Before Art Flores became the leader of College HUNKS, he worked for Walmart and Amazon for nearly 30 years. Photos contributed/illustration by Cecilia Lopez

After spending nearly 30 years in corporate positions with two of the country’s biggest brands — Amazon and Walmart — Fresno native Art Flores has fulfilled a lifelong dream of becoming a business owner, taking over College HUNKS Hauling Junk and Moving.

“I’ve always wanted to be a business owner,” Flores said. “I’ve been looking for a business for quite some time, probably two years now. I finally took the leap and said, ‘I’m going to do it this year.’”

College HUNKS Hauling Junk and Moving, which is based in Florida, was founded 20 years ago by two college students who believed that moving and junk removal services could be a successful professional brand.

Fast forward two decades, and the company now has over 200 locally owned franchises nationwide.

The “HUNKS” stands for honest, uniformed, nice, knowledgeable and service, and the company promotes itself as a values-driven organization focused on company culture and service. Also, it positions its franchise model as an opportunity for professional and personal growth.

Flores recently bought the Fresno franchise from longtime owner Rick Gragnani.

Flores, who moved to the Central Valley from East Los Angeles at age 12, said his decision to build a business here was personal. Over the years, he said he turned down multiple corporate relocation opportunities because he didn’t want to leave the region.

Since taking over in early April, Flores has expanded the team from 19 employees, known within the company as “hunks,” to 26.

They recently moved to a larger facility near Shields and Clovis avenues in the Clovis-Fresno industrial area. Flores said the new site is four to five times larger than the previous north Fresno location near Lowe’s and Sam’s Club.

Adding more employees and increasing the size of the facility were both goals of Flores when he took over.

Another major factor was to better serve military families, particularly those connected to Naval Air Station Lemoore.

“There is a huge backlog of families that are needing to move, whether it’s to the Central Valley or out of the Central Valley,” he said.

Military moves require specific logistics and holding space, which Flores said were limited at the former site. The new facility can allow them to serve as many as 10 families at once, he added, though the logistics are still being worked out.

He described it as “a good partnership… there’s a constant demand for that work.”

He added that the demand for work will likely lead to increased hiring. Although they have already added seven employees since Flores became the owner, they still haven’t reached his goal of adding 20 new employees.

So far, hiring has been conducted through online platforms like Indeed and Monster. Flores said he’s interested in hiring locally and values candidates with military backgrounds.

Community involvement is also important to Flores. He’s in the early stages of finding local charitable opportunities and hopes to reconnect with nonprofit contacts he built over his years in corporate leadership.

One potential initiative involves donating used moving blankets and other items to the Fresno Humane Society. After noticing a social media post requesting items like blankets and towels for shelter animals, Flores said his team began setting aside worn but usable moving blankets.

With just over a month as owner under his belt, Flores is very excited to accomplish his dream of owning a business in Fresno.

“I always said I’m not moving from the Central Valley because I really do love it,” he said. “I’ve done my fair share in the corporate world here. But now it’s time for me to contribute as a small business owner.”