hardest seasons of my life, personally and professionally, I learned resilience, humility, patience, and perspective. I learned that strength isn’t loud, it’s consistent. I learned that character is formed when no one is watching, and that you grow the most when everything in you wants to quit but you push forward anyway.

Suffering also deepened my empathy. It made me a better leader, a better father, and a better business partner because I understand what it feels like to carry weight no one else can see. It taught me to value people, relationships, and integrity far above titles or wins.

Success can show you what’s possible.
Suffering shows you what you’re made of.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. How do you differentiate between fads and real foundational shifts?
For me, the distinction starts with one question:
Does this trend solve a real problem, or does it simply capture attention?

Fads rely on novelty. They spike, they fade, and they rarely reshape an industry. Foundational shifts, on the other hand, are driven by deeper forces; consumer psychology, technology, economics, and cultural movement. They create new expectations, new habits, and new business opportunities that persist even when the hype dies down.

I look for three things:

1) Sustained adoption, not temporary curiosity.

2) Infrastructure forming around the idea.

3) Alignment with long-term human behavior, not momentary fascination.

My background in consulting across multiple industries, from consumer products to EVs, lithium technology, marketing, and brand development, has given me a front-row seat to both fads and true paradigm changes. The great companies aren’t the ones who chase noise. They’re the ones who recognize early when the ground is actually moving beneath them.

By focusing on fundamentals instead of flash, you stay ahead of the market, not just in the moment, but in the decade that follows.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
One hundred percent… I’m doing what I was born to do.

I’ve never been wired to fit into a predetermined path or follow someone else’s script. From a young age, I felt drawn to build, to create, to solve problems, and to bring ideas to life. Entrepreneurship wasn’t presented to me as an option, it was something inside me that refused to be ignored.

Every business I’ve launched, every brand I’ve scaled, every partnership I’ve built around the world has reinforced the same truth: I operate at my highest level when I’m helping others realize their potential and turning vision into reality. That’s not something you’re told to do, it’s something you are.

And while my father’s influence gave me incredible direction, the fire to innovate, to take risks, and to lead with purpose has always been internally driven. I wake up every day knowing I’m aligned with exactly who I was created to be.

I don’t just run companies… I live out a calling.

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