Scott Gibson enjoys fishing as a way to bring balance into his fast-paced work life as president of Gibson International, a residential real estate firm in Brentwood.
“For me, it’s a time to think, it’s usually solitude,” he said. “Fishing is one of those things that takes a tremendous amount of patience.”
But the serenity turned to surprise on a recent fishing trip in Key Largo, Fla. As Gibson, 61, was reeling in a big one, a large hammerhead shark about 20 yards from his boat bolted up and chomped on the fish.
“I ended up bringing a fish head up without the rest of its body,” Gibson said. Then, with the confidence of a fisherman who learned the sport when he was six years old, he added, “Sharks can be a challenge. It was not expected … but not uncommon.”
That wasn’t Gibson’s only brush with danger. He also landed on the edge of a hurricane a few years ago near San Diego. “You take a chance when you go out into the open ocean, anything can happen,” he said.
Just as Gibson learned fishing from his father, he passed his skills to his three daughters, one of whom, Hayley, is a senior marketing director at Gibson. His next task is to teach his grandsons, ages 7 and 10. The fishing lessons often veer into life lessons as well.
“The combination of having to slow down and take your time certainly applies to business life too,” he said. “It’s good to get that perspective in such a specific way.”
Kicked Around
When a neighbor called Steven Gitlin, vice president of Monrovia drone maker AeroVironment Inc., to play soccer 11 years ago, he didn’t expect a two-hour jaunt to turn into a lasting passion.
“Once I realized my lungs were still inside my chest cavity, I found myself hooked,” he said.
Since then, Gitlin, 49, has spent nearly every Sunday morning playing street soccer with his teammates.
The OMSL team (for Oh My Sore Legs or Old Man Soccer League, depending on the occasion) has seen some serious victories. For more than 10 years, the team has been participating in an annual adult soccer tournament in Las Vegas over Martin Luther King Day weekend.
For Gitlin, playing soccer has become a way to exercise and meet people from different nations and backgrounds.
“The tournament is fun, exhausting, and an excuse to have a great time with my awesome teammates,” he said.
Staff reporters Daina Beth Solomon and Olga Grigoryants contributed to this column. Page 3 is compiled by Editor Jonathan Diamond. He can be reached at [email protected].
