Adam
Cannizzaro: When are you coming out to New York?
Izzy Paskowitz: This year we are doing a really tight trip.
We arrive in New York on September 8th and our camp in Belmar, NJ is on the
9th. Then we're in Long Beach, NY on the 12th, Montauk on the 14th and we
depart on the 15th.
Adam: Who is coming out with you this year?
Izzy: The guys that are coming are mostly from Hawaii. From the Froiseth family
we have Wally Froiseth’s grandson Nalu, Seth McElroy, Jimmy Gamboa –
who is a pro longboarder from Malibu, my brothers Adam, Jonathan and Joshua
Paskowitz. Joshua Tracy of the great Tubesteak Tracy Family from Malibu, Jennifer
Tracy, Nick Hernandez, Tommy Witt - another professional longboarder who is
going to be on the cover of the next issue of The Surfer’s Journal -
and many others. We’re very fortunate that we have these guys who are
so down to go. They’re really excited about what we do. A lot of them
have been here before. We got a couple of new guys: Che Pilaggo, Puna Moller,
and Eddie Aikau’s nephew Zane Aikau. They’re all very capable
of doing these camps.
Adam:
How do you select the people who surf with the kids?
Izzy: The process starts by selecting guys who have a tremendous amount of
experience, with years and years of surfing under their belt. It’s important
to be really prepared, and to have enough guys in the water to make sure the
kids get a great experience with the most incredible guys in the world that
can do this. It’s really such a select group of pro and semi-pro surfers.
These guys are great watermen who deep inside are really not afraid of dealing
with the autism aspect as well as tandem surfing with the children.
Adam: That’s cool that your brothers are helping out.
Izzy: You know when you have an autistic child it so changes your perspective.
You don’t live the life you used to live, and a lot of the time I don’t
really see eye to eye with my brothers. So this year it was kind of like a
negotiation with my family, because my father’s documentary was showing
at the Toronto Film Festival. So my balance was if I went to that, I can get
my bothers Jonathan, Adam and Joshua to do Surfers Healing.
Adam: It sounds like it’s a real family affair.
Izzy: Absolutely, Absolutely. Just the reactions are incredible. Some of the
first time guys are just blown away by what it’s all about. I used to
compete with some of these guys in the past and they had no idea. They heard
that I had an autistic son, but they got a dose of exactly what it’s
like, and they came away completely changed.
Adam: Really? In what way?
Izzy: Well it was tough. We travel with my son, because I think it is the
most important thing to have him with us. Isaiah is sixteen now, and he’s
still a big guy. He’s 255 lbs, 6’1” and he still has limited
language, and occasional behavior problems. He had a really big incident on
the airplane making a connection in Atlanta, so it was like the ultimate nightmare
for a parent. Plus I wasn’t there which compounded the problem. Not
being able to, you know, touch him, knowing that all this was going on. The
Flight Attendants were trying to restrain him, but the Hawaiian guys, you
know, they wouldn’t let that happen. They kind of just made people move,
and they surrounded him and took care of him. But it’s just another
day in the life of what we deal with, especially if we want to try to be as
close to normal and be like other families that want to travel with their
children. Something like that for an Autistic family is impossible - it is
a very, very difficult thing to do.
Adam: The thought of getting on an airplane and the whole process
is something…I think I’d rather just drive everywhere.
Izzy: I know but I feel like we’re getting it done, but we’re
also educating a lot of people. All three hundred people on that flight knew
exactly what Autism was all about. You just always have to live with things
that are so unnatural, disturbing, and also just so surprising. There are
things you just never get used to, but the show has to go on.
Adam: Isaiah was the catalyst for Surfers Healing?
Izzy: It was on a fluke really, just destiny that I ran a surf camp, and that
all my instructors grew up with Isaiah and knew his behavior. When it came
time to take him in the water and getting on my tandem board with me, he was
a good boy in the water. It felt like he was a little calmer. Especially with
early onset of Autism, he was very anxious and he didn’t sleep very
well. He’d be up for days without sleep. When I had him in the water
for an extended period of time he began to take naps. So it was definitely
a physical response to something that was really substantial.
Then I got a parent of an autistic child who was interested. With the prevalence
of Autism, one parent finds out and that’s all it takes to get the ball
rolling, and desperate young families are like “Well I want to do it
too!”
