theHUB July August 2015

theHUB THE CENTER OF THINGS

JULY/AUGUST 2015

Southern California

SURF’S UP!

DISCOVER THE SOCAL STOKE

ADA IS 25!• FULL-ACCESS MUSIC FESTIVALS• SCHOOLING HOLLYWOOD• thehubsocal.com

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25 Years dedicated to serving the spinal cord-injury community and helping them to get the justice they deserve Dr. Heimberg, along with all the attorneys at SCI Lawyers, would like to thank the community for putting their trust in us.

S PINAL C ORD I NJURY LAWYERS info@scilawyers.com Hablamos Espa単ol

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theHUB AT THE CENTER OF EVERYTHING

of Southern California

July/August 2015 issue

FEATURES

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Pg. 18 Accessible Music Festivals Austin Whitney is Saved Pg. 22 Surfing SoCal Tackling the Dogpatch Pg. 28 Ezra Frech Angel City’s Multi-sport Champ

DEPARTMENTS Pg. 6 Editor’s Note Sam Maddox Pg. 8 Contributors The writing team Pg. 10 News The SoCal Beat Pg. 11 Calendar Events and Activities Pg. 12 Health is Wealth Sexual Wellness Plan

LET’S GO SURFING NOW

MUSIC FOR ALL

SUMMER IN SOCAL. What’s more iconic than surfing? Brad Parks shows us how to ride the waves near San Onofre. You can lie down or sit and paddle. We are stoked!

MUSIC IS POWERFUL and good for the soul. And the outdoor festival experience is becoming accessible to fans with any sort of disability.

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Pg. 14 Ralph’s Riders Meet the Skinners Pg. 16 Travel Beach Time in California Pg. 26 Empowerment Ed Roberts’ Vision Pg. 30 GEAR GALLERY Cool Tools

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HELPING YOU RECLAIM YOUR LIFE

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Please visit www.scilawyers.com for more information about SCI’s unmatched qualifications, unparalleled outcomes and our 25 year commitment to the SCI community.

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theHUB AT THE CENTER OF EVERYTHING

EDITOR’S NOTE SOLVE PROBLEMS, ENRICH LIVES

endless summer

Photo by Madeline Maddox

WELCOME TO SUMMER in SoCal. What’s more soul of the season than a combination of surfing, music festivals and disability civil rights?

First, you have to love our cover story. Surfing by people using wheelchairs is a familiar story—but not without a 20-lifeguard concierge service for every surfer. Brad Parks drives to Dogpatch, a steady rolling break at the San Onofre area, unloads his board and puts it on a little community trailer that remains at the beach; after he transfers from chair to board, one of Brad’s surfdog buddies pulls him to the water. That’s it.

He paddles out, turns around and rides. Tell the teacher he’s surfing. If this catches on, someone ought to write a song about it.

Next, how about Austin Whitney, whose love of rock ’n‘ roll steered him to a booming business—he helps big outdoor music festivals figure out their obligations to accommodate all music fans, no matter their ability. Ever go to a concert and have the stand-up fans block your view of the stage? That won’t be the story if Austin’s on the job. Over the years, he says, at least one patron will tell him, “This festival has changed my life.” They’re not kidding.

OK, this is 2015, that’s 25 years since the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed. It’s not a perfect piece of law, and if you don’t pay attention you’ll see a chamber of commerce somewhere trying to scale it back. But for the community of people living in the U.S. with disabilities, this is the cornerstone of civil rights.

Our coverage features the words of the late, great Ed Roberts, who was a civil rights pioneer and is considered the Godfather of the ADA. Of course this anniversary deserves a big celebration; see our Calendar for details on local events. The Hub is the media sponsor for a very cool gathering on Sunday, July 26— the actual date of the ADA’s birth. The site is Dodger Stadium at 10 a.m., and the event—also sponsored by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, Ralph’s Riders and Paul Bowers Associates—will mark the occasion by attempting to break the Guinness World Record set at Dodger Stadium in 2010 for the Longest Line of Moving Wheelchairs. Enjoy the summer!

—Sam Maddox

Southern California

Volume 1, Number 3

• Editor Sam Maddox Managing Editor Megan Wiskus Art Director George Kenton Graphic Designers David Norby, Aaron Roseli, Gary Zsigo Director of Community Affairs Mayra Fornos Circulation Coordinator Cristina Banuelos cristina@thehubsocal.com

• Contributors Olivia Almalel, Andrew Angulo, Toby Forrest, Xander Mozejewski, S. Nelson, Vanessa Osman, Allen Rucker, Katie Sharify, Ellen Stohl, Mark Willits

• Advertising Sales Valerie Teague Disability Resource Link, Inc. 310-902-2908 valerie@thehubsocal.com

• Advisory Board Aaron Baker, Dan Diestel, Mayra Fornos, Toby Forrest, Jenni Gold, Steve Heimberg, M.D., Chelsie Hill, Tom Hollenstein, David Moore, Tami Ridley, Andrew Skinner, Briana Tavano, Valerie Teague, Alan Toy

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CONTRIBUTORS Olivia Almalel

Candace Cable

Olivia Almalel was paralyzed by a hit-andrun driver in 2008 and is a T10 para. She’s an avid proponent of public transit and works as a pharmacy technician.

Candace Cable joined “the club” after a spinal cord injury in 1975. She thrashed around in pain and anger for a short while, and then began a 27-year career as an elite athlete, winning nine gold medals in the U.S. Paralympics (both winter and summer sports).

She’s a blogger for the Reeve Foundation and isn’t afraid to

Linda Mona

Robert Mozejewski

get lost looking for answers, and maps.

Dr. Linda Mona is a licensed psychologist and the president of Inclusivity Clinical Consulting Services (ICCS). She specializes in providing psychotherapy, education and training to people with disabilities in the Southern California area.

Robert Mozejewski lives in Studio City with his wife Cheryl and two sons. He joined the SCI community, abruptly and unexpectedly, when his son

A Landmark for America.

An Inspiration to the World.

www.kimobility.com

David Radcliff

Ellen Stohl

Xander was injured in a motorcycle accident in November 2011. He is an advocate for the SCI community and posts regularly about research on Twitter, @SCIFYI. David Radcliff is a member of the Committee for Writers with Disabilities at the Writers Guild of America, West and has lectured widely on issues of disability and media. A graduate of USC and of UCLA, David is currently a finalist for the Sundance Episodic Story Lab and a writing instructor at the New York Film Academy.

Bob Vogel

Ellen Stohl was spinal cord injured in 1982 and became a Playboy model in 1987. She describes herself as “Amazon Barbie Cripple.” She is a writer, educator and professional speaker. “I am a partner— wife and lover.”

