You know I’m always looking for people with passion who turn an idea into reality. And I do come upon many of you who fill that bill, I report on them here fairly often. But sometimes creative people fly below the radar and when discovered, we realize they were hiding in plain sight.

Justin Kula is such low flyer. But he’s also one who followed his heart, a heart that loves to see smiles.

Wall Street held Justin for seven years, but the ups and downs of it were stressful. So he, like a few other brave souls, took flight from the whirl of finance.

First he tried event planning with well known celebrities, celebs whose names you’d all know. It was exciting work, he told me, but it didn’t make him smile. And working towards people smiling was a big part of his drive.

So, Justin combined what did make him smile, his love of fishing, with his creative and diligent eye and brought a new business and more importantly—new smiles to Long Beach.

He saw a tiny spot in Long Beach, an insignificant spot—a spot for garbage—and transformed it to cause change. He did it in a way that fostered bonding and mutual kindness, kindness that may go far beyond Magnolia Pier in Long Beach.

My essay involves fishing, kids and good fortune. But mostly, you’ll see, it’s about Justin, because He’s Bullish on Bonding.

Be well,
– Leebythesea