So we had a couple of other kids down and I took one other boy who came down
every Wednesday. Looking back now, that was eleven years ago. He still enjoys
it today. He is completely non-verbal, but this is something that he can do.
You know, the thought of doing something, a sport activity with your autistic
child, you often hear “He can’t do that.” But this is something
they can do, whether they like it or not.
Adam: It must’ve been such a release for you when you discovered
that you could bond with your child through Surfing.
Izzy: Yeah, especially in my field, and with my father’s background.
He was such a pioneer in surfing in the very early 30's, and I had a great
run as professional longboarder. I thought my life was going to be so different
and I thought Isaiah, my first boy, was going to be a surfer just like me.
When those hopes are dashed, it takes a long time to deal with the reality
of letting go of the hopes and dreams about what your son can do.
I fought with that for a long, long time. I don’t think that I really
accepted Isaiah for who he was until he was thirteen.
Now, that’s who he is, a very unique child, and I think he kind of knows
what these Surfers Healing events are all about. How they touch so many families,
and children and extended families. There have been thousands, tens of thousands
of families who have been down at that beach, experiencing something that
they never thought possible. From a situation that was so hopeless, it gives
a ray of hope and they walk away saying “What else can my son or daughter
do?”
Adam:
What is the cost to enroll a child in a Camp?
Izzy: The camps are free. The kids are fed, we hang out, and we can be normal
for a day. There’s nothing a child can do that will be inappropriate
on that day.
Adam: How are the parents?
Izzy: When we first got going you could see the trepidation and the uncertainty
in the parents eyes. I’ll never forget Augie, who had three autistic
children. Augie worked on the Tarmac at JFK, and he said to me (imitating
a NY accent) “Youse, eh, youse gonna take my kids out, out there surfin?!?”
I looked right at him and said “Augie it’ll be OK, I will take
care of your children with my life.” And at the end of the day he was
glowing and saying “Oh my God, my boys surfed!”
I guess it’s part of my motivation that I got to do it for the families
and the parents. Especially the young parents who come with the 3 to 5 year
olds, who are so desperate and don’t know where to go or who to turn
to. I was there too, with Isaiah, you know. We turned our bank accounts upside
down to give him alternative therapies.
You know some were wacky, some were – whatever – but the bottom
line was he was still autistic, and my wife and I wanted to just start something
that was free. Something that, you know, nobody would have to pay for it out
of pocket.
Adam: How long have you been coming to NY?
Izzy: My friend Tim McCabe was the driving force in getting me over there,
and on September 11, 2002 we took eight kids out in Rockaway.
Adam: Tim was a Rockaway surfer?
Izzy: No, he had nothing to do with surfing at all. We met at an Esquire Magazine
event for a "Brothers" Issue. We were the Paskowitz brothers, all
eight of us out of California, and they were the twelve McCabe brothers all
out of the Bronx. He has such a charismatic family. They were these hardcore
New Yorkers. One was a political advisor, another a detective, one was a union
guy. We really just connected, and by the end of the evening you knew there
was something special.
You know when I first started this, I’d take each of these children
out all by myself. I’d go out surfing with them and then I’d go
home and cry my head off. My wife has much thicker skin and it doesn’t
really - you know she’s dealt with a lot. I have way too thin skin and
I almost need to do this because I feel it’s a daily reality check that
you know, that things aren’t perfect. That things aren’t, you
know, normal in my life.
But I needed that confidence, somebody to give me that ‘OK’ that,
you know, that this is not that wacky. That this is something that is working
and that people are going to accept it. Up until that time what I was doing
was so personal and so close to my heart. Tim really just gave me the confidence
to come over and bring Surfers Healing to New York.
In fact, I attribute Tim for getting the first Long Beach, NY event off the
ground. He made it to the last event and then he passed away. All he ever
did was talk about Surfers Healing. You know, he lived for what we did, and
this year we are dedicating this event and future Long Beach events in his
memory.
Adam:
Can people get involved and volunteer at the upcoming camps?
Izzy: Absolutely, the day of, absolutely. Everyone kind of finds their place
once they’re there. We’re starting in Long Beach on the 12th at
9:30am – well depending on the tide and the waves of course. But just
come down and watch and experience it because there’s no way to put
into words what they’ll see. You know volunteering to me is even just
watching and just seeing what it’s like. Seeing some of the difficult
times of the kids, fighting on the boards, and instructors taking charge and
getting the kids out in the water and riding - ripping waves. You know, standing
up!
