Seattle’s John Goodfellow is a shepherd. But not in the traditional sense.

He doesn’t meander through pastoral hills guiding animals to graze green grass. Rather, Goodfellow is a shepherd of cosmopolitan cities. The multi-interested, multi-faceted philosopher, author and musician aims to guide and focus the burgeoning cultures within a given bubbling metropolis - all for the sake of fostering deep listening, diverse interactions and real conversations between people.

To understand his buoying efforts, all you need to do is examine how Goodfellow spends his time and energies. Look first to Banya 5, the Russian-style bathhouses he founded in the Emerald City where community (read: not illicit behavior) is centralized. In these locations, people can visit for more than a sense of afternoon repose. At Banya 5, patrons leave feeling reinvigorated and reenergized by the waters, massage and healthy temperature extremes.

Or look to Goodfellow’s musical project, Go El Grande Go, the moniker for which - El Grande - he affectionately earned by living in the Lower East Side in New York City during the 80’s, as an aspiring artist and inventor. With Go El Grande Go, Goodfellow writes songs about the human condition, about what it means and what it takes to live honestly. Goodfellow, who was born and raised in Seattle proper, has spent a great time of time traveling the world from Utah to Vietnam. And it’s the ties that connect people and how individuals live day-to-day that inspire him.

As Goodfellow says, “Thinking is important in my world.” So, he never stops doing it. If he’s not working on a song or taking a steam (or, "shvitz"), the Seattle Renaissance Man may be composing or editing a new book. He’s written a book about Seattle’s coal industry and the ever-changing relationship between people and modern technology, both rudimentary and electric. For as much as he tries to connect large groups of diverse people, Goodfellow also works to find how deep their cultural roots wend.

In Seattle, Goodfellow has co-founded SAMA: Seattle Sacred Music & Art with DJ/Producer Darek Mazzone which aims to bring musicians to the Emerald City from all over the world, including areas like the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe. While these efforts have been affected recently by the COVID-19 epidemic, that does not mean Goodfellow has halted his energies. Indeed, Goodfellow has a need to work, be curious, learn, provoke and listen. These impulses are the fundamental pillars that help a city anywhere on our planet coalesce and flourish and they're what Goodfellow loves most.