This is an odd tale of friendship, business, and the City of Detroit. The friendship comes from Brian “primesuspect” Ambrozy and Lincoln Russell, two guys who met on a little old website called Icrontic around 2002. The business comes from the convoluted tale of how they both ended up owning Icrontic together; a process which involved Lincoln giving up his ambitions to become a history teacher in Pennsylvania and moving to Michigan. Somewhere along the way, he also learned PHP and became a web developer, even as Brian was learning how to become an online community manager.

Detroit has always been at the periphery of everything they did together. They lived together in the suburbs, introduced their friends to the wonders of the city, and went to all kinds of events there. Brian spent most of his adult working life in the city (even owned a business there for years), and fell in love with it. Lincoln, being an import, discovered that the further away he drove from the city of Detroit, the “angrier people got“. He pined for the community feel of his own Pennsylvania hometown.

All paths kept leading them both to Detroit, especially since they both began to feel the momentum and heartbeat of the new entrepreneurial spirit that was revitalizing the city from the inside out.

So they started the process of finding a home and moving to the city. Along the way, they’ve been learning and experiencing the ups and downs of what it takes for people to start a new life in Detroit.

One thing that was missing was a place to discuss this process online; that’s why they started this website. It’s a community for people who are interested in moving to the city of Detroit or discussing the process. If you care for the city, want to talk to people who are moving here, or just feel like talking about what’s going on in Detroit, you are cordially invited to join and participate.

The Sullivan Home

In February, Lincoln bought a house in the Woodbridge neighborhood of Detroit. He, his dog Rocky, Brian, Brian’s fiancee Nicole, Brian’s sons Perry and Kyle, and their dog Farnsworth are all moving in to this rambling, gorgeous old home in one of Detroit’s historic neighborhoods. It’s not going to be easy—the house requires significant renovations. However, they’ve got the help of an amazing group of friends from the Icrontic community.

Brian and Lincoln

They’re documenting the process in a renovation log, so if you ever wanted to know what it takes to restore an antique home, that’s a good place to start. You can also stay connected with IntoDetroit on Facebook and Twitter.

Welcome to our community. We hope you enjoy our journey and can’t wait to hear about yours! Introduce yourself on the discussion forums—we love making new friends!