Bob Vogel is a reformed supercrip, turned dad, in his 30th year as a T10 para from a skiing accident.

For the past 20 years, he has been a freelance writer covering a wide swath of the wheelin’ world. He divines insight from Killy (Keeley), his service dog.

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Ki Mobility would like to congratulate the ADA on a quarter century of building life enhancing advances in equality for American citizens.

(800) 981-1540

NEWS NOTES ETC. THE SOCAL BEAT

SPECIAL TREATMENT FOR LA GAMES L OS ANGELES will host the Sp ecial Olympics World Games in July, featuring 7,000 athletes from 177 countries.

Opening ceremonies promise to be spectacular they’re being produced by the people who did the opening events for the Olympic Games in Ad1outline.pdf

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London (2012) and Sochi (2014), and will be held July 25 at the LA Coliseum. First Lady Michelle Obama will be there, and rumor has it there will be performances by Stevie Wonder, Avril Lavigne, Nicole Scherzinger, Cody Simpson and the band O.A.R. Jimmy Kimmel, Eva Longoria, Michael Phelps and Yao Ming are also slated to appear at the event. ESPN will broadcast the opening ceremony live; daily coverage will appear on ESPN, ABC or ESPN2. Said Wonder: “Throughout my own journey of overcoming the odds, it’s truly an inspiring moment to join these incredible athletes as they come to Los Angeles to compete and accomplish so many victories.”

DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT TERRIBLE. AGAIN.

P

eople with disabilities were unemployed last year at a rate more than twice that of the general population. That’s the recent word from the U.S. Department of Labor, which tagged the jobless rate for Americans with disabilities at 12.5 percent, compared to 5.9 percent for everyone else. Eighty percent of people with disabilities were not in the labor force in 2014—they were not working and were not looking for work. By comparison, just three in 10 people in the general population fit in this category. It could be worse, however.

The job scene is far from robust, but the feds say the jobless rate was 13.2 percent in 2013.

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calendar UPCOMING EVENTS OF NOTE

July 11 Disability Fest 2015, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Los Angeles City Hall.

Sponsored by Communities Actively Living Independent and Free (CALIF) and the City of LA Department on Disabilities. disability.lacity.org

July 18 LET’EM ROLL CASINO NIGHT, a benefit for the Triumph Foundation, Hyatt Regency Hotel, Valencia. Tickets $100; includes dinner and music. Texas Hold’em poker tournament, craps, blackjack and roulette. triumph-foundation.org

Adaptive Sports & Recreation Association, 619-336-1806, adaptivesportsandrec.org September 12 Opulent Mobility is an opportunity to show that wheelchairs, walkers, prosthetics, crutches and other inventions of assistive technology are objects of art and design, not just utility. This is a curated art event. Deadline for submissions is June 30; exhibition will open September 12 at Cal State Northridge. dreamsbymachine.com

July 17 ADA 25th Anniversary. The Dayle McIntosh Center for the Disabled hosts a celebration, Brookhurst Community Center, 2271 W. Crescent Ave, Anaheim CA 92801. daylemc.org July 25-27 Sierra Cycle Challenge, circumnavigate the Glass Mountains, in support of Disabled Sports of Eastern Sierra. disabledsportseasternsierra.org

Foundation, Ralph’s Riders and Paul Bowers Associates.

July 26 Americans with Disabilities Act turns 25. Celebrate at Dodger Stadium. Speakers, entertainment and the resetting of the Guinness World Record for Longest Moving Line of Wheelchairs. Starts at 11. Sponsored by the Reeve

August 5-7 Land Meets Sea Sports Camp will be held at Long Beach.

Introduces people with disabilities to adaptive water, land, recreation and competitive sports. Activities include handcycling, jet skiing, water skiing, outrigger canoeing,

July 25 THEY WILL SKATE AGAIN, sidewalk and skate park shredding for wheelchair skaters, Venice State Beach Park. From Life Rolls On. liferollson.org

and sailing, plus quad rugby, hockey, basketball and tennis. Fee is $300. Contact Casa Colina Outdoor Adventures, 909-596-7733, ext. 4131, casacolina.org August 2-8 Easter Seals Camp is a weeklong resident camp serving children and adults in the San Bernardino Mountains. The fee is $750; the camp is co-ed and campers must have some communication skills. easterseals. com/southerncal August 11-15 Junior Wheelchair Sports Camp, for children ages 4-18, will be held in National City (San Diego). Campers can learn the fundamentals of adaptive sports including wheelchair basketball, tennis, archery, swimming, wheelchair rugby, wheelchair soccer, handcycling, sailing, water tubing, outrigger canoeing, kayaking and more. Contact the

July 25-August 2 SPECIAL OLYMPICS WORLD GAMES, va r i o u s ve n u e s .

Includes 7,000 athletes and 3,000 coaches representing 177 countries, with 30,000 volunteers and 500,000 spectators. Opening ceremonies at the LA Coliseum July 25. Stevie Wonder will perform. la2015.org

Have an event you want to tell everyone about? Visit the hubsocal.com and enter it into easy-to-use system!

July/August 2015 - thehubsocal.com 11

HEALTH IS WEALTH CREATING A SEXUAL WELLNESS PLAN

By Linda Mona, Ph.D.

HAVE A PLAN Having a plan to identify strengths and pitfalls in yourself and within your intimate relationship is key to keeping your relationship strong. By asking yourself the questions listed you can quickly identify difficulties and move forward with positive preventative steps.

People with disabilities vary as much as people without them in terms of sex lives. Yet, there are specific life experiences and societal definitions that influence how people with disabilities view themselves and their relationships. Acknowledge the social barriers. It can be very hard to feel sexy when questioning your own desirability. This is a very common experience. Talk with other people with disabilities about their dating and romantic experiences. You may be surprised that many have had similar rejections and have had difficulties pulling themselves back up and putting themselves back on the market. Give yourself permission to think about these issues and get support when you need it. We rarely hear about the sexual relationship success stories within the disability community and certainly are not given many opportunities to celebrate these experiences. These relationships are created, nurtured and maintained.

Make your sexual wellness plan so that you’re ready to enhance your sex life as a vibrant person with a disability.

12 thehubsocal.com - July/August 2015

self care is best care

MAINTAINING a positive, happy sex life is a priority for most people, including those with disabilities. Living with a disability can, however, erect a set of unique circumstances that interfere with romantic relationships and sexual activity.

Whether we like it or not, disability affects all life areas, including sexuality. Health-related difficulties or changes, as well as social barriers such as access to transportation, caregiving services, and/or living in the community independently can influence the ways in which people with disabilities value themselves as sexual human beings and their satisfaction within their sexual relationships.

