While a 9th-grade student at The American School in England (TASIS), Hinman was introduced to The New York Times crossword puzzle and became immediately interested.

[3] After graduating from TASIS The American School in England in 2002, Hinman returned to the United States to attend Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) where he earned a bachelor's degree in Information Technology in 2006 and joined the Phi Mu Delta fraternity.

[4] After graduating, he accepted a job in Chicago, Illinois as a bond trader at Darwin Capital Trading through a connection from the producer of the film Wordplay.

Hinman, along with fellow puzzlemaker Jeremy Horwitz, received national attention when they fulfilled a wish of San Francisco Giants pitcher Brian Wilson by including his name in a puzzle for the Times.

[6] In 2017, Hinman appeared in the FOX game show Superhuman and competed in a race against time to complete five-word puzzles.