Meet Todd Mullins | Owner / Top Dog

We had the good fortune of connecting with Todd Mullins and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Todd, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
When my grandfather passed away, and all his remaining possession were divided up among my family, a box of old road maps that he had collected from trips they had taken by car since the 1940’s were delivered to me. As a kid, we took road trips with my grandparents. WIth my career background in sales and product development in the gift industry, I had long thought about how these maps could inspire me to create products. It was on a 5 state college bound road trip with my daughter when the ideas started.

We took maps some of the old road maps, in part as tribute, and in part because I wanted her to have an understanding of land we were covering, that she would not be able to fully appreciate on the small screen on her iphone. So off we went with grandpa’s old maps. There was a generational connection of spiritual order, like we were traveling these same roads than Grandpa Dean had made decades before.

Blending the inspiration from my grandad’s old road maps and the cherished memory of adventures on the road transcending the generations, I decided on a “wearable tribute” in the form of vintage state license plates on modern trucker style, and cotton twills style hats. I created the “Old Road Brand” based on the inspiration from those who came before us, our inspired heritage descends directly from generations of self-reliant artisans who’ve “shown us the ropes” by example.

What should our readers know about your business?
I view my career as a continual work in progress. Of course it didn’t start out that way. The tables turned in my late 40’s when the job I had was no longer necessary. With the knowledge and experience in sales and product development, I decided the best course would be to consult on different projects that provided a variety of experiences and opportunity. Ironically though, it would be the COVID outbreak that ended up creating the “gift of time” and space for me to dedicate to bringing Old Road Brand to market. This also allowed me to focus on develop new products, creative marketing and branding.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If it’s summertime… a definite destination would be to catch a baseball game at Coors Field, and also visit any number of local taprooms like Falling Rock or Denver Beer Company in the LoDo area.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Old Road Brand was inspired in part by my grandpa’s collection of old road maps. My grandpa Dean Mullins was a cowboy, a silversmith, a polo player, an artist & craftsman. In my youth, we took road trips around the western US with my grandparents. It was on a college bound roadtrip with my daughter that the idea for Old Road Brand took shape. We gathered up all the old maps for the states through which we would travel. At first it was in tribute, but the reality was that we would connect the generations by traveling the same roads (and using the same maps) once traveled by those who came before us. This is the inspiration for Old Road Brand.

Website: oldroadbrand.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oldroadbrand/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddmullinssfbay/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/oldroadbrand

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oldroadbrand/