Getting in Gear on Ferraris

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Bruce Leeds waited nearly 50 years to indulge his childhood passion for Ferraris, but when he finally entered the Ferrari world, he did so with gusto.

Leeds, an export-import compliance attorney in the L.A. office of Braumiller Law Group, grew up in a family of sports car enthusiasts and would go whenever he could to see his Ferrari dream cars. But it wasn’t until six years ago that he bought a used 2002 Ferrari. When he finally did get behind the wheel, he found the car much more comfortable than he imagined.

“Yes, it was a thrill to drive it at first, but it was also easy to drive and has all the creature comforts,” Leeds said. “We used to have a restored 1957 Chevrolet and that was very uncomfortable to drive. This, by comparison, is a dream.”

Leeds, 69, soon joined the Ferrari Club of America’s southwest chapter. And with a bit of tender loving care for his Ferrari, he managed to win eight platinum awards from the club for keeping his car as close to original mint condition as possible.

Leeds rose to a board position with the club and is currently the chapter’s chairman.

His most cherished experiences with the club? Driving with other members to Yosemite and Death Valley national parks.

Oh, and what about the Ferrari’s vaunted speed? According to Leeds, the manual says the car can go a maximum of 202 miles per hour and that a Ferrari Club member once boasted of hitting 185 miles per hour on the highway.

“Of course, that member wasn’t me,” he said.

Dancing to Own Tune

The mind-body connection prized by yogis and dancers has an unlikely fan: fashion and consumer goods attorney Deborah Greaves.

Greaves, 56, has taken up ballroom dancing outside of her bustling law practice serving apparel clients in the Garment District downtown. A partner at Brutzkus Gubner, Greaves finds the time to perform in shows twice a year.

“One of the things I like about dance is the rhythm of it and understanding the way music is structured,” she said. “It’s really an intellectual process.”

For more than a year and a half, Greaves and her fiancé have been focused on learning salon dances – the rumba, cha-cha, waltz, tango, and fox trot – taking classes several times a week at a nearby Arthur Murray dance school. Greaves said it might surprise people that most lawyers are actually driven by the kind of creativity found in dance more than the linear thinking associated with the profession.

“Many attorneys have an analytical component to their brain but applying it takes a certain amount of creativity,” she said.

Most importantly, it’s a hobby that “doesn’t have to get old,” said Greaves.

Staff reporters Howard Fine and Kristin Marguerite Doidge contributed to this column. Page 3 is compiled by Editor Jonathan Diamond. He can be reached at [email protected].

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