Todd was born and grew up in the city of Edmonton. From an early age he learned how to combat both hypothermia and mosquitos - though never at the same time.
Despite growing up landlocked, he captained his swim teams in high school and in university and worked as a lifeguard and swimming instructor. Outgrowing his Speedos led him to sailing which he has enjoyed in the Mediterranean, Pacific Northwest, Alberta, Quebec, California and Hawaii.
After graduating from the University of Alberta he headed east and worked in retail before a few years iin Toronto's finance industry running the Bond Lending desk at Nomura Securities.
Tiring of the east and finance, he ran Carnoustie Golf Course in Port Coquitlam, B.C. for a year before returning to school to study software. That education led to a decade-long career in software design and development for a consulting firm, Sierra Systems.
Forever restless and interested in further developing the right side of his brain, he enrolled in the Graduate Industrial Design program at Art Center College of Design... and hasn't looked back...