By David “Dirk” Smith, M.Sc., SDL (He/Him)
Dirk Smith
Hi Brent, so tell us a little bit about yourself and your background?
Brent Thompson
Hi Dirk, I live in Los Angeles. I’ve been here since 2005. I grew up in Brazil, and went to school in Minnesota, and then ended up coming out to LA. I started playing softball for the Greater Los Angeles Softball Association in the fall of 2009. I had met Ken Scearce through softball fundraisers in West Hollywood before joining the league. I had been living in LA for four years at that point, and most of my friends I made primarily through work, but I wasn’t going out a lot. So, I started meeting a couple people that were playing softball and then got involved that way. It was a good way to meet people and get involved in something local here in the LA gay community.
Dirk Smith
Awesome! How did you get involved with Ken and the Sin City Classic?
Brent Thompson
My husband started playing softball with Ken in 2011 and over the years, we’ve all become close friends. Ken was in our group and when he took over the Sin City Shootout, which is now the Sin City Classic. He asked me to help do graphic design work for the tournament, because I had been doing it for GLASA, while he was commissioner. I think he became commissioner of GLASA in 2009 and was commissioner for four years. So, he asked me to do graphic stuff for him for the league back then and that’s how I started doing it with GLASA. Then the with the Sin City classic, when he took that over, he asked me to get involved with that too.
Dirk Smith
Tell me more about your friendship with Ken?
Brent Thompson
We were good friends. I started playing on his team and he was the coach for Cartels in 2015. My husband started playing with him starting back in 2011. Then in 2013 he took the team to the Gay Softball World Series in Washington, DC. I was a pickup player on the team, and we ended up getting second place that year. He was always a close friend. even more so last year with COVID. We had some friends that had a place with a backyard and there was about eight of us. That was our bubble every weekend during COVID, we’d go and hang out in the backyard, play cornhole, drink, watch TV, step outside. We’d watch sports like baseball, we’re all big Dodger fans. That brought us all a lot closer. We would also do yearly trips as a group to Puerto Vallarta. He was probably one of my best friends.
Dirk Smith
Your nomination is important because of your close friendship with Ken, and you’ve made a huge contribution to the Sin City Classic and the Greater Los Angeles Softball Association. What does that mean to you?
Brent Thompson
I feel honored like I said, I was surprised that the last couple years we tried to make our graphics and our postings a bit more different than what the other tournaments like the Gay Softball World Series are doing. The Sin City Classic is more like a general tournament and is a bigger festival. So, this year we talked about doing more videos and not just stale posters, post on social media in a more graphically designed style. So, it is a lot of work, but I do enjoy doing it. I enjoy doing it for the league and for Ken. I guess people have complimented me on all the stuff that I’ve been doing for last few years which makes me feel good in that sense to that people appreciate the work I’ve put into it.
Dirk Smith
Yeah, it’s great work, great graphics, and I think it really helps to promote the event well. Looking forward into the future now coming out of this pandemic, with the Sin City Classic finally happening again, after two years softball, the next Gay Softball World Series, and other events coming up. Do you have anything that you’re looking forward to?
Brent Thompson
Definitely! I always play at the Sin City Classic so I’m looking forward to that. Our spring season will start up in March and here in Los Angeles, we’re competitive for the Gay Softball World Series bids as well. So, we always look forward to that.
Dirk Smith
It’s great just how much power in community this has. We are looking forward to seeing you at the Compete Sports Diversity Awards and throughout the Sin City Classic! Thank you for sharing your story with us!
