SF Shapers Memory Book: Chapter 4— The life of a San Francisco Renaissance Man
Hi all, we’re back to publish a few more chapters after a short hiatus! This story is on behalf of SF Shaper, Raphaël Tshitoko, who interviewed Mr. Brent Leonard from San Francisco early this year. Brent is a member of NEXT Village, San Francisco. NEXT Village is an amazing local NGO providing services and support to their older members so that members can live independently in their own homes as they age. We would like to thank Molly Tello and Janet Crane for making this interview possible. Without further ado….
Brent Leonard is nothing short of inspiring. Stanford educated, wise business acumen, inquisitive demeanor, and a calm stoicism can all be attributed to this man.
Brent’s Early Life
Born on May 13th, 1938 in Glendale California, where Leonard spent a bit of his early years. He recalls “a long front yard, divided by a white fence with an alley behind the house” before moving to La Crescenta and then northward to Redding, CA. At 9 years old, Leonard found himself on an 80-acre ranch that would be home to his parents, brother, and soon after an orchard and “a couple horses — Boy and Belle. My social life sucked, I mean we had to be home every night, but I had a very successful high school.”
His growth spurt had him spring up to a spry/lithe 6’8. Catching the attention of his high school basketball coach, Leonard would later earn a basketball scholarship to Stanford University. Starting at Stanford in 1955, he decided to major in music and play in the band whilst also continuing with basketball. Due to his size, he played the sousaphone but then switched over to the trombone. However, Leonard stayed at Stanford for the “first year but they didn’t have much of a music program so [he] went over to Stockton” to attend University of the Pacific “which had the best music education school in the West.”
Opening his own pub: What Soda Popinkski Used to Be
1961 saw Leonard graduating from University of the Pacific and becoming a band director in Ripon, CA. Soon after, he returned to Redding for a stint and then moved to San Francisco in ’64. He had a 2-year tenure as an accountant for a moving company before moving onto opening a bar. When asked, what made you want to open a restaurant? Leonard said casually, “It was just an idea. Buddy of mine at work and I decided to start a fish ’n’ chips pub with beer and entertainment, etc. I bought them out and almost for 20 years I did that.” Leonard had opened up Land’s End Pub — which is now Soda Popinski’s — on the California St, “right on the cable car line.” Leonard had quite the entertainment coming through his door such as Rod McKuen, Sam Shepard, and Gene Sullivan. “The restaurant was a party bar,” he says, with Kingston Trio style music setting the atmosphere.
The challenges and lessons from entrepreneurship
Come 1983, Leonard decided to sell the bar as he “had had enough of the swinging bar life.” Deciding to sell to friend who had worked at the bar for 10-years with the agreement to run it with the intent to purchase. As Leonard looks back, he said, “she was just really good. She tended bar, managed it. I went on a vacation for a month and she held the fort down. I figured that when I was ready to leave, I would give it to her in a sense where she could make sure that’s what she wanted to do and buy it from me at a good price. It didn’t go smoothly, the sale. It didn’t work and I had to take it back to where it was almost broke. That’s one of the disappointments of my life.” But he recovered his business, revitalized the pool league stats, and restored its attendance pulling the endless double shifts. Reminiscing about his ownership and the sale of his bar, he expressed that it came with a loss, “In retrospect, continue the bar? I don’t think so, that was enough. I was getting older. I wasn’t making much money when I sold it. Just trying to even, paying all the wages and overhead, it was tremendous work. I don’t regret doing it but it did keep me from having a family and getting a job somewhere — 8–5 — and raising a family.”
Revitalizing life in his 40s: Becoming a stock broker and meeting Hosni Mubarak
With that, life took another direction, one that took him south to San Diego. Leonard was able to sell his bar through a broker and received monthly stipends over the next 5-years whilst in San Diego. “Having made some money from the sale,” and with new locations came with new chances, Leonard decided to re-attend college at Mesa Community College to learn how to become a stock broker. This path eventual took him back up to the Bay 5-years later where he “fortunately got on with Charles Schwab, the brokerage firm.” Fun fact: both Charles Schwab and Brent Leonard went to Stanford the same year and pledged Sigma Nu but were completely unaware of each other prior to their professional association. His time at Schwab garnered him proximity to clients such as Hosni Mubarak, former President of Egypt and a few Saudi princes. Leonard later moved onto to becoming an adjunct professor at Golden Gate University, teaching technical analysis. He remarked that a lot happened in his 40’s — traveled the US by train, became a stock broker.
What would you do differently?
Upon when asked if he’d change anything in retrospect, Leonard says, “it was a full life. I look back and what did I do with my life? I ran a bar, bartended just about all the time and then became a stockbroker, a little bit of band director.” In terms of whether or not he knew where he wanted life to take him, Leonard thinks that he “accepted the opportunities that life gave him, ‘I think that’s my personality,’” he says. “Take what’s given to you. I still can’t believe some of the things I did do.”
SF’s Changing Image and the Effect of technology:
His thoughts on the city’s changing image? “Its unique in a sense, its happened before. Technology is the big reason, thats the big reason for the big wealth and for the Marina being as populated as it is now, city’s population is up to 800,000. The technology thing, that’s the reason for the bifurcation of wealth which is really unfortunate. The poverty is expanding and the rich get richer, I mean they work but its just an amazing thing. I think its just a natural progression.”
And what about love?
On the question of love? Leonard mentioned that he fell in love a few times, “but I couldn’t commit. That’s one of my big faults, was to commit to it. I remember 3 or 4 gals that I could’ve married. But people getting older used to be, let’s say about 50–100 years ago, used to be 45 to 50 years old and you’d get married, have a family and then pass on around 50-ish or so. But now, we’re looking at 85, 90, 100.” Nonetheless, for Leonard, whether someone chooses to commitment long term or for a moment, he says to “just care, you know? Care for ’em. Its a magical thing, a chemistry thing, you know, once you meet someone. You’re physically and mentally attuned to them and just show that you care.” He reminds to “enjoy life, get more out of it. Just be more caring and giving, you know because it comes back many folds. I think it really does. I’ve found that out.”
You can catch Brent going back to Redding this Fall for his 65th high school reunion.
