Joshua Akil Howard, known by many as jhintro, is a multidisciplinary creative, devoted community organizer, loving husband, man of faith, and entrepreneur, who believes every story starts with a seed—and that the richest harvests come when art, faith, and community share the same ground.
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A Plainfield, NJ native, his first seed was planted at Cook Elementary, where an insightful teacher taught him to write what he feels. He later watered that spark with spoken-word poetry at Rowan University, where he learned to frame feeling in both stanza and storyboard. Poetry slams with the campus collective Lyrical Alliance sharpened his craft, which eventually led to speaking opportunities in New Jersey classrooms and community hubs, helping the youth refine their voices and discover the liberty found in expression.

In 2015 his storytelling spilled onto larger threads when he began designing streetwear under the fringe brand Hivemind. The spirit of community that inspired those items sprouted into Good Soil™—a streetwear brand celebrating its five year anniversary in June 2025, built on the conviction that strong roots are what help communities flourish. The streetwear efforts are the battery behind the Good Soil Collective, a community initiative based in Plainfield, NJ whose programming ranges from community conversations, open mics, suburban hikes, mental health poetry showcases, theology dialogues, and environmental advocacy. Each gathering they curate is an invitation to cultivate the core pillars of community, culture, faith, health, and environment.
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The ability to steward vision translated naturally to life behind the lens as well. He has produced and directed video efforts for entities as large as New York Fashion Week, to independent music artists seeking to elevate their visuals, for over fifteen years. This logistical rigor also extended to his community efforts with orgs like Link NJ, where his tenure as Membership Chair helped expand one of the state’s largest networks of young Black professionals at the time.

The City of Plainfield recently honored him as The Pioneer for Innovative Leadership for his work with Plainfield Community Television where, as Video Production Manager, he brings his national experience to local storytelling and production logistics. This recognized a through-line that stitches exceptional initiative, masterful management, creative innovation, and local organizing into one assertion: creativity is only complete when it has an impact. Whether directing a live stream, curating an open mic, or leading a volunteer effort, he keeps returning to the same foundations. Lay the soil, plant the seeds, tend them well, and give the future an opportunity to bloom.