To support himself while honing his skills as a comedian, Hines began working as a correctional officer at Chicago's Cook County Jail in 1994, at the age of 24.

He quit the job in 2003 when he was cast to star in the independent comedy movie, Chasing Robert, which featured performances by Andy Dick, Larry Miller, Paul Provenza, Rick Overton and Dan Castellaneta.

His first performance was in June 1991 at the Funny Firm, a Chicago comedy club owned by Len Austrevitch, who would later cast Hines in his first film roles.

The group, members of BDEC, had spotted Hines during a stand-up comedy performance and thought he would valuably add to their creative process with the commercial.

[5] Recognition for the videos (often in competition with real commercials) has often been as wacky as the spots themselves: During the NBA Playoffs in 2016, Stephen Curry, the all-star guard for the Golden State Warriors, stayed loose before games by dancing and singing with arena employees to the Jones' Barbecue and Foot Massage jingle.

[12] During a segment that year on ABC's Good Morning America, Hines was asked what he thought of all the media attention he was getting from Curry's pre-game routine, to which he replied, "You're welcome Steph!"