Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/385222
Some of Boston's heaviest hitters start the day with what Boston Ballet artistic director Mikko Nissinen calls the "Zen-like" sport of fishing. photography by bryce Vickmark A fine bromAnce boston's movers and shakers hit the high seas as a high-powered fishing crew. by lisa pierpont "Let 's get out t here!" excla ims M ik ko Nissinen, Boston Ba llet 's a r t ist ic director. "The water's like glass." It's 6 am on a dock in Quincy's Marina Bay. Nissinen has to be at City Hall for a presentation at 11 am, dressed in his signature black business suit, which is hanging in his car. But right now, right here, the only thing Nissinen is thinking about is whether today is a white or orange bait day. He is not alone. His director of corporate and institutional relations, Richard Armstrong—again, mostly spotted around town in a suit and tie, encircled by the most elegant of ballet dancers—cracks dirty jokes while checking the rods. The pair heads up an all-star crew of other Boston heav y hitters, brought together by another kind of casting call: for striped bass, tuna, blue fin. There's Summit Partners' Stephen Woodsum, Ernst & Young's Jim Clubb, psychologist Wayne Frieden, Blue Cross Blue Shield's Jeffrey Bellows, Hill Holliday's Andrew Still, Commonwealth Capital Ventures' Jeff Hurst, and Admirals Bank's Nicholas Lazares. The gang hits the water at every possible chance—before work, after work, every weekend. "Fishing is my pr ior it y in my f ree t ime, if t he weat her is good," says Nissinen, who has traveled to Belize, Panama, the Florida Keys, the West Coast, Iceland, Finland, and up and down the East Coast for the Big One. "The battle with a big fish is indescribable—a huge challenge and huge fun." Like ballet, fishing requires coordination, patience, hard work, and dedica- tion. "There's a Zen-like quality to fishing. When you're in it, you're in it." Plus, the fundraisers and galas that the ballet hosts provide ample oppor- tunity to add to the crew. "You see guys with sunglass tans, quirky fishing accessories—for example, a belt with fish on it—that they mix up with their business attire, or just something they say, and you ask, 'Do you fish?' And it's like, 'Hell, yeah, I fish,'" says Armstrong—Captain Armstrong, actually— who also owns Boston Fishstix, a fishing charter company. On this particular morning, calm seas and mild breezes prevail. Seagulls swa r m a patch of water. "T here's a good spot!" Bellows says. Capt a in Armstrong revs the engine. Within 20 seconds, the crew joins the gulls. All joking stops. Dead silence. Furrowed brows. The hunt is on. BC 70 bostoncommon-magazine.com PEOPLE Double Life