We were lucky to catch up with Todd Goodman recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Todd with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
My work ethic comes from two sources: my father, and attention deficit disorder (ADD).
My father was a bit of a workaholic when I was growing up. As a new father myself, I have an even greater appreciation for his dedication to his work and business, but also his family. Not only was he a doctor, who had a side gig working in sports medicine as a ring doctor for professional and amateur boxing and wrestling, but also a successful entrepreneur and real estate developer. Yet, he almost never missed any of my soccer or lacrosse games, or an opportunity to take me out to play a round of golf, his life’s great passion.
I wouldn’t say that I have full blown A.D.D., and I’ve never taken medication for it, I’ve had a lifelong inability to sit still and do nothing. The idea of sitting still and doing nothing is actually tortuous for me. In fact, I can trace my artistic beginnings to being sent to my bedroom as punishment for whatever trouble I got into as a child. My mom would send me to my room for something like teasing my sister or saying no to her request that I take out the trash. For some kids, going to their room was a pleasure, while all I wanted to do was be outside playing soccer, riding bikes, skateboarding, or playing capture the flag in the woods with all my friends. What was I gonna do in my room, sit still and read a book? I didn’t have a TV or video games, no stereo to listen to music. I found that I could kill time and keep my mind occupied by drawing and doodling. Eventually, after a big blow out with my mom, my doodles migrated from scratch paper to my bedroom walls. By the end of high school, I not only covered my walls with drawings, I had even covered the walls of my friend’s basement.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
For the last 3 years, I’ve been focused on growing my street art presence in Los Angeles. I created my street art moniker, 1GoodHombre, as a play on my last name (half English, half Spanish) but it also alludes to the terribly racist statement made by candidate Donald Trump in 2015 when he referred to Hispanic immigrants as “bad hombres.” Taking the name a step further, and countering Trump’s bigotry, the broader message of this name and the work I create under it, is to promote the idea that it takes only one person, you, to wake up every day and make the conscious decision to try to be a good person, a better person. One good person, one good hombre, is all it takes to change the world.
With 1GoodHombre, I’ve been focused on creating social/political messaging, for my own personal empowerment, as well as to provoke conversations about important national interests. I started painting the streets in 2020 during the Covid shutdowns and following the BLM uprisings across the country. As LA got boarded up, and political tensions peaking before the 2020 election, I saw that as the perfect moment to use my art to speak truth to power and promote the values I cherish about America, like equality, justice, democracy, freedom of speech, anti-corruption, and voting. But that summer, my message was absolutely clear, Donald Trump and his criminal gang of enablers needed to be defeated at the polls, followed by accountability and justice for their innumerable crimes.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Qualities: 1. Honesty 2. Confidence 3. Sense of humor.
Skills: 1. Practice 2. Practice 3. Practice
Knowledge: 1. History 2. Know thy self 3. Technology
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
My first art was music. As a drummer/musician, I have no choice other than to collaborate. Music never works without it. So, I’ve had a lifetime of participating in collaborative arts. I love to work with other artists, it’s the best way for me to learn and grow as an artist, and I also love sharing any and all knowledge that I have to help others on their journey. Even though I’ve been burned before collaborating, I’ve had way more positive experiences than negative ones. My favorite collaboration was creating a Ukraine mural (Will Smith Slapping Putin, which was published by major papers around the world.) at the legendary Fameyard on Melrose Ave shortly after the Russian invasion. I put out a call for local Ukranian artists and collaborators on Instagram, and ended up working with 4 absolutely beautiful humans who became good friends. Another favorite collaboration was working with the iconic celebrity photographer Sunny Bak, to create a tribute painting of NYC and the Beastie Boys with one of her iconic Beastie Boy photos from the early 1980’s.
I love working with photographers in particular, but am always up for collaborating with any type of artist, as long as egos are kept in check, the cooperative spirit is forefront and fear of failure is not present, I’ll work with just about anybody.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.tgarts.com and www.1goodhombre.com
- Instagram: @toddgoodmanarts and @1goodhombre
- Twitter: @toddgoodmanarts and @1goodhombre
