Jonathan Carlin, 34 / Owner, Super Carlin Brothers, LLC
Jonathan Carlin
Jonathan Carlin, as you might’ve guessed, is the other half of Super Carlin Brothers! In addition to their incredible content creation, the brothers founded their own online coffee company, Carlin Brothers Coffee, in 2018, which has become a formidable brand that sells not only coffee, tea and hot chocolate, but ornate mugs, themed candles, puzzles and more. Their company’s shipping is completely carbon-neutral as of August 2022. They chose to partner CBC with the Feya Foundation, a nonprofit organization that connects people and resources to aid in ending world hunger, and for every order made on their website, Carlin Brothers Coffee donates one meal to individuals in need; with over 20,000 total orders in their history, they have provided as many meals in just four years. Their “Nimbus Bike Blend” coffee was created to increase trail-building efforts in the Roanoke area and further bolster the region’s mountain-biking community; launched August 2022 and has raised over $2,400 to go towards bike trail building here in Roanoke. Combined with other efforts, Super Carlin Brothers, LLC and Carlin Brothers Coffee have raised over $20,000 dollars in 2022 alone. “Even though our audience is massive and spans across the entire globe, it’s always been important to us to give back to our local community,” he says. “Whenever we do any kind of fundraiser we always try to set aside some portion of the proceeds to come back to Roanoke.”
- Launched a pride shirt for Coming Out Day and later re-released it for Pride month; all proceeds were donated to the Trevor Project and the Roanoke Diversity Club and raised over $3,000
- Launched a shirt with the goal of raising money for Feeding Southwest Virginia; raised over $7,500
- Have raised over $100,000 for various charities over the last 10 years, not just here in Roanoke, but around the world including the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the It Gets Better Foundation, Project for Awesome and more
From the Nomination: “Jonathan Carlin is one half of the Super Carlin Brothers … “J” and Ben started Super Carlin Brothers as a daily video blog channel in 2012 before the term content creator had even been coined. … On top of their professional accomplishments, they are also cheerleaders for the Roanoke Valley. Both Ben and J are mountain-bikers, hikers, and outdoors aficionados in their free time. With their massive internet platform, they have helped spread the word of Roanoke’s greatness to a worldwide audience. … J and Ben have been featured in a variety of Roanoke publications and broadcasts including the Roanoke Times and WSLS. They’ve also made the front page of the massive Wizarding World website and been named featured creators for conferences like RTX. … Not only are the Super Carlin Brothers incredibly talented, hard-working and dedicated business owners and philanthropists, but they are also caring and compassionate family men and bosses. … They love the closeness of their family and they love their city. Their emphasis on work-life balance, maintaining family values and strengthening physical and mental health also makes them successful bosses and leaders.”
What do you love about Roanoke?
Carlin: “I’ve lived in the Roanoke area my entire life; I met my wife, Beth, here, I’m raising my family here, and the rest of my family still lives here. I’ve experienced the area at all stages of my life and it’s really helped shape who I am today. Growing up, I loved taking advantage of all the outdoorsy things you can do around here from hiking and biking to camping and fishing. I've done it all. Recently we’ve gotten very into mountain biking and try to get out to Carvins Cove as often as possible. That’s a big part of why we decided to donate all the proceeds of our Carlin Brothers Bike Blend to trail building efforts in the area. Of course, after a ride you can probably find us at one of the local breweries, which is another scene I’ve loved watching explode into existence over the past decade. Professionally, Roanoke has been a great place to be a YouTuber as well, the relatively low cost of living here has allowed us to hire out an entire staff who are amazing and help allow us to work regular hours, and avoid the dreaded burn out so many creators face.”
How does your passion impact our community?
Carlin: “Even though our audience is massive and spans across the entire globe, it’s always been important to us to give back to our local community. Whenever we do any kind of fundraiser we always try to set aside some portion of the proceeds to come back to Roanoke. This has benefited the Roanoke Diversity Club, Feeding America: SW Virginia, Big Brothers Big Sisters or even just building trails. We have also just recently experimented with hosting meet-ups in the area and inviting viewers and listeners to come meet us in Roanoke and experience the City for themselves. During the 2022 GoFest we hosted our first ever Live episode of our podcast Popcorn Culture and drew in a crowd of over 200 guests to the event!”