Putting His Best Foot Forward

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When Ben Katz was producing low-budget movies a few years ago, it meant a lot to him when people bought copies of his films.

“I remember the first three or four people who bought a DVD on my website and how appreciative I was,” said Katz, 34. “So I have a rule that if a friend of mine starts a company, I do my best to buy the product.”

That’s how Katz, founder of Santa Monica prepaid debit card issuer Card Corp., became the first owner of a pair of Toms shoes. They were green, size 10.

Katz had played poker a few times with Toms Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie and snatched up a pair of the slipperlike shoes when they first went on sale in May 2006.

A few years ago, Katz gave the now-vintage shoes back to the company and later saw them displayed at a Toms pop-up store in Venice. They’re a museum piece now, but they weren’t when Katz owned them.

“Oh yeah, they’re definitely dirty,” he said. “Probably smelly.”

Stepping Out

Stephen Smith, a managing partner at Greenberg Glusker, had a sudden change of plan for his annual long hike last month when he arrived in Yosemite.

The winds had shifted the smoke from the Rim Fire over the trail he was going to trek. Smith, who was going to hike the trail by himself in full isolation, decided it’d be a much better idea to go south to Bishop to hike 65 miles instead.

“The trip was supposed to be nine days long, and if I had to breathe this smoke, I’d be miserable,” Smith said.

Smith is almost impossible to reach when he’s on trips. He said it’s something clients understand and the getaways give him a sense of accomplishment.

A few weeks after the Yosemite incident, he was on the trail again, this time with friends up Mount Whitney, the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States.

“You’re doing something that is difficult,” Smith said. “It is a therapeutic thing and gives you great perspective of what you love in life.”


Staff reporters James Rufus Koren and Justin Yang contributed to this column. Page 3 is compiled by editor Charles Crumpley. He can be reached at [email protected].

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