For years, we’ve discussed the reasons behind the negative perceptions of sexuality and disability. We know that, historically, people with

disabilities have received messages from society, media and their families suggesting that they’re not sexual and are unlikely to find a sexual partner.

There have also been constant societal messages that people with disabilities are less sexually desirable than nondisabled people. People with disabilities are not typically hired for sexually themed commercials, or activity recruited to participate in mainstream speed dating events. Accordingly, people with disabilities have received messages that they’re valued less sexually than people without disabilities.

PLAN OF ATTACK The negative explanations have been drilled into us for years. So what now? People with disabil-

ities need to move forward doing what they do best—planning to take care of their sexual health with intent and great execution, not in spite of their disability, but because of it. A plain, simple and neutral plan of attack is needed to preserve their sexual selves and relationships alongside negative societal messages and potential chronic health issues.

Self-care is key to balance in life. There are many psychological models aimed at encouraging people to create “wellness plans,” to assist with living satisfying lives.

A wellness plan is usually a set of behaviors that focus on optimizing physical and mental health and truly explores the connection between the two. A “wellness plan” per se is really just a different way of saying “prevention plan.” Planning for people with disabilities is typically commonplace, since their lives are dependent upon multiple systems (e.g. health care, social security, public transportation, public housing, multiple relationships and adaptive equipment). If one thing in that complicated cycle goes awry, quality of life can be disrupted abruptly. So why not develop a sexual prevention plan? Research sug-

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gests that satisfying sexual relationships (with ourselves and others) can improve general and sexual self-esteem, reduce depression and anxiety symptoms, and lead to better overall physical health. It is also important to have a system for appreciating and enhancing your personal strengths and reducing negative thoughts and feelings. So why not go for it? Take out your computer, iPad, pen and paper, or any communication device that you use and begin brainstorming answers to the questions below.

Note: These questions can be asked each day to keep you on track with preserving your intimate relationships.

How do my intimate relationship and I function when life is good?

Thoughts and feelings about myself are compassionate and I’m engaging in pleasurable activities; feelings of emotional and physical intimacy are high and sexual activity is consistent.

What are my daily thoughts and be haviors when my intimate relationship is functioning well?

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Monitoring my general stress levels and addressing my health care needs in a direct manner; able to be present and attentive to one’s partner and create time for your relationship every day.

What additional efforts do I make routinely to maintain my well-being and my intimate relationship?

Think of ways to make my partner and myself feel special (e.g., romance, music, eating favorite foods) Where is my mind and heart when I am triggered into negative thoughts about my intimate relationship or myself?

Feeling societal pressure about disability negative messages; engage in arguing, acting out with intimate relationship values, stop communicating thoughts and feelings to partner The warning signs that my intimate relationship is in trouble or that my partner has reported or I have observed are: Avoidance of communication with partner and/or lack of interest in sex; partner tells me that I am withdrawing

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RALPH’S RIDERS TRIUMPH FOUNDATION

By Olivia Almalel

paving the road to recovery “In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.”

—Albert Camus

W

hen talking about Andrew Skinner, a self-proclaimed “recovering quadriplegic” who found intrinsic value in his injury, this quote is rather fitting. He serves as the executive director and driving force for Triumph Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization created to pay forward and share SCI resources, support (at times, bedside), mentoring and hope that was afforded to him after his accident in November 2004—a spinal cord injury (level C-4, 5 and 6) that hasn’t stopped him from pursuing his path as a businessman, a husband, a father, an athlete or a passionate leader.

Initially, Triumph’s mission was to bring holiday cheer, good spirits and hope to those spending their holidays in a hospital rehab. It has grown from pizza parties and a handful of holiday gift baskets, to delivering approximately 200 well-stocked baskets year-round to rehab facilities all over Southern California.

The nonprofit empowers people who once believed their lives to be uncertain post spinal cord injury. In addition to their regularly scheduled wheelchair sports clinics and festivals, which honor Skinner’s belief that we’re “getting better every day,” Triumph has been equipped to provide small scholarships, minor home modifications and about three vehicle giveaways. People of all abilities are welcome to Triumph outings and events like the annual “Let ‘Em Roll Casino Night” fund-raiser and gala.

Skinner claims to be a regular guy, which sounds convincing when he talks about his wife Kirsten, a kindergarten school director, and says things like he just came from a day of meetings, a “school pickup” to take his four-year-old daughter, Betty, to grab some ice cream, and long checkout lines at the grocery store—and his reasoning is this: “I couldn’t do it on my own. It’s so much bigger than me.

It’s the volunteers and ambassadors that have made Triumph Foundation what it is today. I’m just a guy that wanted to help others find their way after having their lives shaken up.”

Andrew, Kirsten and Betty Skinner

To learn more about upcoming events, sport clinics (equipment and able-bodies at the ready), SCI resources and more, visit triumph-foundation.org.

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SPONSORED BY RALPH’S RIDERS FOUNDATION www.ralphsriders.org 14 thehubsocal.com - July/August 2015

You are invited to join the celebration of the ADA turning 25!

Dodger Stadium, July 26, 10 a.m.

Sponsored by The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation Ralph’s Riders Foundation Bowers Associates The Hub of Southern California

TRAVEL TRIP SUMMER MEANS BEACH TIME BY CANDACE CABLE

cool coastal access TRAVEL TIPS: Most beaches in SoCal, from San Luis Obispo to San Diego, make available special wheelchairs for sand access, and a number of San Diego area beaches offer a very cool power chair option. Advance reservations are a good idea, but the chairs are available on a roll-up basis: Just find a lifeguard station and ask them. For a list, visit coastal. ca.gov and click on the “Borrow a Beach Wheelchair” link on homepage.

HOW MANY COASTAL TRAILS ARE THERE? “One hundred sixty trails are listed on the site, and I have looked at 85 percent of them,” says Bonnie. “What makes the website unique is that each site was visited by a wheelchair user to gather in-depth access information providing enough detail to allow users to determine for themselves if a site meets their particular accessibility needs, including accessible features of the restrooms, parking areas, average cross-slopes and grades of trails, as well as firmness and width of trail surfaces. There are public transportation and seasonal shuttle links for finding the best routes to the beach of choice. One popular feature is a beach wheelchair available for loan.”

16 thehubsocal.com - July/August 2015

IT’S SUMMERTIME and what’s on our minds? The beach! If you use a wheelchair for getting around town, you know the half-focused feeling as you flip through glossy travel magazines, daydreaming of blue skies, even bluer water and white sand beaches dotted with palm trees.

“Looks sweet,” you say, “but where’s the access?

I’m stuck in the sand.” Well, be stuck no more.

Bonnie Lewkowicz has arrived to dig us out and point us toward SoCal wheelchair access, so we can hit the beach and keep on rolling.