Adam: Ripping…What are some of your more memorable events?
Izzy: I’ll have to say our best event ever had to be two or three years
ago at Long Beach, when it was like 4ft and perfectly hollow. Every left was
barreling and I got this one little boy up on a wave and time like just slowed
down. I squatted down and we sat in this tube for a few seconds and it was
just remarkable, absolutely remarkable.
Adam:
I heard you guys take them out in some good size surf surf. Was it at Huntington
where it was 4-6ft?
Izzy: Jesus that was San Onofre! And then there was Trestles during the Boost
Mobile where it was 4-6ft and we had some really, really good wipeouts. But
you know I got to attribute it back to the guys who I grew up with that were
born and raised in Hawaii and who are just so willing to go. It’s almost
like it’s inherent with a lot of these Hawaiians who are such amazing
watermen. They ride huge waves on a daily basis, so with the children it just
comes so natural.
Adam:
It’s sounds like you’re having some fun at the camps. Is it difficult
running it as a business?
Izzy: Yeah absolutely. We’re getting a little smarter and a little more
together as a business. We just hired Joey Santley as our new figurehead and
we have a great attorney, Steven Reiss at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, who
is doing all pro bono work. I really want to keep doing this, but it’s
so difficult. It gets taxing on my personal life, and it takes away from the
regular business, which is the Paskowitz Surf Camp. Sometimes I feel like
I’m the world’s worst Jewish businessman [laughs].
But you know what, it keeps me straight. If I didn’t have Surfers Healing
to keep me rolling, I might be living on the beach in Cabo drinking a bottle
of Tequila everyday. I swear to God I mean that. I really do.
Adam: What kind of turnout are you expecting?
Izzy: In New Jersey we have 550 autistic children signed up. We can only take
160 kids surfing, but 550 will come down. We’re looking at two to three
thousand people on the beach. We’ll do different things because some
of the kids are bigger and we have to put a limit on the tandem rides. It’s
going to be an absolute Autism Fest [laughs]!
Adam: Do you have to turn families away?
Izzy: Oh yeah. They knew that only a certain amount can get in. But it’s
cool because the other children that wanted to come can still do other things,
and watch! They’ll be a part of the whole support system.
Adam: How about the New York events?
Izzy: A huge thing that we’re doing this year is having the Long Beach
event during the same time as the Unsound Pro. If they run the event on the
day of the camp, then we can go to the side, and if they don’t then
we go straight in front, and then have some of these goddamn pro surfers to
come out and help some of the kids. In my opinion some of the most selfish
people in the world are surfers. Every day they're out in the water fighting
for the best waves just for themselves. So it’s such a revelation when
you get some pro surfers to help. And we’ve had guys on the North Shore
like Jamie O’Brien, Nathan Carroll, who were just blown away by the
whole situation. Guys like Makua Rothman, who were like “Wow man, these
kids really dig it. It ain’t easy, but these kids really dig surfing.”
So I’m hoping to get them, because the guys will be there, and to have
them all involved will be really special. Whether they’re helping in
the water or getting the child a coke or something.
Adam:
What does the future hold for Surfers Healing?
Izzy: The future of the program is the sky’s the limit. Almost like
a “Step into Liquid for Special Ed [laughs]." Now with the recognition,
the funding is getting way better, and the surf world is beginning to recognize
that what we do is as legitimate as Surfrider. So we are working on setting
up committees in locations like Hawaii and New York, and hopefully we’ll
be able to have the volunteers to continue what we do. It’s also especially
important to me that we have a permanent location in Southern California.
We got a green light to shoot a documentary in 2008. We’re going to
Galveston, where my dad grew up, and to Florida. We’re exploring the
possibilities of going to different countries like Japan where it’s
prevalent, and to Australia as well. So you know it’s very exciting.
Lucky for me that we got some great people on board on the business side to
perpetuate what we do because I’m just a dumb surfer.
But really, being a conduit to bring the community together is such a blessing.
You know my dream is that we have a permanent surf shop that’s run by
autistic kids, or a bakery or pie shop with a surf theme, whatever it is,
just to make sure we include a child in the community that is too often swept
under the rug. It’s
increasing the awareness part of it that needs to happen more. Because
there are still too many people out there that don’t know why my son
is acting like he does, and they don’t consider that it’s Autism.