Doc Paskowitz

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Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz is an American surfer.^[1][2] Paskowitz, who is a medical doctor by training, decided in the 1950s to become a professional surfer.^[1] Paskowitz and his family now run a set of surfing clinics. In 1972 they founded what is now the oldest surfing camp in the United States^[3]; today it is directed primarily by Dorian's son Israel "Izzy" Paskowitz.^{[1][3][4][5][6]} Paskowitz has been described as a legendary surfer and his family of nine children and multiple grandchildren has been referred to as the "first family of surfing".^[7][8][9]

Contents 1 Early life 2 The First Family of Surfing 3 Surfboards to Gaza 4 Health guru 5 Surfwise 6 World Surf Radio Interview 7 References

[edit] Early life

Paskowitz was born in Galveston, Texas.^[10] He graduated from Stanford Medical School in 1946.^[11] After two failed marriages (including one that resulted in two daughters), he realized that he did not feel happy as a doctor.^[1][10] Paskowitz went to Israel for a year, and found himself happier than he had ever been. He volunteered for the Israeli army in 1956 during the Suez crisis but was turned down by the army.^[10] He then returned to the United States and focused on surfing full time.

[edit] The First Family of Surfing

After marrying his third wife Juliette, Paskowitz and his new bride began a period of roughly 25 years of a transient bohemian lifestyle on the road. The couple produced 9 children, and the entire family lived and traveled together in one used camper van after another. Paskowitz's personal philosophy about education and money and healthy lifestyle was imposed on his family, for better and worse.

None of the Paskowitz children were formally educated during their time on the road. Doc's philosophy about the difference between knowledge and wisdom led him to believe that the formal education systems in all the countries of the world were not useful. Doc believes that achieving wisdom comes from real experiences in the world, from meeting and learning from everyday people, and that formal education is dangerous to young minds. Doc himself, however, is a Stanford graduate. Many of his children now feel that their opportunities in life have been damaged by their lack of formal education.

Doc's distaste for money ensured that the family was always scraping by financially during the bohemian years. He expressed to his children that if they ever had more than they needed, that they would be taking away from someone else. At one point during the years he turned down a forty-thousand dollar inheritance from a relative, deciding that the money would alter the lifestyle that he wanted to preserve. An anecdote from Surfwise told by one of Doc's children recounts a day when Doc announced to the family with apparent glee that they were literally down to their last dime.

A consistent theme of health pervaded Doc's approach to family life. Most mornings the family ate a breakfast of multi-grain gruel (as one of his children described it), and they were all expected to be out improving their surfing abilities on a daily basis. Several of Doc's children reached a competitive level in surfing, winning contests and earning endorsement income.

The Paskowitz clan stuck together for more than two decades. The eldest son, David, was 24 years old when he finally left the family to find his own life. Interviews with the Paskowitz children in Surfwise reveal that most have mixed feelings about their childhood. While they admire their father's devotion to excellent health and rejection of material possessions, they found themselves ill-equipped to life in the outside world, and many harbor some resentment toward Doc because of the lifestyle Doc imposed on their childhood.

[edit] Surfboards to Gaza

In August 2007, Paskowitz ran a project to deliver surfboards to Gaza after reading that surfers there did not have many boards.^[12] Paskowitz had to persuade the Israeli government to let him deliver the boards since post June 2007, when Hamas took over Gaza, Israel has only let in essential supplies.^[12] Paskowitz became involved in the project after reading an article in the Los Angeles Times which highlighted the lack of surfboards in Gaza. ^[12] Paskowitz worked with OneVoice, a pro Israeli-Palestinian peace organization and Surfers for Peace founded by Paskowitz and Syrian-American surfer Kelly Slater.^[12]

[edit] Health guru

Paskowitz has been described as a health guru and has a strong interest in health issues. He has advocated natural diets low in fat accompanied by exercise.^[1][13] Paskowitz wrote a book on his philosophy about health and other issues titled "Surfing and Health".^[1]

[edit] Surfwise

A documentary film about Paskowitz's life, Surfwise, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2007 and in select theaters in May 2008.^[14]

[edit] World Surf Radio Interview

In 2008 in show 30 Doc was the featured interview at worldsurfradio.com where he spoke about his life, and his objections to the Surfwise documentary ^[15].

[edit] References

History of the Israeli surfing scene