PHOTOGRAPHY by CHELSY MITCHELL | @chelsymitchell

We are honored to present our first ELEVEN SIX MEN story with Sean Dimin of Sea to Table...a wild-caught, sustainable and traceable, seafood company that delivers beautifully packaged and prepared fish to your door! (We are huge fans!) We visited Sean at his company hub in the historic Fuller Building, Kingston, NY and talked Sea to Table journey, pandemic silver linings, daily mantras and captured him wearing our very first, and newly launched ELEVEN SIX Men’s sweater...

Can you share your journey leading to forming SEA TO TABLE?

Oh, gosh! I was just thinking about how some of the best decisions don’t feel like decisions at all and that’s pretty much how I fell into a life of fish. My dad had set off to start a wildly romantic business idea connecting fishermen on the Caribbean island of Tobago with chefs in NYC while I was in college. That was my first job, running an ultimately unsuccessful fish business on a tropical island. He needed help and that made the decision for me. After a couple of years we left Tobago but used many of the lessons we learned to start Sea to Table together in 2010 newly focused on American fishermen and celebrating American seafood.

What are the main motivations behind SEA TO TABLE?

It’s mostly selfish, really. I love the water and my work allows me to get out fishing as well as work with the most amazing people who make their living from the sea. The fact that we can both support these fishing communities and be a small part of feeding people across the country healthy, delicious and sustainable seafood also helps make the work feel good and meaningful to me and my team.

What or who inspires you to create and build?

At first, so much of my drive came from the proverbial stick- a need for financial security, a fear of failure, ego! but I’ve been having so much more fun lately attempting to shrug off those stressors by trusting myself and those around me. I’m also lucky enough to live with an incredibly creative and talented person. We tend to drive each other while trying not to drive each other crazy.

How have you navigated this pandemic year and have there been silver linings – business and personal?

We count ourselves super fortunate at work to have an ecommerce business established a few years back and even more fortunate personally to have made the move out of Brooklyn to Upstate NY in 2018. We’ve been surrounded by an amazing community and even get to see our masked-up friends every day working out of a beautiful, creative and collaborative space in Kingston, NY called the Fuller Building.

How do you disconnect from being an entrepreneur?

This is kinda funny but I love being an assistant coach for my kid’s sports teams. Sometimes it’s good for me to let go and focus on being a contributing member of the team.

We know you like to get off the beaten-track...where are you dreaming of traveling first once the world heals?

Anywhere warm and salty.

Can you share one thing that we would be surprised to know about you?

One of my eyes is heterochromia which is a word I learned from our bodega guy in Brooklyn even though English was like his third language.

Do you have daily mantra?

We use a saying in our house that has gotten us through a lot: “never ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever give up”. Or, as my nine-year-old puts it “winners are not people who never lose, they are people who never quit”. Smart kid.

Our first sweater to launch is inspired by traditional fisherman sweaters so it is fitting with your brand! How would you describe the NICK Sweater?

Wait, I thought the whole point here is that it was going to be called the Sean sweater!? It’s basically made for me- simple, comfortable and uncompromised quality in colors that match my limited and simple closet. I don’t like to think too hard about what I’m going to wear each day and the Nick sweater is already in the mix.