I think of Bonnie, a C5-6 quadriplegic from a 1972 all-terrain vehicle accident at the age of 15, as the disability community’s John Muir. She’s an advocate who understood early in her wheel life that adventures in nature are a must for a balanced and healthy quality of life. Of course, back in the ’70s and ’80s there wasn’t any outdoor access, documented or not, so Bonnie set out on her own to satisfy her adventurous spirit.

Why the attraction to outdoor travel and beaches? “Maybe after becoming disabled it was a way to open the world to me because so many things were closed. It was a way that I could meet new people, have new experiences, and a sense of doing something [for] the first time on my own [where] I’d get the feeling that I can do anything.”

RELIABLE ACCESS INFORMATION After she earned a degree in recreation therapy, Bonnie became one of the first travel agents to specialize in accessible travel and made tourism and outdoor recreation more accessible to people with disabilities. “I realized that one of the biggest barriers that prevented most people with disabilities from having rewarding travel experiences was the lack of reliable access information. My mission was to educate and inform tourism and recreation personnel about how to best serve people with disabilities, but after seven years, I was still anxious about my clients encountering access problems on their trips; so in 1997, I started the nonprofit

Access Northern California, [in order] to work on a local level and personally inspect hotels, attractions, parks and trails. This way I can verify access and share this reliable information in guides on the website.”

Enter the California Coastal Commission and California Coastal Conservancy, both California state agencies with the mission to provide access to the California shoreline. There wasn’t any data on access for people with disabilities, so Bonnie was brought in to write the original access guide for the San Francisco Bay and the nearby coastal areas. She also produced editions for Los Angeles and Orange County beaches. “The Coastal Conservancy saw how well received and in demand these books were,” says Bonnie. “They realized the need to create data for all California coastal counties.“ Alas, the books are not in print but exist in the easy-to-use formal wheelingcalscoast.org, created by Bonnie with funding from the Coastal Conservancy.

BEST BEACHES I asked Bonnie where the best beaches are, SoCal or NorCal? “Depends on the experience you’re looking for. SoCal is better for experiencing the beach. The beaches are warmer and flatter, with urban-type activity centers, while NorCal beaches are colder, rocky and passive with far reaching vistas.”

Where’s Bonnie’s favorite SoCal beach? “I have two favorites: Mission Beach in San Diego (it has free loaner power beach chairs) and Doheny in Orange County (it has an accessible palapa!).”

For more information, check out Bonnie’s site accessnca.org. For all California beaches that have been surveyed, visit wheelingcalscoast.org. If you head out to one of these beaches, and you love it, drop the Coastal Conservancy a line about your swell experience. Bonnie says Conservancy funding has ended and will only be reinstated if there is interest.

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This program is funded by California utility customers and administered by Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas®) under the auspices of the California Public Utilities Commission. Eligibility requirements apply. © 2015 Southern California Gas Company. Trademarks are property of their respective owners. All rights reserved. Some materials used under license, with all rights reserved by licensor.

MAKING FESTIVALS ACCESSIBLE TO ALL

MUSIC

MATTERS

By Robert Mozejewski

MUSIC IS A POWERFUL SOURCE OF TRANSFORMATION, and we all know that live music ratchets up the power even more. Austin Whitney, the founder and executive director of Accessible Festivals—a company built on the simple notion that music does the soul good, and therefore must be available to all people of all abilities—describes his story of music and redemption .

AUSTIN IS SAVED “Rock ’n’ roll saved my life—undoubtedly and unequivocally. Eight years ago, I was a mess…an absolute wreck. I crashed my car into a tree and suffered a complete spinal cord injury. I was told I’d never feel sensation in my legs again. I was 18 and this sounded like a death sentence. Instead of going to college as planned, my life was completely derailed. I never knew anyone in a wheelchair before my injury, and I expected that 18 thehubsocal.com - July/August 2015

every goal and aspiration I’d developed in my young life were now beyond my reach. I figured my professional goals were dashed, that adventure was a word I’d never use again, that I’d never feel the embrace of a woman again, never take another step with my own legs, and that happiness was an emotion I’d no longer feel. I can’t find words to accurately describe the hopelessness I felt in those early days.

Five months after my accident, my

life was starting to move forward again. I started college, finally got a wheelchair of my own, and had made some new friends.

Then an unexpected life-changing moment occurred: I saw a festival lineup with Roger Waters of Pink Floyd headlining. Like many kids, I grew up to the soundtrack of Floyd.

So boom, I saw Waters’ name on that lineup and knew there was nothing I wanted more in the world than to see that show. He was set to play ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ in its entirety and all of my new friends were going. I started getting excited but my mindset was quickly overshadowed by anxiety.

This wasn’t a normal concert—I’d been to a few concerts in a wheelchair—this was an outdoor music festival, in the desert. I envisioned a Woodstock-esque chaos of crowds, unknown terrain and 100-plus-de-

Austin Whitney

Lightning in a Bottle campground

Photography by Xander Mozejewski

thing under the sun was in tune; for the first time since my accident, I was smiling, I was singing, and I was laughing with my friends. I didn’t focus on being in pain or being ‘different.’ At that moment I was as happy as I’d ever been before. That was a real turning point in my recovery—a turning point in coming to terms with my disability.”—Austin Whitney

Austin’s partner Oren Shani

began offering advice to festival organizers to better accommodate him and his fellow music fans with disabilities. When Whitney began law school at UC Berkeley in 2012, he started getting paid by individual festivals to help with their ADA compliance. The fullinclusion concept clicked with the industry, and Accessible Festivals was born last year; this year, Whitney and partner Oren Shani will provide ADA services to about three dozen major festivals across the U.S., including the Electric Daisy Carnivals in New York and Las Vegas, the Oregon Jamboree, and the Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin.

“I was heartened and pleasantly surprised to find that festival organizers were onboard with the idea of access for all,” says

Photography by Xander Mozejewski

gree heat—would they even have restrooms I could use? On top of that, I had no idea if I’d even be able to see the stage. I’d never been to a music festival before, and I certainly had never contemplated these challenges in my new paraplegic life. Could it work?

As I wrestled with the logistical worstcase scenarios, my friends told me that they were going to make it happen, that they’d do whatever they had to to get me out there, and that we’d make it work together.

So I bought a ticket and took a leap of faith.

Was it the greatest show ever? A moment that stops time, where nothing, not a single thing mattered, except for the onetime experience that you’re lucky enough to be a part of? Yes. As Roger sang, every-

BIRTH OF A BUSINESS Whitney has attended many festivals since that summer, continuing his self-discovery, while at the same time finding opportunities to share the experience as he builds an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) service business.

