A JoeBen Story by Jim Langley

When I was the service manager at The Bicycle Center on Mission Street in Santa Cruz, a precocious, high energy teenager by the name of JoeBen came inone day asking for a job. He was a little too young to hire and I couldn't tell how much he knew about bikes so I said not now, maybe when you get a little older.

Not long after that I was helping a customer on a busy Saturday. I forget exactly what his bike issue was, but I remember it had to do with parts compatibility and I was trying to source the correct part for him. As I fumbled through the enormous parts catalog (remember those?), young JoeBen walked in. He must've overheard some of our conversation because he said, "Jim, the part he needs is #123456." Which turned out to be exactly right.

We didn't waste any time signing him up and I had the great honor of teaching him bicycle mechanics and wheel building. After a while at the shop he noticed I was riding everyday and asked if he could join me. When I told him I ride at 5 in the morning, he didn't even hesitate and said he'd meet me. Which he did for years and he became an accomplished cyclist completing the Davis Double Century (200 miles in a day) multiple times.

After working at the BC, JoeBen went to UC Davis and as an engineering project developed the ingenious Joby Gorillapod tripod, launching his business career.

Fast forward to today and he's heading up Joby Aviation - their current project is creating an air taxi (you can see it on their site). Some very smart engineers and investors believe it could revolutionize transportation.

On Sunday I had a chance to catch up with my friend after all these years, at his 50th birthday bash in Bonny Doon. I had a question to ask him. In the video JoeBen walks right to left through the scene at the end.

What I asked him was, "Does the bicycle mechanics education you got working at The Bicycle Center help you in your work at Joby Aviation?"

It made me so happy to hear him reply that he still uses the things he learned every day and not only that - but that they specifically look for bike mechanic experience when hiring because it's the perfect mindset for the job.

Is that awesome or what?