La Bella Firma, Round Two. 50 hours on a Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder (330 pics, long)

[gmblack3]

I failed to follow all the drama, but apparently Todd was a scam artist who touched up his photos, didn`t do the work himself, was a shill for a company, and used bots to artificially bump up the view count on his posts to draw more traffic to them/him.



Atleast that`s what I can gather before the threads get toasted; seems to be lots and lots of tasty drama about his whole situation that keeps disappearing

100% hearsay and nobody has showed any proof of this.

[imported_billzabub]

I failed to follow all the drama, but apparently Todd was a scam artist who touched up his photos, didn`t do the work himself, was a shill for a company, and used bots to artificially bump up the view count on his posts to draw more traffic to them/him.

whoa! whoa! whoa!... I know that several of those things may have been inferred to some extent, but it would be very unfair to consider those allegations as truths considering the little that we actually do have confirmed.



...just sayin.

[white gecko]

I failed to follow all the drama, but apparently Todd was a scam artist who touched up his photos, didn`t do the work himself, was a shill for a company, and used bots to artificially bump up the view count on his posts to draw more traffic to them/him.



Atleast that`s what I can gather before the threads get toasted; seems to be lots and lots of tasty drama about his whole situation that keeps disappearing

thats a big statement with nothing backing it. Especially since you admit not following all the info. :hm

[efnfast]

thats a big statement with nothing backing it. Especially since you admit not following all the info. :hm

What do you want me to say. Somebody asked and I answered based on the last thread in the general detailing forum. They`re always deleted, so there`s not much to on :think2



I think the only things that were confirmed was that Dave found out he was shilling for a company and didn`t have it in his sig, plust he botting to artificially raise the viewcount on his posts

[imported_Jakerooni]

Considering Todd is actually in alot of the pics in his C&B`s I highly doubt anyone can prove he "Didn`t" actually do the work himself. I know he adjusted some of the pics via PS according to his own PM to me about the subject. But considering he shoots in RAW format simple adjustments are expeceted to get them into a format to upload. I don`t think he manipulated them to reflect something they were not. As for the rest that`s up to Dave to prove should he feel the need.

[imported_billzabub]

Unless Bella Machina itself is totally fabricated, the pictorials stolen, and Todd has essentially created a fictitious internet persona... then I think it is pretty absurd to question the quality of his work. We`ve seen the caliber of cars that he regularly cares for, the events that they participate in, and the amount of return/referral business that he must ultimately generate to continue the workflow... Obviously, he`s not a hack, and to insuate as much is just... ridiculous.



I`ve never spoken with Todd, have no clue if I would even like the man if we ever met, and can`t speak to any allegations of shilling or other forms of misconduct that have been alluded to in this thread. But, let`s not let this get THAT out of hand guys... the guy is a skilled professional like so many others on this board.

[BigJimZ28]

[imported_weekendwarrior]

I think it`s absurd to think he does not do any of the work. I frequently talk to gmblack3a on the phone...sometimes mutliple times a week. We compare methods and techniques, and give each other pointers (honestly, he helps me much more than I am sure I help him). Well he has worked with Todd on a Ferrari in the past - you guys can dig up the thread here if you want, it was posted. I do not question Bryan`s integrity one bit, and he can vouch for the quality of Todd`s work, because HE HAS SEEN IT IN PERSON.



To address the whole thing of Todd`s photos being way better than the actual cars in person - I just don`t buy the whole thing that he is just an average detailer, and compensates with doctored up photos. Here`s why:



Let`s say an exotic car owner comes here to Autopia, sees Todd`s write ups and photos, and hires him to do his Ferrari/Lambo/or whatever. That car owner is going to have high expectations from what he has seen here. If Todd shows up, does only an average or below average job, somewhere along the line one of those car owners is going to come here and call him out, by stating his work isn`t as good as he portrays. I have never seen that happen here. I work on a few exotics myself, and I can tell you the owners are demanding, and can be vocal if they don`t get what they expect.

[Thomas Dekany]

Not sure who questions his abilities. However using multiple accounts is pretty much a fact.

[white gecko 99]

Not sure who questions his abilities. However using multiple accounts is pretty much a fact.

he was using multiple accounts? to what end?

[Apollo_Auto]

I failed to follow all the drama, but apparently Todd was a scam artist who touched up his photos, didn`t do the work himself, was a shill for a company, and used bots to artificially bump up the view count on his posts to draw more traffic to them/him.



Atleast that`s what I can gather before the threads get toasted; seems to be lots and lots of tasty drama about his whole situation that keeps disappearing

OK, I didn`t want to get involved, but I feel the need to protect Todd. First of all, I`d like to point out that since the TN (Tyler Norwood) scandal (I`ll coin the phrase, "You pulled a TN" ) there`s been a lot of tension in the air and part of it`s been simple bashing and the other part has been people who are genuinely affected by the whole ordeal, ie. me having a similar company name as the guilty party and the other professional detailers who may or may not have to deal with the repercussions/bad rap of this whole ordeal. Nonetheless, it tarnishes our name as professional detailers.