While some festivals welcomed the wheelchair patron, others didn’t have a clue about ADA compliance, so Whitney

Whitney. “They’re aware there may be legal obligations, but they really want to do the right thing—they just don’t know how—so they’re pretty excited to see a guy like me who can help them.”

LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE The past Memorial Day Weekend, my son Xander and I attended Lightning in a Bottle (LIB) festival, a four-day music, art and culture event held at the San Antonio Recreation Center, about three hours north of LA in Monterey County. The event is produced by The Do LaB from Los Angeles, and they take the ADA experience very seriously (they hired Accessible Festivals to make sure they got it right). According to The DoLaB: “It has always been our goal to make LIB a place for everyone, no matter what. What we strive to do with Accessible July/August 2015 - thehubsocal.com 19

Photographs by Xander Mozejewski

and map are essential, they usually need to visit the site in advance. Among the tasks are setting up camping for the shows that allow it (most do not), restrooms and showers (both top priority), configuring

Access at LIB: ADA spoken here.

Festivals is to take away as many of the hurdles as possible to create a beautiful and accessible festival space for everyone.”

This year, about 150 LIB attendees utilized the services of the ADA Center.

About half of them camped within an ADA sub-camp; accommodations included a dedicated, private tent camping area with parking immediately adjacent to the main roadway, a custom-built camp shower, a shuttle service that ran hourly with rear lift to load and carry wheelchairs, and elevated platforms for those in wheelchairs at each of the main stages.

Moving around LIB was definitely not easy, with 25,000 people in attendance, and grounds spread out over a mile or so of interconnected peninsulas and dirt roadways. It was hilly, bumpy and dusty, but filled with fun, love, wonder, acceptance and accessibility.

“After pushing around in the grass and dirt, getting cooked by the sun, and having little food and water for three days,” says T6 paraplegic Xander Mozejewski, “I’ve realized that the human body is the most amazing thing in the world.”

Xander was able to get behind the wheel of a Kubota, a heavy-duty golf cart, and contributed to the production effort by delivering coffee, lemonade and bottled beverages throughout the 11 drink stations.

No hand controls were necessary, as he utilized one of his camera tripods to accelerate and brake.

We met one of the neighbors, Louanne Chenowith, a quad who lives two miles up the road from the festival entrance. In 2014 she attended the festival as a guest of The Do LaB and had such a wonderful time she decided to get a vending booth and sell 20 thehubsocal.com - July/August 2015

jewelry and trinkets she makes. “I have been in a wheelchair since 1973, when I was 18 years old,” says Chenowith. “My husband and I have lived near Lake San Antonio for 15 years, and we have never seen such a Hollywood production as LIB. The Do LaB team was extremely helpful in making a flat spot for my booth, making sure I could get in and out. I went down to the ADA camp and met some of the young campers with disabilities enjoying the music. The best part about the staff at LIB was their resolve to help make the event comfortable for everyone.”

Jennifer Nelson, a power-chair-using attendee from Southern California also appreciated the effort toward inclusion. “I always shied away from festivals, as my disability makes it difficult to enjoy the event. I attended LIB in 2013 because they strongly promoted their accessibility on their website. Austin Whitney and his company made my festival experience so incredibly positive! The ADA campsite was awesome: I was near the action so I wasn’t draining my battery charge on my chair; and it was close to ADA-accessible showers and bathrooms, and had power available for medical devices. The viewing platform at the main stage allowed me to see the show, instead of just the backsides of the people in front of me! Now, when I’m considering attending a festival, the first thing I check is to see if they have an ADA plan prominently featured on their website.”

THE SETUP Whitney has a busy summer and fall season ahead with a festival almost every week. For large, outdoor events, planning starts months in advance. While a site plan

parking and access pathways, and coordinating shuttle services (shows have stages that are half a mile apart). The accommodations are not just for wheelchairs either.

Efforts are made to include sign language, closed caption or assisted listening systems, with information available in braille.

Whitney says he and his staff have to approve service animals. Most shows do not allow pets—service dogs are OK but not all such animals are certifiable.

Whitney and his people also help festivals get their access message set up on social media. “We help the production company set up website information and accessibility services. Sometimes this depends on key demographics—a country show, for example, will draw more patrons with disabilities than an electronic dance festival, while BottleRock, held in late May in the Napa Valley, caters to wine drinkers and a somewhat older crowd than the folks who attend Coachella.

“The key to this is reasonable accommodation,” says Whitney. “We are a service business—the goal is to create a very strong human connection. Mainly, though, our job is to be helpful. When I’m on site, I give out my cell phone number and make myself available 24-7. If you spend three days with people, you get to know them. I make a lot of friends in this business.”

Whitney has one more semester of law school but it seems law may no longer be his vocation. “I love my job working festivals...My story of what these events can mean to a person is not unique. At each event I’ve worked at over the years I’ve had at least one of my patrons tell me ‘this festival has changed my life.’ I know they’re not exaggerating.”

•

The ADA is 25; Join the Celebration July 26

By Mayra Fornos, Esq. What a difference a quarter of a century makes!

With great joy and honor, I celebrate this significant mark in history. On July 26, 1990, the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) was enacted; it has been the most significant civil rights law since the Civil Rights Act of 1964! The ADA transformed the lives of millions and changed how society accommodates people with disabilities.

At this time of celebration, we must remember and applaud the hard work and unwavering spirit of all the advocate-warriors who fought so hard against exclusion and segregation.

For more than 23 years I have represented individuals who are severely injured or disabled; I have been involved in the spinal cord injury and disability community for even longer. My tremendous inspiration came from all those before me who battled, year after year, to bring justice for the injured and disabled. Truly, I am humbled to walk and roll with this community that I so love.

The ADA has been a remarkable success, but at the same time, the law has not fully delivered

on its key promises to eliminate discrimination against people with disabilities. Without question, the American With Disabilities Act has provided greater access to places of public accommodation, has increased employment opportunities for people with disabilities and has helped in changing society’s prejudices, but as we commemorate its 25th Anniversary, more still needs to be done...much more. We must unite and continue to fight to advance, honor and protect the integrity of this very significant and noble law.

For now, we celebrate in the achievements, opportunities and doors that the ADA has opened. Please join us on the ADA’s birthday – July 26, 2015, for a special day of celebrations, remembrances, and uniting as one family at Dodger Stadium, sponsored by the RALPH’S RIDERS FOUNDATION and the CHRISTOPHER & DANA REEVE FOUNDATION. We invite all to join us to be part of the nationwide festivities and to make a recommitment to the Americans With Disabilities Act.

ADA In LA Celebration Join us at the Dodger Stadium Parking Lot, July 26, 10 a.m. to noon for a major community event to mark the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Dodger Stadium, July 26, 2010.

