About Go Store It Self Storage

Who We Are

Go Store It Self Storage is a privately held, entrepreneurial self-storage development, acquisition, property, and asset management company based in Charlotte, NC. Since our inception in 2013, our focus has been on investments in major and secondary markets across the United States that offer significant cash flow, revenue growth, and long-term capital appreciation opportunities.

Led by a field of investment professionals with more than 75 years of combined experience and a team of more than 100 employees nationwide, GSI takes exceptional customer service to new heights, introduces unique concepts to the market, and maximizes profitability for investors—all within a fun and inspiring team environment.

Meet Our Team

Ryan Hanks – President/CEO

Mr. Hanks founded Go Store It in 2013 and is responsible for leading Go Store It. Mr. Hanks has more than 19 years of real estate experience acquiring and developing apartment communities and storage facilities and has been involved in more than $5 billion in commercial real estate transactions.

Mr. Hanks started Madison Capital Group, LLC in 2009 with the purpose of creating an opportunistic real estate venture that would seek opportunistic returns in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast region. Prior to that, Mr. Hanks was with Apartment Realty Advisors, the nation’s second-largest apartment brokerage firm specializing in the disposition of multifamily communities on behalf of private and institutional investors. Prior to Joining Apartment Realty Advisors, Mr. Hanks served as Vice President of Development and Acquisitions for a public company that specialized in the ownership, management, and development of multifamily communities across the country, and he was responsible for sourcing investment and development opportunities in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast.

Mr. Hanks is a member of the Charlotte Apartment Association (CAA), Urban Land Institute (ULI), National Multi-Housing Council (NMHC), Self Storage Association (SSA). Mr. Hanks attended Liberty University to study Business Administration.

Josh Fuller – Chief Financial Officer

Josh Fuller is an Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Madison Capital Group and Go Store It where he serves as a member of the Investment Committee and oversees all aspects of our financial management practices including our capital strategy.  He also provides strategy and guidance as it relates to the overall management and direction of the firm.  Josh has over 17 years of experience in real estate capital markets and corporate finance having served as a lead advisor or underwriter on more than $60 billion in capital raising or M&A assignments during his career in investment banking.  Prior to joining the firm in 2022, Josh served as a Managing Director in the Real Estate, Gaming and Lodging Group at Jefferies, where he joined as a founding member of the firm’s real estate investment banking practice in 2010.  Prior to Jefferies, Josh was a Vice President in the Real Estate Investment Banking Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.  Josh has a B.A. in Finance from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio as well as an MBA from the Darden School at the University of Virginia where he graduated with the Faculty Award for Academic Excellence.

Patrick Vanderpool – Chief Operating Officer 

Patrick Vanderpool joined Madison Capital Group as the Chief Operating Officer for Go Store It. Patrick has 20+ years of business experience in the storage industry, franchising and company operations. Before joining Madison Capital, Patrick was with Public Storage for 10 years as a Divisional Vice President, leading a team of over 500 people.  Prior to Public Storage, Patrick was a Director with Dunkin Brands for 10+ years, leading the eastern half of the country. Patrick attended the University of Colorado and Harvard Business School where he studied Business Administration.

Amy M. Youngblood – General Counsel

Amy M. Youngblood is a Licensed Attorney and serves as General Counsel for Go Store It operations. She graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and obtained her Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Texas A & M School of Law. She began her commercial real estate career in Dallas with HFF, L.P., now part of Jones Lang LaSalle, as a CRE Financial Analyst and as the Director of Closing where she was instrumental in negotiating servicing agreements and closing billions in commercial real estate.. After earning her J.D., she practiced with two Dallas law firms in their real estate transaction groups and went on to serve as an in-house attorney for Fossil Watches in their leasing and construction departments. Later practicing as a commercial title attorney for six years.  She joined Go Store It in 2022. Youngblood is currently licensed by the Texas State Bar.

Adam Lentz – West Coast Development Partner

Adam oversees Go Store It’s development activity on the West Coast. Throughout his career, Adam has amassed extensive real estate experience through the acquisition and development of more than 28,000 self-storage units and 5,000 multifamily and for-sale condominium units, with total development costs exceeding $2.25 billion.

Adam most recently served as the Managing Director for Leon Capital, where he led the company’s self-storage platform—consisting of acquisitions, development, construction, financing, and asset management of more than 2.25 million square feet of self-storage properties.