Now it just seems to me that the wolves` blood lust thrives on here with all of the "Todd did this and that". From what I know of this, yes, Todd had multiple accounts and used them to promote himself... AND? Each and every one of us that posts our work on this forum is guilty of the same! The only thing WE didn`t do is figure out a way to make it more interesting and glamorous like Todd did. I`ll tip my hat to him because he`s done a great job at promoting himself and there`s no crime in that. I could share some information with you all about how "the best" became "the best" (and it`s from a VERY reliable source), but I`m not here to spread rumors, so DON`T PM me asking me about it!!!



Now let`s look at the other accusation about Todd "doctoring" his pictures. I`m not an "expert" in Photoshop, but I am very PS savvy. With that said, I`ll tell you all that "doctoring" that kind of picture, meaning to hide scratches, swirls, etc. on a car is NOT an easy task. I may be very good with PS, but even I would have a tough time patching swirls and scratches as this is a very difficult thing to do in PS if you want to make it look "original", as Todd`s pictures do. Not too long ago, Todd posted something about wanting to change his logo. Another member helped him with his logo and he uses it now. So, if Todd was proficient enough with PS to alter his images, WHY would he have someone else make his logo?? No he wouldn`t, just like I would never ask another to make my logo or any other graphics. On another note, you don`t do as many exotics as he has and get away with crappy work...



So with these things said, I urge all that have made false ASSumptions about Todd, to either delete or edit in some way their posts. Why? 1. because Todd has obviously worked very hard to get where he is today. 2. detailing is not his "hobby". 3. he has a family, and his family depends on his production and reputation. 4. you`re jeopardizing a man`s livelihood with your petty gossip. 5. he`s an excellent detailer. 6. all of us here learn from each other and if you haven`t learned anything from Todd, you obviously haven`t been paying attention. I know I`ve picked up a couple of things from him...



- Jesse

[Barry Theal]

i like many have not wanted to get involved with this, but i feel the need! there are way to many detailers that are great! there are way to many that give every effort to go the extra mile. Simply put i`m not here to jump on anyones bandwagon, i can understand what happened happened. after 11 years of detailing on a fulltime basis there is one thing i learned. Its hard f`n work! For me im always trying to out do myself. whether its raising the gloss, getting the shiniest tire. or wetsanding flat well beyond some paint meter qoute! At this point i want to voice my opionion on todd! I once called todd on the phone, out of the blue, i mention. i got his number from his website and called him. i told him who i was, and began to ask him a few ?`s which later turned into about a 45 minute conversation about random detailing stuff! it was like we knew each other. so for any of you who doubt his work! think again. he is a very talented detailer who puts a lot of effort into everything. his right ups are like books, they describe the car the process and so on. how many of you have praised his work yet judge him by heresay? how can this be. is it the cars he does or the work he does that attracts you. if your looking at his thread beacuse he got some pictures of a nice high end car. then your looking for the wrong damn reason. a true detailer will look at those click and brags and look at what once was, and not what is! so todd created nic`s to boost his work! who really cares. ill tell you what, im currently in the process of some marketing, this guy todd has learned to market himself and make his name hype! have you ever seen a professional in any business be loved by everyone! i was once told you have to be hated a little to get somewhere! lets get real how many of you have bought products because someone said. this is the greatest stuff in the world! i have. maybe what im getting at is. who do you truely judge when it comes down to it? yourself or someone else? and is our right to judge? or gods right? anyway im sure todd is reading all this stuff! so good luck to ya!!!!

[imported_rydawg]

Great posts Jesse and Barry!

[PresdntialDtail]

Great posts Jesse and Barry!

+1 Who gives a damn if he created some bots to bump his view count and keep his threads going! I wish I would have thought of it! haha! Sure its against the rules of the forum, but it does not by any means make him any less than a detailer. I met Todd in person a couple weeks ago at Detail Fest and he was a stand-up guy and introduced himself to me like I was somebody! Todd is a very down to earth guy and a genius when it comes to detailing, and apparanetly marketing himself as well! A week ago everyone looked up to this man as the best detailer in the country, and it goes further than that! Now we get a few guys who dont have a clue try to call him out and everyone jumps on the bandwagon, I guess we all know whos here for the right reasons now..

[Preachers Sheets]

There is talk that some of his photos are fixed. Someone that Todd knows says some pics are fixed and some cars don’t look as good as his posts lead you to believe. Now with the bogus thread views, he just sounds fishy, who knows what else he`s up to. I dont really care man, he`s gone.



BradB gets paid by advertisers based on the traffic of this site; not imaginary traffic. That means he uses that cash to eat, pay his mortgage, buy clothes, pay into retirement and supply himself with an income to live. Brad probably doesn’t want some attention whore to ruin his life (suppose a few sponsors just drop Autopia, I’m sure he cant just pick up a few sponsors to replace them ASAP and times are tough, I’m sure his store isn’t selling like it was a few years back).



Todd knew the rules when he signed up and he broke them, Brad doesn’t want to upset any sponsors who pay Brad for traffic only to find out there is a ton less traffic than originally thought. Use your common sense and quit riding Todd’s sack. Todd knew the rules, Todd broke the rules and Todd suffered the consequence. Move on.



If someone was f*cking with your income I’m SURE you wouldn’t be so easy on them and what did Brad do, just let him know he cant post on ONE forum. Give me a break, if you don’t like it you can follow Todd around on all of the other boards he now trolls on.



P.S. By the way, I thought he write ups and 10,000 pictures were kind of nerdy. Give me a few befores, a few afters and let me know what you used. Dont act like you helped with the birth delivery of Jesus.