Photo by Gil Garcetti

As a memorable bonus, we will attempt to break the Guinness World Record we set five years ago on the 20th anniversary of the ADA for the most wheelchairs in a moving line. Be there!

IF EVERYBODY HAD AN OCEAN

BRAD PARKS RETURNS TO THE WAVES

BY BOB VOGEL

Photos by: Jeff Vazquez

A

fter several strong paddle strokes, Brad Parks felt the board tap into the wave’s energy and propel him onto the glassy face. Angling to the right, he accelerated, staying ahead of the peeling shoulder of white water and drew a clean line across and down the wave.

When he got to the bottom he set the rail, nosed up and pulled out. He was stoked! Paddling back to the lineup, he had an ear-to-ear grin—his first wave in 38 years! It was the summer of 2013 and he was on an adaptive sit-down surfboard called a wave ski.

Parks, 58, of San Clemente, is a T12 complete para. Growing up in Southern California, Parks’ passions were surfing and skiing. He honed his wave-riding chops in the late ’60s on the breaks made famous by the Beach Boys, at Newport and Huntington Beach, then Trestles and Cottons in the ’70s. “Back then you had to hike through cow pastures to get to some of the more remote breaks,” he recalls. A ski crash at the age of 18 put an abrupt end to both sports for Parks. Shortly after rehab, he tried surfing by lying down on his regular board but it didn’t work. “The board design wasn’t right,” he says. Although there was a sadness of not being able to access sports he loved, he switched his focus to tennis and made history. He started the July/August 2015 - thehubsocal.com 23

National Foundation of Wheelchair Tennis, helped grow the sport worldwide, earned multiple championship titles, and is a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

ADAPTIVE SURFBOARDS

REWRITING THE SUMMER STORY Twenty years ago, Parks returned to skiing using a mono-ski. Although he says he was aware of the developing adaptive SoCal surf scene beginning around the year 2000, surfing remained low on his radar until recently. “The stars aligned when I went to see a screening of a re-digitized version of Five Summer Stories, a classic surf movie that inspired my surfing all through high school,” he says. “I ended up sitting in front of my high school surfing buddy Jeff Vasquez, whom I hadn’t seen in years.”

Vasquez told Parks how he was into stand up paddleboard (SUP) surfing and had friends who are adaptive surfers at his regular break. He offered to set Parks up with a board and take him out. Parks agreed, figuring it would be a fun, one-off thing.

Two weeks later, Parks showed up at Dogpatch, a mellow, rolling break at the southern end of San Onofre State Beach, where the SUP surfers, sit-down surfers and adaptive surfers ride. Vasquez had borrowed a wide, easy-to-balance beginner wave ski—an adaptive board that you sit on and propel with a kayak paddle—from veteran wave skier Mark Thorton, a T4 para from Carlsbad.

“Dogpatch has a good adaptive scene,” Parks says. There is an area of rubber matting that goes down to the water and a twowheel trailer for wave skis that stays at the beach—the locals know the combination.

The trailer fits under the back of the board, about the same height as a wheelchair.

“It was a simple transfer from my chair to the board. When I was set, Jeff grabbed a handle on the front and wheeled me into the water and I started paddling.”

Parks’ first two attempts at dropping in didn’t go as planned. “I wiped out on the first couple of waves,” he recalls. “I would flip over and have to wait a bit to get back on the board because more waves were coming at me—plus getting up on the board is tricky. Mark was there and he showed me how to get my legs to float behind me so they didn’t float under the board and get caught.”

On the third wave, Parks caught and rode it, then paddled back to the lineup, reveling in the thrill of surfing again.

24 thehubsocal.com - July/August 2015

THERE ARE TWO TYPES of adaptive surfboards. Laydown boards are concave and may have pads to keep legs in place and hand straps to grab and angle the board for turning. Sit-down boards, called wave skis, are propelled with a kayak paddle. A key feature of both is having more rocker, the upward curve at the front of the board. That’s so the nose doesn’t dig into the water. Adaptive wave skis have a scooped out, padded seat and options including quick release seat belts and knee rests for stability, and backrests for higher level injuries. Beginner wave ski boards are wide, stable and easy to balance; high performance boards are narrower for quicker turning, but challenging to balance. Laydown boards and wave skis come in tandem versions—great way to experience the sport, learn about catching waves and gain skills to ride on your own. Pictured above is a Wavejet: yep, jet powered, and easier for a laydown surfer to move from shore to wave.

“Catching that first wave was just amazing!

It is the mono-skiing equivalent for surfing,” he says. He was hooked and knew he would be buying a board.

BOARD CHOICES Parks tried many different boards and asked lots of questions. “A custom board is about two grand, so I wanted to get it right the first time,” he says. “Wider boards are more stable and easier to stay up on, narrower boards turn better but are harder to balance on. Do I go with a backrest?

Do I use a quick-release seatbelt? This is more stable for turning but when you get flipped over you have to be able to keep your cool and find it and release it upside

down in the whitewater and not drown.”

After trying many different boards and asking lots of questions, Parks had a 27-inch wide wave ski custom shaped for him by Steve Boehne of Infinity Surfboards—no backrest but with the seatbelt.

These days, Parks surfs at least once a week. He lives in San Clemente and has his choice of surf breaks but keeps returning to San Onofre for the mellow waves and the positive vibe. “It’s like a time capsule to the early ’60s endless summer of friendly spirit,” he says. You drive up and park on the beach. A wheeler with a board can show up solo and make it happen. “Whenever I’m getting my chair out of the car somebody will walk up to me and say ‘hey, you need

“CATCHING THAT FIRST WAVE WAS JUST AMAZING! IT IS THE MONO-SKIING EQUIVALENT FOR SURFING” a hand getting your gear out and getting into the water?’” he says. There is a culture of people that have been surfing there for decades. “Over the years, folks have planted palm trees and built straw huts and it’s a real gathering. People are welcoming—they trade phone numbers and it seems like there are always barbecues and get-togethers.”

The positive vibe extends into the water at Dogpatch, too. Surfers in some places are protective of their locals-only scene— not so here. It’s a classic spot, like Waikiki.

Waves break slowly, offering long rides on mellow shoulders, and you don’t get thrashed if you end up in the white water.

“Another cool thing about Dogpatch is that a lot of able-bodied surfers also wave ski, so when you’re in the lineup you can’t tell who is disabled and who isn’t, no matter if it’s a sit-down board or a laydown board.”

