Humans of Gravity Archives · Gravity Payments

Alternative Education

Mitch Esplin is still surprised. It’s been five years since he began working at this company, and he still can’t believe it. Talking to him, you get the sense he wakes up each morning feeling a little like Rip Van Winkle. “It’s hard to believe I’m still sitting here today,” he says. “It’s been a … Continued

Fostering Hope

For Tanya Williamson, the decision to become a foster parent was not a choice but a calling. Her passion for helping at-risk youth began back in college when she worked as a volunteer at a summer program for kids about to enter their first year of high school. The drop-out rate for high-school students in … Continued

Music Man

Jared Spears’s interest in music developed largely out of necessity. Growing up in Fallbrook, California, the self-proclaimed “Avocado Capital of the World,” there was very little for a young boy to do except eat guacamole, attend the annual Avocado Festival, and throw avocados at other children. “I had an avocado fight or two when I … Continued

An Open Book with an Open Mind

April Gracz will be the first person to tell you she’s an extrovert. “I can make a new best friend anywhere,” she says. “I’m an open book.” She’ll also be the first person to tell you that these traits have come in handy throughout her career. Before joining the sales department at Gravity six years … Continued

One Night at Studio 54

“We did not walk to the club in our g-strings,” Murray Tanner clarifies. “Once we got to the club, we changed into them back stage.” After donning the silver thongs–and little else–Murray and seven other scantily clad men mounted the motorcycles they’d been loaned for the evening. Murray had ridden a motorcycle once before in … Continued

The Space Beyond Fear

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” – Neale Donald Walsch “I’m not sure what I would say.” That was my response when my history teacher asked me to enter a state-wide essay contest about the Holocaust during my junior year of high school. “I’m not sure I have a place to speak … Continued

Road Warrior

In December 2017, James Kemp’s parents informed him that they were moving to England. The move made sense; that’s where they were from and James himself had been born in Surrey before his family moved to the United States when he was three years old. James would not be returning to the UK with them, … Continued

Code Nerd

Growing up in Santa Cruz, California, Grant MacLeod knew from an early age that he didn’t quite fit in. “I would describe Santa Cruz as a skater or surfer-bum town,” he says. “It’s very relaxed, almost like an upscale hippie town. But I was a fairly straight-laced, gay nerd, so I wasn’t like one of … Continued

Freedom from Work

Modern society delights in hating on Millennials. Although plenty of research has shown that this generation is worse off financially than their parents, despite being more educated and skilled, a stereotype persists that they are lazy, entitled, and expect success to be handed to them with a gold star and a participation trophy. If any … Continued

Silent Superhero

On the first episode of Silent Superheroes, the podcast created and hosted by Gravity’s VP of People Development James Pratt, we hear the story of Amanda, a mother in her forties who has bipolar I disorder. In explaining what it’s like to be bipolar, Amanda describes the time when, in the middle of a manic … Continued

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