The start of LubbuL

When the platform LubbuL began, I had no plan to share my own story. But hearing the stories of others revealed something deeper, showing me who they are, why they do what they do, and the beauty found in simple conversations.

I knew the introduction to LubbuL needed to come through that same process. Thank you to Noah Lawrence who helped bring my own story to the surface, along with Marie Horton and my wife, Lacy Cooper, for helping shape this beginning. And to my daughter, Avie Lee Cooper, whose simple words revealed the meaning of LubbuL: God Loves Us.

In the stillness of the morning, before voices, worries, or obligations appeared, God began to unfold something new in the life of Robert Cooper: a calling he did not expect..

LubbuL emerged from a deeper, more personal question. After years of employment and then ownership of a collision repair business, Robert stepped back from the pressures and metrics that once defined him. What came next surprised him. A longing not to build something bigger, but to understand who he had become.

"At the core, who am I?" he asked. The answer was not crafted by efforts or personality tests. It came quietly, shaped by Scripture, stillness, time, and only by God's grace.

"I'm a child of God," he said. "It is that simple."

But that simplicity did not arrive overnight. It was forged in pressure. The weight of expectations, legacy, bills, and personal achievement. It was refined by letting go. Letting go of control, pride, and the need to prove something. And it was restored by a deeper truth: identity does not come from what we build, but from the One who builds us.

From that foundation, LubbuL took root.

It started with walks through downtown Columbus, many conversations with small business owners, and a posture of listening. What Robert found was not just need. It was depth. People carried stories they had never been asked to share, and something shifted in him as he heard them.

From those conversations, something new began to take shape. A platform rooted in reflection. Built not to advertise, but to awaken.

"There is a lot to learn from experiences, from people," he said. "One is a textbook answer, but hearing it from someone day to day, that is something special."

LubbuL is named with intention. It is a palindrome, a mirror, a symbol of reflection and symmetry.

And its first expression, LubbuL LocaL, began right here in Columbus. A town Robert once viewed through the lens of limitation, but now chooses to see as possibility.

"I decided I am going to be here. I want to contribute," he said. "This city shaped me, and I want to shape something good in return."

Each story shared through LubbuL becomes a portrait, drawn to illuminate a person and tell their story. It is about presence and connection. As Robert describes it:

"You have to know your identity before you start."

That identity runs deep. LubbuL exists to reflect the God given worth of every person it encounters. It does not aim to elevate a brand. It aims to elevate belonging. From barbershops to boutiques, cafes to creative studios, the project serves as a mirror. Helping people see not only who they are, but who they were made to be.

Robert sees his role as a steward. While he has learned new tools such as design platforms, AI, writing, and interviewing, he is more focused on creating a platform and space for others to use their gifts.

"This is building me more than I am building it," he said. "I am just holding the door open."

Even the platform's growth is shaped by that approach. Future concepts such as LubbuL Creative and LubbuL Hub are part of the long term vision, yet they remain grounded in the stories that started it all. For Robert, LubbuL does not exist to scale quickly or compete. It exists to walk with purpose. Step by step. Person by person.

His greatest priority remains God first, so he can love his family well.

"If I go out into the world to share good, but do not care for Lacy and Avie first," he said, "I have missed it."

That balance between ambition and intimacy shapes LubbuL's distinct voice. Every interview, every reflection, every testimony is treated with care. And each one, in its own way, holds up a mirror not only to the subject, but to the community they are part of.

Success, to Robert, is not measured in numbers. It is measured in how Christ's love is shared through everyday stories.

"If it ends," he said, "let it be like a candle that burned and gave light."

LubbuL continues forward. Guided by the next step of obedience. The next conversation. The next chance to listen. The next chance to love.

Because in the end, LubbuL was never just a business. Its a reflection of identity.