Parks is still working through the wave

ski learning curve. “Each day I go out, I get a little better, with better balance and paddle skills to handle chop,” he says. “I’m sure I will travel to other spots with good access that are popular with adaptive surfers like Oceanside, Carlsbad and Doheny.” He’s also tempted to compete in surfing contests. Thorton has organized adaptive divisions in quite a few surf contests. “Mark has invited me to compete in contests, and it would be really cool to be one of four other guys in the water at famous surf breaks like Rincon during your heat.”

FAMILY SURF TIME “Surfing has also become a great way to spend time with my family,” Parks says. He surfs with his 25-year-old daughters Maiah and Sarah, and cruises flat waters around Dana Point with his wife Wendy, who uses a SUP. “It’s a great workout and a blast to be in

the sun and the ocean. When I come home from a session, I have the same relaxing saltwater-tired feeling I did in my youth,” he says. “There are days when I’m sitting out there with Jeff in the lineup, and we’re talking about family and our younger days surfing together, and we are reliving it. It’s a second chance to do what I love.”

•

RESOURCES Infinity Surfboard Co., Adaptive Surfboards infinitysurf.com/waveski/waveski-for-thedisabled Surfing for Everyone: Life Rolls On liferollson.org San Onofre State Beach parks.ca.gov/?page_id=647 San Onofre Surfing Club sanonofresurfingclub.org July/August 2015 - thehubsocal.com 25

EMPOWERMENT ED ROBERTS: SOUL OF THE ADA

BY SAM MADDOX

disability rights are civil rights I look out and I see you and thousands of other disabled people joining us and saying “We are not going to take it, it’s time we got involved and turned this around.” No one else will do it for us. If we have learned one thing from the civil rights movements in the United States it’s that when others speak for you, you lose.

Ed Roberts and his son Lee.

SPEECH IN RUSSIA, 1993:

THE COMMUNITY is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act this month. It’s too bad Ed Roberts couldn’t be at Dodger Stadium on July 26 to reflect on the importance of this law. Roberts was a polio quad whose advocacy formed the soul of the ADA. Back in the early 1960s, he began to understand that disability rights are civil rights and learned that people perceived as weak could fight discrimination only by becoming strong.

And to become strong, the community had to join together to form a movement.

Roberts helped start the first Independent Living Center in the U.S., in Berkeley. He was once told by the California Department of Rehabilitation that he was too gimpy to ever find work; a few years later he was appointed head of the entire department.

Roberts passed away in 1995, but he did get to see the ADA come to fruition. Let’s dedicate the 2015 ADA celebrations to Ed Roberts, and to mark the occasion, let’s hear from the man himself:

something that has since been extremely important to me—that I’m part of a minority that is as segregated and devalued as any in America’s history. I am part of the disabled minority. I quickly found that other disabled students shared my feelings. We all felt a sense of anger, frustration and isolation. The more we talked, the more it became apparent that we needed to organize if we were to create our own civil rights movement.

SPEECH IN SINGAPORE, 1982: When I was 14, totally paralyzed, and in an iron lung, the doctor turned to my mother and said, “Well, you might as well forget it. No matter what happens, your son will be a vegetable for the rest of his life.” I’m real proud today to appear before you as a green pepper, or a carrot, or whatever vegetable you like. I’m here. Many of you can relate similar stories. What’s happening, I think, is that those of us who are the vegetables of the world are uniting, and we are rising up, and we are not going to stand to be second-class citizens.

SPEECH IN MAY 1980: When I was at UC Berkeley in the ‘60s, I and almost every other student on campus— became involved in the civil rights movement. We were fighting for the basic rights of black people. But, during my involvement in that movement, I suddenly realized 26 thehubsocal.com - July/August 2015

SPEECH IN 1983: We must learn to have pride in who we are.

I’m very proud of being a disabled person.

I didn’t choose it, but I’m proud as hell that I’ve been able to do what I have with my life. And I’m getting prouder all the time as

There’s a very important thing we’ve never talked about. Our sexuality and our need to be married and have children and be just like everybody else. I was just like everybody else before and I still am. I have the same desires. I want the same things. I want to work. I want to play. I want to make choices that I want to do. And that’s what this movement is all about. It’s to welcome people back into society.

SPEECH IN 1977: From a 1977 victory rally speech at the end of a 28-day occupation of a San Francisco federal building (the longest such occupation in U.S. history) by 150 demonstrators to protest the Carter Administration’s reluctance to sign Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The law was signed, and for the first time, it was illegal to discriminate based on a person’s disability: We have begun to ensure a future for ourselves, and a future for the millions of young people with disabilities, who I think will find a new world as they begin to grow up—who may not have to suffer the kinds of discrimination that we have suffered in our own lives, but that if they do suffer it, they’ll be strong and they’ll fight back. And that’s the greatest example, that we, who are considered the weakest, the most helpless people in our society, are the strongest, and will not tolerate segregation, will not tolerate a society that sees us as less than whole people. But that we will together, with our friends, reshape the image that this society has of us. We are no longer asking for charity. We are demanding our rights!

•

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EZRA FRECH

YOUNG SPORTS STAR MAKES DREAMS HAPPEN

By Ellen Stohl

E

zra Frech is a smart, talented and athletic young man who dreams of becoming a professional athlete, preferably an NBA player. He says he would consider a career in broadcasting, or maybe start his own business making gum. He’s not too into girls, “maybe one or two. I like girls who are kind, smart, athletic and pretty.” Pretty much the typical 10-year-old—only Ezra Frech is hardly typical.

Ezra was born with a con28 thehubsocal.com - July/August 2015

genital anomaly that caused his left leg to be considerably shorter than the right; it also resulted in him having only one finger on his left hand. This glitch in his physical development required an above-knee amputation and the relocation of his toe to his left hand to serve as a thumb. The amputation was considered relatively easy compared to the transplant, but both required precision and were performed simultaneously when Ezra was

two-and-a-half.

“When Ezra was born, my wife Bahar and I were initially at a loss about what to think, or do,” recalls Clayton Frech, Ezra’s father. “We were told Ezra was completely healthy but there were limb issues. The doctors assured us that Ezra was a happy, bright, healthy little guy and that in no time we would be chasing him around just like any other kid.”

The Freches were relieved that their first-born child had no

health issues, but they spent the next few years taking it one day at a time. Clayton thinks back, “I put on a tough face, but I’m an athletic guy and an avid surfer.

I knew nothing about disability and I mourned the thought of my son not being able to surf.”

Initially, Clayton found refuge in the ocean. He tackled wave after wave on his board, often fighting back tears, he says, as he pondered the uncertainty of his son’s future.

When Ezra was still a tyke, the Frech family was introduced to Alcino Neto, more widely known as Pirata, a Brazilian surfer who happened to be an above-knee amputee. “It was incredible,” says Clayton. “That guy is a top-notch athlete and he rips the surf all year.” The positive impact Pirata made just being himself kindled an immediate friendship. It helped him out of his dark period, Clayton says. “I suddenly realized my kid could do anything he wants. Luckily, it turned out he loved sports.”

