Gabriel Mann

Growing up in the mean streets of Mar Vista, California, Gabe was raised by two hippie musicians. His father, Brian Mann is a Jewish composer who had formerly performed with Kenny Loggins Band on the keyboards. His mother Katie Kirkpatrick is a studio harpist who plays for dozens of film scores every year in Los Angeles. After his parents' divorce at the age of 7, his father moved up to Santa Barbara where Gabe would end up attending school from the 4th grade on up to college. He attended Santa Barbara High School where his athletic talent earned him the nickname "The Fastest White Man North of Compton." He played three years of Varsity baseball, collecting awards and the attention of dozens of major league scouts as well as the local university baseball coaches. In the summer of 2001, Gabe decided to remove himself from the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft and sign on to play baseball for the UCSB Gauchos. While in high school, Gabe discovered his passion for film while he was involved with the Multimedia Arts and Design Academy within the school. While there, he honed his skills as a writer, director, cinematographer, editor, and visual effects artist for several of his own short films. His movies soon won widespread support within the Academy and he used his success to spearhead a feature-length production in his senior year. His film "The Eleventh Hour" is still considered one of the best independent films ever made in the Multimedia Academy at Santa Barbara High by a baseball player during the 2001 school year.