Thaindian News

Everything was going well for Clay Marzo, the professional surfer until he discovered that he had developed symptoms of ‘Asperger syndrome’ on the fateful day of December 2007. The Quicksilver team rider, Clay was featured on August 4 in a special ten minute documentary on ESPN. The short docu-feature portrayed the story of Clay’s Asperger’s syndrome diagnosis. The short feature also showcased small footage of the award winning film “Clay Marzo: Just Add Water”.

The surfers encounter with the disease didn’t stop him in pursuing his passion i.e. surfing. In fact he is regarded as one of the world’s best professional surfers. This past January, the Quicksilver film “Clay Marzo: Just Add Water”, which is based on Clay’s story of struggle and his love for the sport, bagged the award for the ‘best biography’ at the X-Dance Action Sports Film Festival in Salt Lake City. The film portrays the struggle and the challenges that the surfer had to face while battling with the disease that was apparently curbing his life.

Asperger syndrome is a type of autism. Symptoms of Asperger syndrome are social awkwardness, misunderstanding conventional social rules and a lack of empathy for others. The basic difference between autism and Asperger is that one tends to have good language and cognitive skills although he/she is being diagnosed with Asperger syndrome where as autism is marked by severe language delays. It is quite interesting that a person suffering from Asperger tends to develop an avid interest on any particular field or thing. Similarly for Clay, the surfer got deeply acquainted with surfing.

Those who witnessed the movie that dealt with the life of Clay, the tragic hero, would definitely know how the surfer struggled and defied challenges in order to stay ‘at the top of the waves’.