Homebuyers have spoken: A sleepy Midwest town with affordable home prices and big-city amenities has grabbed the top spot as America’s hottest ZIP code in the Realtor.com® annual ranking.
Behold Gahanna, OH, a quaint suburb of Columbus.
Despite being hailed as the hottest area in the U.S. for the second year running, there has been little to put Gahanna on the map when it comes to pop culture. Until now.
Realtor.com has learned that the town was home to one very significant celebrity: “Challengers” star Mike Faist.
Much like his hometown, Faist’s popularity has soared in recent years, not least because of his sizzling on-screen turn in the tennis-themed movie, which also starred Zendaya and Josh O’Connor.
(Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)
(Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
Growing up Faist
The actor, who got his start on Broadway, was born in Gahanna in January 1992 and spent much of his childhood in the town—where his family owns a veritable real estate empire.
Faist’s parents, Julia and Kurt Faist (who died in 2023), adopted him as a baby and eagerly supported his dream of pursuing an acting career, a goal that he first voiced as a young child.
The Faist family has deep roots in the area, thanks to their real estate business. Records show that they own at least 15 properties in the Columbus metro area.
The family also owns seven properties in Sarasota, FL.
Because the Faist family owns so many homes, it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly which one the young actor grew up in. But we believe it’s a three-bedroom home in Gahanna that the family purchased for $100,000 in 1994.
Set on a corner lot and boasting plenty of curb appeal, the tidy residence is estimated to be worth around $500,000 these days.
Childhood dreams
Growing up, Mike Faist fell in love with theater after watching classic movies starring Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire, which inspired him to beg his parents to let him take dance lessons.
“Gene Kelly was definitely the guy, I think, that I wanted to emulate when I was a kid,” he told Interview magazine. “I forced my parents to get me into dance class; I started auditioning for community theater and children’s theater in Ohio.
“When I was a kid, I really fell in love with the old MGM films,” he continued. “My parents just happened to have a bunch of VHS tapes lying around. We had ‘Singin’ in the Rain,’ we had ‘An American in Paris,’ we had Fred Astaire movies.”
For the aspiring actor, the allure of Hollywood was apparent from an early age.
“Movies were a huge influence as far as my imagination,” Faist said. “I was a huge ‘Indiana Jones’ fan and ‘Star Wars.’ Movies in general were a huge part of my upbringing.”
(Google Maps)
Construction work
The “West Side Story” star, when not catching his favorite flicks or partaking in local theater productions, spent his summers doing construction work to help his parents with their real estate business, according to Interview.
Manhattan move
In 2009, at the age of 17, Faist made the leap from the small-town life to try his luck in New York City. His dad drove him there and dropped him at a dorm-style house in Midtown.
“I was terrified,” he recalled in an interview with AnOther magazine. “So was my dad. But I knew I wanted to do this more than anything in the world.”
After working a variety of odd jobs while attending the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, Faist landed a part in the off-Broadway production of “Newsies” in 2012. Eventually, he was cast in “Dear Evan Hansen,” in which he originated the role of Connor in 2016 and for which he was nominated for a Tony.
That star turn led to director Steven Spielberg casting him in the movie “West Side Story.” He’s since starred in “The Bikeriders” and “Challengers.”
Move back to the Midwest
In 2021, Faist returned to Gahanna to help care for his father when he became sick.
His father died from a blood clot in 2023, following a three-year battle with pulmonary fibrosis, according to People magazine.
Go, Ohio
Faist is a Buckeye State booster.
“When I was growing up in Columbus, you didn’t go downtown. It was just not a safe place to go,” he told Interview magazine. “Now I go back and it’s like the new Brooklyn, almost. Very hipster. There’s a lot of trendy places; there’s a lot of art community interest. So it wasn’t such a huge reach.
“People think Ohio, and they think nothing but cornfields, but not quite. It wasn’t so bad,” he said
And Faist isn’t wrong.
Ohio, and more specifically his hometown of Gahanna, looks set for a major brand boost in the coming years, with both Intel and Google unveiling plans to expand into the area.
