The Men

How we got here

Man on a Hill exists because a hurricane ruined Bonnaroo.

But let’s set the stage. Riley and Tythill go back to high school, best friends from day one. After graduation Tythill headed to Kennesaw, Riley shipped off with the Navy, and half their hometown boys ended up at Georgia Southern, in the same fraternity as a guy named Mike. And Mike is not a guy who stays a stranger for long. The man has been an entertainer his entire life, on stages, in studios, writing and producing his own music. Ask him about the rap era at your own risk.

Now, pay attention to this part, because one man is quietly behind everything that happens next. A friend of the crew, known here only as Mr. Cinnamon, introduced Mike to Tythill first. Riley was still the missing piece. Then September 2021 rolls around, Bonnaroo gets flooded out by a hurricane, and Riley gets the news while boarding his flight out of Dallas. The smart move was to get off the plane. He stayed on. If the weekend was dead, might as well be there for the funeral. Mr. Cinnamon helped rally the crew and set up camp at the Spirit of the Suwannee down in Florida, and that muddy, lawless, legendary weekend delivered two things: the birth of DJ Mud Dawg, and the first time Riley, Mike, and Tythill were ever in the same place. By the end of it, they were boys. Simple as that.

The podcast came later. Riley had been sitting on the idea for years, name and all. Then one afternoon at a first birthday party, for Mr. Cinnamon’s son no less, he finally said it out loud to Mike and Tythill. The look on Mike’s face answered before anybody spoke. They started recording, and it has been a movie ever since.

So no, this was not an accident. The introduction, the trip, the party where it all got pitched. Same guy every time. Shout out Mr. Cinnamon. He knows who he is. You never will.