User:Abd al-Latif/Todd Church

Todd Church: a Manager and Father All in One

Todd Church is a community celebrity of sorts with his greatest range of recognition and sphere of influence centered around a recognized, yet new on the scene, bike shop in Central Austin. Todd is also a father of two, a husband of one, and he has a facebook page.

Work Life:

Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop is located at 401 Nueces Blvd., Austin, TX, 78701. MJ's, as it is referred to affectionately by some of its more frequent regulars, is known as the bike shop that Lance Armstrong owns. Yes, the seven time Tour de France champion from 1999-2005. Truth be told, Lance is a co-owner of the shop, having partnered up with some others in its ownership. Yet, it still holds that Lance's slice of the pie is indeed the biggest. Thus, our protagonist, is employed by Mr. Armstrong and Mellow Johnny's as the Operations Manager, second in command (in-store) only to Craig Staley, the General Manager. Todd can often be found at Mellow Johnny's on a regular business day going about things as normal. Folding shirts, helping customers, and shooting the breeze are some of his areas of expertise. He also has a large collection of Nike running shoes which it appears he rotates through on a regular basis.

Other aspects of his work life:

Todd is learning how to pull espresso shots at the Juan Pelota Cafe located conveniently inside the Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop. Nearly all shop employees, customers, and bike riders - both commuters and group riders - enjoy daily the clever idea formed of placing this cafe inside the bike shop as a way to provide tasty, nutrition packed, and delicious breakfasts and lunches, as well as an extraordinary espresso bar featuring a La Marzocco ... Mr. Church though has not quite figured out the science of correct espresso shot pulling yet - he still makes a better manager than barista. Confusing him seems to be the minute changes associated with adjustments in grind coarseness and/or fineness of the espresso beans, how this relates to the amount of espresso grinds to be tamped in the portafilter, and the amount of pressure used when tamping. Unfortunately, this reality has confronted Todd in a rather upfront manner: his espresso might not start pouring until 9 or 10 seconds into the pull, if at all, and occasionally the pressure is too great between the portafilter and the group-head which results in spuing hot water and coffee bits. No one has been hurt to date from such occurrences. Luckily, Todd does not steam milk with his espresso - the potential effects and consequences of this, based on our previous observations, if at all similar in nature to his espresso pulling, could be disastrous.

Todd has also proved himself to be a respected life coach. At least one employee, Brenna Byerlotzer, has benefited on many fronts from Todd's words of wisdom. She recommended Mr. Church on separate occasions to others as a source of clarification and help with life's problems.

Todd is also seen exercising often. He often bikes into work, or more recently, he has been leaving from the shop for a morning run before the work day starts. He has many fancy polypropylene fitness garments which assist him in his regimen and usually match whatever pair of Nike running shoes he might be wearing that day. His runs last about 40-45 minutes, ending at the same place from where he started. Also, the managers often have "work-related-meetings" under the guise of a bike ride. Managers and owners, riding, discussing life and their work issues. As in-plausible as it may seem, let us maintain that it is the truth. The next question that immediately comes to mind, both worthy of reflection and answering, is, "have you, or any you ever knew, tried to talk business with Lance Armstrong while doing what he does best: riding a bike for long distances at high wattage?" How many managers do you know able to complete that mighty feat?

However there is a suspicion that Todd's workout habits are not completely congruent with his laid-back character. It has been suggested that, were his superior other than Mr. Armstrong, Mr. Church might slump into other less physically beneficial routines turning instead to more frequent espresso tastings (perhaps un-accompanied without the necessary amount of water to maintain proper body chemistry), poking fun at other employees with Mider Man, and combing his awesome hair.

Todd apparently plays basketball. His height would probably allow him to play center on any given pickup game, but his slender build might provide him better with a position as a power forward with an easy ability to shoot mid-range jumpers over his opponent and driving to the rim when the opportunity arises. However, all this is just conjecture. His basketball skills have yet to be showcased, at large, to this small community of his. Hopefully though what he brings to the court will soon be seen.

Todd's Legacy:

Yet still is Todd fairly young. Being only around 40 years old, there is hopefully much more life for Todd to come. How shall he be remembered when only his memory remains? Perhaps only time will tell, but from the influences he exerts on the lives of those around him, perhaps numerous positive things will be said of him: That he was a wonderful neighbor, helping to remove flood water during long nights of heavy rain from his neighbors property all the while losing sleep and simultaneously attempting not to step on frogs. That he was a great co-worker and boss, looking to the holistic situation and not micro-managing and going above and beyond the call of duty offered his the lessons and benefits of his life experience to those ready to receive it. Or, perhaps, that he was really able to give people good daily pumps...of coffee that is.

Editor's note:

As of to date, there are no pictures of Todd available for this Wikipedia page because, while Mr. Church might have a facebook page, he does not respond to friend requests in a very timely manner thus inhibiting the ability to acquire any electronic pictures of him. Perhaps next year...