Hot Rod

I’ve been fishing since I was old enough to stand. My parents say when I was two, I would take sticks and go stand by the river. I put myself through university working as a fishing guide at high-end fishing lodges, which was a great education in dealing with people and watching business get done.

I’ve been fly-fishing pretty much exclusively for the last couple of decades, and just over a year ago I started spey casting, which is an old fly-fishing technique that uses an extremely technical two-handed casting style.

If the wind’s in the wrong direction or you don’t do it quite right, the hook can come whipping by and catch you in the earlobe. There’s lots of jokes about guys with pierced ears.

The first time you do it, you just sort of flail around and you get your ears pierced and you end up with line all over you. But when you do it right, the line goes a tremendous distance and it’s this beautiful, perfect thing that happens, and you go, “Aha! Oh my god, that was wonderful!”

It doesn’t really matter if you catch anything. Most fly-fishers practice catch-and-release; the fish are just an excuse to go and spend the time on the water. It’s one of the few times I switch off the BlackBerry.

We all live extremely busy lives and we’re very goal-oriented. Fishing really has no inherent goal. It’s just something to while away the time and get away from it all. It’s a very meditative thing. And it’s an excuse to explore some beautiful places.

Alexei Marko is the President and COO of Medical Ventures Corp.