Moots Profiles
Slow, steady steps… Ka-Pow! And Sam is in a fine samurai stance at the top of the stairs. Outlined by the doorway, he reminds me of an extra from ‘Harry-Karry’. From karate chop position, he walks through the door and often we find ourselves saying, ‘Good Morning!’ with an overly extended wave that uses the whole arm. Naturally we’ve gone from ancient Asia to synchronized swimming moves without a flinch…
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Every morning I sit at my desk picking at the emails that have sprouted overnight. My desk faces the open door of the sales floor, leading to the stairwell. Reliably, the third person to come upstairs every day is Caleb Franklin, lead finisher turned welder. Caleb is putting away his lunch for the day- which almost always includes cheese and crackers, and he’s followed by his ‘Short Tailed African Cougar Hound’ Luther –my favorite shop dog.
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Dave and I share milk. He typically beats me to work by at least a couple of minutes, and is on his way to the coffee pot with a bag of Big Gear Grind by the time I lug my yawning self up the stairs.
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Profiles
Reliably, the third person to come upstairs every day is Caleb Franklin
More Profiles
Every morning I sit at my desk picking at the emails that have sprouted overnight. My desk faces the open door of the sales floor, leading to the stairwell. Reliably, the third person to come upstairs every day is Caleb Franklin, lead finisher turned welder. Caleb is putting away his lunch for the day- which almost always includes cheese and crackers, and he’s followed by his ‘Short Tailed African Cougar Hound’ Luther –my favorite shop dog. As Caleb comes up the stairs, he turns my way with a serious face that I’ve learned is a mask (and not a very good one), before busting into a huge grin. Luther wiggles over to my desk and Caleb stops to say good morning. He’s always friendly, always sincere and always smiling.
Caleb and his wife Julie just had their first baby five months ago. Julie is one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen, with the same levels of sincerity and work ethic as Caleb, they met through mutual cycling friends. On Fridays Caleb watches Finn, their new baby boy while Julie works, and sometimes in the midst of running errands, they stop by Moots for a too-quick visit. When asked what the perfect day would consist of, Caleb’s answer was 16 inches of powder overnight coming into a bluebird day of which he’d spend snowboarding with Finn and Julie –of course, Finn would have to be a few years older.
The Franklins live in Oak Creek, a little community nestled about twenty minutes outside of Steamboat. Caleb based his decision to move here eleven years ago on a visit he made during his scholarly years at Colorado College in Colorado Springs. While in school he majored in Fine Arts with an emphasis in studio, while would account for all the awesome music he brings to the factory. Before working for Moots he managed a snowboard shop called BC Surf and Sport which has since been replaced by Powder Pursuits.
He’s been working for Moots the past six and a half years, and as mentioned before, had been our lead finisher until recently becoming a welder. New welders go through about eighteen months of training before they become a finishing welder. Caleb has just started welding cable hangers and bottle bosses and will soon graduate to finish-welding. He’s put a lot of effort into learning how to be a Moots quality welder, often one of the first to get here in the morning and one of the last to leave, and we’re really proud of him.
Looking back to the past twenty to thirty years, there were future Moots employees spread throughout the country, simultaneously spending childhood pedaling through the neighborhood on some tricked out Huffy or Big Wheel. As a kid, Caleb was no exception, his favorite activity was pulling skids on his blue Sting-ray. Remember those? His parents were both professors, his mom taught English and Psychology and his dad taught German. Occasionally now, he’ll shout out a random ‘Nine!’ which doesn’t seem so random given this information. Puss, a Siamese cat was his first pet, and to clarify, it was just one cat with four legs. Though his parents were originally from Cleveland, they moved throughout different university communities while Caleb was growing up including South Carolina and Indiana. I’m sure that with Caleb’s sociable nature he had no problem making friends.
A few more fun little tidbits about Caleb:
Currently Mr. Franklin’s goals include making perfect welds (no kidding, he really said that, somebody give this guy a raise) and being a great dad to Finn. His favorite food is guacamole (hopefully applied to some sort of bread product). This Friday he embarks on one of his favorite activities, a trip to the Gunnison River with salesman Dave D to go fly-fishing, tie flies and hopefully catch some trout. –Explaining the first of three of his favorite books: ‘The River Why’, ‘Watership Down’ and ‘East of Eden’. Top three movies: ‘Excalibur’, ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’ and ‘Old School’.
Caleb and his wife Julie just had their first baby five months ago. Julie is one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen, with the same levels of sincerity and work ethic as Caleb, they met through mutual cycling friends. On Fridays Caleb watches Finn, their new baby boy while Julie works, and sometimes in the midst of running errands, they stop by Moots for a too-quick visit. When asked what the perfect day would consist of, Caleb’s answer was 16 inches of powder overnight coming into a bluebird day of which he’d spend snowboarding with Finn and Julie –of course, Finn would have to be a few years older.
The Franklins live in Oak Creek, a little community nestled about twenty minutes outside of Steamboat. Caleb based his decision to move here eleven years ago on a visit he made during his scholarly years at Colorado College in Colorado Springs. While in school he majored in Fine Arts with an emphasis in studio, while would account for all the awesome music he brings to the factory. Before working for Moots he managed a snowboard shop called BC Surf and Sport which has since been replaced by Powder Pursuits.
He’s been working for Moots the past six and a half years, and as mentioned before, had been our lead finisher until recently becoming a welder. New welders go through about eighteen months of training before they become a finishing welder. Caleb has just started welding cable hangers and bottle bosses and will soon graduate to finish-welding. He’s put a lot of effort into learning how to be a Moots quality welder, often one of the first to get here in the morning and one of the last to leave, and we’re really proud of him.
Looking back to the past twenty to thirty years, there were future Moots employees spread throughout the country, simultaneously spending childhood pedaling through the neighborhood on some tricked out Huffy or Big Wheel. As a kid, Caleb was no exception, his favorite activity was pulling skids on his blue Sting-ray. Remember those? His parents were both professors, his mom taught English and Psychology and his dad taught German. Occasionally now, he’ll shout out a random ‘Nine!’ which doesn’t seem so random given this information. Puss, a Siamese cat was his first pet, and to clarify, it was just one cat with four legs. Though his parents were originally from Cleveland, they moved throughout different university communities while Caleb was growing up including South Carolina and Indiana. I’m sure that with Caleb’s sociable nature he had no problem making friends.
A few more fun little tidbits about Caleb:
Currently Mr. Franklin’s goals include making perfect welds (no kidding, he really said that, somebody give this guy a raise) and being a great dad to Finn. His favorite food is guacamole (hopefully applied to some sort of bread product). This Friday he embarks on one of his favorite activities, a trip to the Gunnison River with salesman Dave D to go fly-fishing, tie flies and hopefully catch some trout. –Explaining the first of three of his favorite books: ‘The River Why’, ‘Watership Down’ and ‘East of Eden’. Top three movies: ‘Excalibur’, ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’ and ‘Old School’.