A CHAMPION EMERGES Ezra doesn’t just love sports— he excels at them. As soon as he learned to control the transplanted toe on his left hand, Ezra began throwing a ball. He was three. He hasn’t stopped since. Ezra’s recent athletic accomplishments include setting seven national track and field records at the

2014 National Junior Disability Championships, and starting as quarterback for his school’s flag football team. Ezra also recently received his blue belt in karate and was a finalist for Sports Illustrated Magazine’s SportsKid of the Year Award in 2014. Here’s what Ezra told Ellen DeGeneres on national TV last winter: “When I play sports I feel at home, I don’t feel different, I feel like I’m just one of the guys.”

“I just like sports,” says Ezra.

“I mean, who doesn’t like to run, jump and play?” His favorite sport is basketball; in 2013 he won the Courage Award at the Kobe Basketball Academy, and last summer he led his basketball team to an undefeated record season. Ezra can’t help but smile when asked about playing. “It’s that amazing feeling you get when you make a three, put in a jump shot, or score any point. The way the ball glides through the net—no rim, just net. It’s the teamwork, everyone working together, and the celebration when you play hard and win…especially if someone lands a deep three, game-winning buzzer beater.

There are so many things I love about the game.”

Ezra would like to play basketball in middle school, high school and beyond. He even hopes to play for a good college team someday and possibly get a shot at the pros, but with limited resources available for athletes with disabilities, Ezra’s journey to become a professional athlete will be harder for him than his able-bodied counterparts.

He’ll continue to compete on school sports teams, as well as in adaptive track and field events, and, no doubt, will excel. Seeing him as a paralympic athlete is almost a given; however, the opportunity to hone his craft and compete on the same path as his able-bodied

Ezra with dad Clayton and brother Gabriel.

competitors is limited.

Clayton pondered this situation. “I had taken Ezra to adaptive competitions in Iowa, Arizona and Oklahoma.” It was on the track in the middle of the Oklahoma event that Clayton suddenly realized that it was tornado season. He recalls thinking, “Why are there not more events in Southern California?”

SOCAL OPPORTUNITY: INVOLVE EVERYBODY It was that brainstorm that led Clayton and Team Ezra to form the Angel City Games, the only multi-sport event in Los Angeles for youth, adults and military with physical disabilities. The first Annual Games were held at UCLA’s Drake Stadium June 19-20, 2015.

Athletes from across southern California, and throughout the U.S. gathered to compete in track and field and wheelchair basketball games.

Clayton shares his dreams about the potential impact of

the games. “I’ve been monitoring the adaptive sport world for almost 10 years and not everything in Southern California meets the needs of athletes with disabilities. There are not enough camps or actual competitions. I hope the Angel City Games can grow and become a place of unity that celebrates all sports, all ages and all levels of disability. We want to involve everybody.”

The Frech family’s attitude of inclusiveness and determination to create opportunity has helped Ezra acknowledge his differences and excel. But that philosophy doesn’t stop with Ezra. Gabriel, Ezra’s younger brother, admires Ezra and likes him because he’s so funny. But Gabriel is more artist than athlete, and the Frech’s support his endeavors with as much enthusiasm as they support Ezra’s.

The family’s experience with disability has made them appreciate individual differences and has opened their eyes to a world of which they were sim-

ply unaware. Clayton remarks, “My life is in a whole different place. I didn’t know this world existed. I didn’t pay attention.

We, Team Ezra, and the Angel City Games see it as our place to help tell the stories of a variety of diverse athletes with disabilities—not just Ezra’s. We want Angel City Games to become a venue where athletes learn, grow and develop in whatever sports are available, as well as compete against athletes who have the same level of disability.

Our ultimate goal is to stimulate more adaptive sports in high schools and universities, so athletes with disabilities have the same opportunities to pursue athletic-related educational or even career path as their able-bodied counterparts.” And if Team Ezra and Angel City Games can do that, then Ezra’s goal of becoming a professional athlete just got a little easier.

•

RESOURCES THE ANGEL CITY GAMES is the only multi-sport event for youth, adults and military with physical disabilities in Los Angeles. See angelcitygames.org TEAM EZRA is dedicated to advocating and raising awareness for the disabled community. Ezra’s motto is: “You can dream it, you can hope for it, or you can make it happen.” See teamezra.com INTERNATIONAL SURFING ASSOCIATION has embraced adapted surfing. Amputee surfer Pirata and the ISA have produced Surfing for All, a DVD teaching surf techniques for people with disabilities.

The DVD is free with a small handling fee. See more about adaptive surfing at isasurf.org July/August 2015 - thehubsocal.com 29

GEAR GALLERY NEW PRODUCTS FOR FUN AND FUNCTION

LIQUID REC Waterskiing has been well adapted for sit-down recreation. Even quads with very minimal hand function can ride the wake and enjoy the fun, family-friendly activity. Liquid Access, from Florida, makes four adaptive ski models—beginner, intermediate, competition and one for jumping. A basic ski is about $1,400, plus the seat ($800 to $1,000 more), liquidaccess.org

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adapted coolness for summer

STAY COOL You can keep telling yourself that 100 is the new 90 and remain in the air conditioned shopping mall, but for having outdoor fun in summer heat sometimes you need a better solution. Get relief with the easy-to-use Misty Mate portable personal mister. Pump it a bit so it creates mist that cools the air up to 30 degrees. Available for around $25 from Walmart, Amazon or mycoolingstore.com

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STRONGER THAN BONE Frog Legs, the company that makes this new front caster, bets you’ll break every bone in your body before you break this little beast: the WCMX Specialized Suspension Caster Fork. It was initially developed for Aaron “Wheelz” Fotheringham for his freestyling chair trickery, and is overbuilt to handle grinding, shredding and ramp jumping. Available for approximately $350 at froglegsinc.com 30 thehubsocal.com - July/August 2015

GO FISH It’s an excuse to commune with nature or maybe just kill some time, and it’s adaptable—even with limited arm function, a person can toss the bait 40 feet. Van’s EZ Cast has been around for many years…because it works. Cast and reel functions work independently, even for anglers with no wrist or finger movement. Get yours from Access to Recreation (accesstr.com) for about $200

NOT JUST A PRETTY BASE.

The F5 Corpus goes beyond good looks to stretch the boundries of logic. 速

How can a smaller footprint offer greater stability, or a lower seat-to-floor height allow you to reach higher? How can faster still be more powerful at low speeds, or a completely rigid frame offer a stable, comfortable ride?

Experience it at permobil.com