Catching up with Jimmy Wales

Jimmy Wales, one of Huntsville's most notable exports, spoke with Axios last week about his hometown.

Why it matters: Huntsville not only helped set him up for a trailblazing career in tech, it also shaped his views on trust that spurred his book.

Zoom in: "I was born and raised in Huntsville, Alabama, in a time and place where friendliness was expected and potluck dinners at church ... were as much a part of daily life as football," he writes in "The Seven Rules of Trust."

Catch up quick: Now living in London with his family, Wales was born in Huntsville in 1966.

• He grew up just off the corner of Jordan Lane and Holmes Ave in a house that's currently on the market, as his parents look to sell after moving to Seattle to be closer to his sister.

What they're saying: "I was a paper boy in Huntsville for the Huntsville Times," he said. "I would go seven days a week throwing the papers on my bicycle."

• Graduating Randolph at 16, per his Wikipedia page, Wales got his bachelor's from Auburn and his master's from Alabama, quipping that "maybe that's how I started to think about toleration."

Driving the news: "I think there is a Southern friendliness and politeness that is ingrained in me," he said, when asked about Huntsville's influence on his ideas around trust.

• The Rocket City's legacy of space exploration and science, which Wales said he always joked was like Huntsville's sports team, had an impact too.
• "I think that that spirit is part of what got me into technology," he told Axios. That, and his uncle Don Dudley's computer store in town — Huntsville's first.

Yes, but: Unfortunately, he reports there's no good barbecue in London, but fortunately, Huntsville's getting more and more options for the next time he's in town.