FROM THE FLYBRIDGE – EPISODE #1 Scott Levin
Coming to you live “From The Flybridge!" HMY Yachts is excited to announce the release of our very own podcast series - "From the Flybridge" - hosted by HMY Yacht Sales Professional, Alexie Creary. Dive into the intricacies of the yachting world as we discuss the industry's best: CEOs, manufacturers, world record-holding fishermen, business tycoon yacht owners, and more. Episode one is now live with the 17 world-record-holding fisherman extraordinaire, Scott Levin.
Here is a preview of the podcast below. For the whole episode, click here.
Alexie Creary: 17 World Records. Madam and the hooker. Ascension Island. That's all I'm going to say. Get ready for Scott Levin. I am super excited to welcome you to the show, Scott. Thanks for being here.
Scott Levin: Thanks for having me.
Alexie Creary: So, I am staring at a map that you just drew of Ascension Island that I'm learning about and I'm so stoked for this conversation because you're telling me that there's a 2,000 pound Marlin swimming around this place I know nothing about and I cannot wait to learn more about this.
I'm picturing Jurassic Park right now. So, I am so excited. Let's jump right in because your story is epic. You literally had the opportunity to fish around the world on a specific boat that was designed just for that.
I know that you hold numerous world records and you have a book written about your travels. I'm dying to know and to tell everybody, how did this start?
Scott Levin: I would say it started at a very young age. You know, my addiction to fishing was introduced to me through my parents from a young age when I was probably two or three years old. They took me to a mall with a fountain that was full of rainbow trout.
Alexie Creary: I wasn't ready for that. A mall? A fishing addiction?
Scott Levin: Yeah, and it was one of the things that stood out in my childhood more than anything. I really didn't remember much when I was 2 or 3 years old, but when they put a rod in my hand with a piece of line and a hook you could literally put it in a pond in front of you at the fountain at the mall and catch a rainbow trout every time. Then you would take it home to eat for dinner.
It's still stands in my mind like its a vivid memory of last year.
Alexie Creary: Where is this mall? Where did you grow up?
Scott Levin: I grew up in Virginia. And this mall was actually near a relative's house in New Jersey.
Alexie Creary: Okay. So obviously we're in South Florida today.
You're born and raised in the Northeast.
Scott Levin: Yes. I am.
Alexie Creary: Awesome. Alright. So how did you make this dream a reality of you know continuing to fish?
Scott Levin: So from that point on all I wanted to do was fish. It was the addiction that I could not break. As a young kid, I would look for any pond or stream or body of water that I could catch fish. Also, my parents introduced at a very young age in the summertime to Ocean City, New Jersey, and fishing from the beach and piers. Eventually, I began working in tackle shops and going on small boats fishing and it was just a dream, to one day get to go saltwater fishing somewhere like Florida
Alexie Creary: And one day that happened for you because it clearly was very much in the front of your mind of getting to Florida and continuing this dream.
Scott Levin: It was, it definitely was. I dreamed about just being able to go to the Florida Keys one day and catch fish down there. Marlin or any billfish. I decided when I was in high school that I wanted to go to Florida where it was warm, sunny, and beautiful. The ocean was full of fish and boats.
Alexie Creary: Warm all year long, right?
Scott Levin: That's right.
Alexie Creary: Yeah. This morning was like 60 degrees. We almost died, right?
Scott Levin: It was freezing. That's ridiculous.
Alexie Creary: So how did you get to the keys or did you get to the keys?
Scott Levin: So I decided to apply to schools after High School and follow a career that was on the ocean and come to Florida. I went to Maritime school and from there I got my captain's license. I met a bunch of great friends down in South Florida, that are still very close with me. They taught me how to fish down here and that led to all kinds of opportunities of being able to go fishing in places like the Bahamas, in the Keys, and it just started from there.
Alexie Creary: So, what was your first job like right out of college? Did you jump right into the fishing world and were your parents always like gung ho about this, totally on board. Like what was the response to this?
Scott Levin: My father was a businessman in DC and did not have any idea that you could actually have a job that was fishing for a living or a job as a captain, and so they were like, I don't think that's really a job and I soon aimed to find out that it actually was.
Alexie Creary: Did you even care if it wasn't?
Scott Levin: No pretty much not. I was in college.
Alexie Creary: I'm still gonna go fishing, Dad. If you need me, I'll be in the Keys.
Scott Levin: Exactly.
So I got to go to the Keys through some of my friends that I met in Florida and fish down there and the Bahamas, and it just made the addiction greater and it's all I wanted to do.
Alexie Creary: So, what's your first move? How do you make this happen?
Scott Levin: So my senior year in college I was sitting there and dreaming and reading fishing magazines about some of the greatest charter boats and operations in the world, which most people have heard about called The Madam in the Hooker. I was reading about all the fishing destinations in places that they went and all of their world records. I was completely blown away at how amazing their experiences were.
One day, I decided before I was getting ready to graduate to call the ad in the back of the magazine and the owner of the boat answered the phone. I was stumped. I couldn't believe that I was actually speaking to a guy that was a world-famous fisherman and already held numerous world records. Skip Smith ran his fishing boat, one of the most famous captains in the world. I told them that I was just a young kid getting ready to graduate from college. My dream was to go fishing and traveling around the world. I asked him if I could send him a resume and he said, "Absolutely, okay."
Alexie Creary: This is insane. You're how old when you did this?
Scott Levin: I think I was about 20.
Alexie Creary: You're 20 years old, you're reading a magazine and from what I recall, it was a charter boat. That was the reason that the number was in the magazine was to inquire about Charters, right?
Scott Levin: That's correct.
To listen to the full podcast please click the link below. Our podcast series is available online on Apple, Spotify, and www.HMY.com.
