In November, I spent an evening in Laguna Beach with a few dozen ex-NBA players, who had come together to honor Celtics great Bill Russell—and to play some golf at Monarch Beach Golf Links.
Amid the story-swapping of decades-ago events, there was a bit of OK Boomer-type talk from some attendees about how players of today’s era had it easy—chartered flights, limited back-to-back games, first-class accommodations and the like—compared to prior generations.
Which player of recent years did those greats most respect for their old-school work ethic and approach to the game? No surprise that Kobe Bryant’s name came up a lot that evening; a bigger surprise came when I mentioned to a few of them that Bryant lived just a few miles up the road at Newport Coast’s Pelican Crest community—most of the out-of-towners assumed he was closer to L.A.
OC residents, of course, don’t need to be reminded of the Bryant family’s long-standing ties to the area, as the tragedy that counts multiple ties to CdM’s Harbor Day School—a private school many area business execs send their kids to—unfolded and grabbed national headlines over the course of the week.
“I don’t know if there’s another figure as beloved in both Orange County and Los Angeles,” said J.A. Adande, a former LA Times columnist and ESPN talking head, speaking last week on the Bill Simmons Podcast. “They’re two distinctly different zones, and yet Kobe was loved as much down there as downtown L.A.”
As our Rick Reiff noted last week, Kobe Bryant’s canvas was the world and his stage was L.A.—but his home was Orange County.
Orange County was also home to much of Bryant’s business dealings, with office space at The Hive in Costa Mesa and commercial real estate investments in Newport Beach. Getting a handle on the scope of Kobe Inc.’s local work proved to be a challenge over the years, though.
For every report noting a $6 million investment in sports drink company BodyArmor had turned into a $200 million windfall, thanks to a Coca-Cola investment, there were snippets of news about less positive deals. The Business Journal had included Bryant on our annual OC’s Wealthiest list as of a few years ago, but a lack of clarity over his non-NBA dealings later caused us to remove him.
Area business execs who had connections to Bryant, personally or professionally, are welcome to contact us, for a forthcoming story.
Red Digital President Jarred Land has previously touted the performance of his company’s cameras on the planet’s most inhospitable locales, citing work on Mount Everest and the South Pacific volcano of Marum. See Kari Hamanaka’s story on this page for news on Red’s growing line of work off Planet Earth.
Readers wanting to get away without going to those extremes, but still wanting to find that perfect Instagram shot, might consider Fiji’s Vatuvara Private Islands, a roughly 800-acre collection of waterfront isles with private villas for rent. It’s gotten recent accolades for its sustainable design and has been named Luxury Resort of the year by Fiji’s tourism board.
Vatuvara, a relatively short flight from the Marum volcano, is owned by Red Digital and Oakley founder Jim Jannard.