Prior to joining Leon Capital Group, Adam was the Regional Director for Johnson Development Associates, where he founded the West Coast office of Johnson’s national self-storage development platform.

Adam earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics from UCLA.

Ben Walden – East Coast Development Partner

Ben oversees Go Store It’s development activities on the East Coast. Ben has been active in real estate development throughout his career and has gained extensive experience in all facets of the development process from sourcing deals, underwriting, entitlements, construction, and asset management. Most recently Ben was with Mequity Companies, a self-storage development firm based in Atlanta, GA. With Mequity, Ben led the development team to complete over $200 million in development projects and over 1 million square feet of self-storage deliveries in some of the most sought-after metropolitan areas in the US including New York City, Miami, Philadelphia, Boston, Atlanta, among others. Prior to Mequity, Ben was with Edward Andrews Homes, one of the leading private residential developers in the Atlanta MSA. Ben graduated from the University of Alabama with a Bachelor’s degree in Finance with a concentration in Real Estate.

Lorraine C. Aiken – Director of Marketing

Lorraine C. Aiken serves as the Director of Marketing for Go Store It. Aiken graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications – Mass Media. Her career began in sports publishing and sales before taking on the role as an Account Executive with Global Team Blue on the Tier II Ford Motor Company account. In 2016, she joined the Maxwell Group and Senior Living Communities as their Social Media Coordinator before being promoted to the Director of Social Media where she oversaw the company’s social media, branding, digital presence, and public relations. Aiken joined Go Store It in September 2022. 

Evan Stephens – Director

Evan serves as the head of Asset Management for Go Store It. Evan helps analyze acquisitions, developments, and expansion opportunities. Evan previously worked with Jefferies Investment Banking in the Real Estate, Gaming, and Lodging group where he assisted in the evaluation and execution of strategic alternatives for public and private real estate companies—including mergers and acquisitions and capital markets issuance.

Up to this point in his career, Evan has worked on more than $2 billion of real estate transactions, including more than $1 billion in the storage sector. Evan graduated from Wake Forest University with an M.S. in Accountancy and a B.S. in Finance.

Jeff White – Managing Director of Acquisitions

Jeff is responsible for overseeing and providing strategic direction to the Acquisitions team, assisting with deal sourcing, property valuation, contract negotiations and due diligence.  Jeff brings over 20 years of diverse commercial real estate experience, most recently working for CubeSmart as a Senior Director of Real Estate, where he participated in the acquisition of over 12 million square feet of self-storage space with an acquisition value in excess of $2.8 billion.  Prior to CubeSmart, Jeff was the Director of Acquisitions at GMS Realty LLC in Carlsbad, CA and a Real Estate Analyst at The Rubenstein Company in Philadelphia, PA.  Jeff earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Pennsylvania State University.

Tillman Drew – Investment Associate

Tillman is an Investment Associate for Madison Capital Group and Go Store It and is responsible for acquisitions, developments and conversions. Prior to joining the firm, Tillman was a Senior Financial Consultant with Ernst & Young in the Capital Stress Testing and Quantitative Banking Book practices where he supported global systemically important banks through adaptation and adherence to Dodd-Frank regulations. Since joining Madison Capital Group, Tillman has assisted over $350 million of real estate transactions in the storage sector. 

Tillman obtained a BS in Enterprise Management from the Wake Forest University School of Business. 

Devin Redmond – Investment Associate

Devin is an associate for Madison Capital Group and Go Store It and is responsible for acquisitions, developments and conversions. Devin previously worked at Barings, a global investment management firm, in the High Yield group where he assisted in identifying, underwriting, analyzing, and monitoring high yield corporate bonds and leveraged loans across the Consumer, Healthcare and Industrial industries. Since joining Madison Capital Group, Devin has helped close over $350 million of real estate transactions in the storage sector. 

Devin graduated from the University of North at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Baylor Bearden – Analyst 

Baylor is an analyst for Madison Capital Group and Go Store It primarily focused on asset management and investor relations, while also supporting the acquisitions team. Prior to joining the firm, Baylor worked as an analyst for boutique broker-dealer 30A Capital, LLC. He is experienced in analysis and capital structuring of multifamily, mixed-use, industrial, and self-storage acquisition and development investment opportunities.