High Five The Wave IV
Beyond The Veil: The Fourth Annual Adaptive Surf Camp from Maui, Hawaii
In May 2015, the High Fives Foundation took seven athletes to Maui for the fourth annual High Five the Wave adaptive surf trip. Also along for the ride was a team of coaches and family support.
The High Fives Foundation is a non-profit that provides resources, inspiration and supports the dreams of mountain action sports athletes who have suffered life-altering injuries.
They are so much more than that. They are the source of positivity and inspiration when people need it most. They provide mental, physical and financial support for athletes when life is turned upside down after a devastating injury. Based in North Lake Tahoe, they are the heart and soul of a national community of mountain action sports athletes.
Each athlete on the surf trip has experienced a severe spinal cord injury and each is at different stages of recovery. The goal of the journey was to spend as much time as possible surfing in Maui’s warm waters,stretching tired muscles with a daily dose of yoga, and soaking up Hawaii’s aloha spirit.
In Hawaiian culture, Aloha is a way of life, reflected in one’s ability to overcome adversity, resolve any problem, accomplish goals and achieve a higher level of mind, body and soul. One could draw many parallels between the spirit of Aloha and the spirit of High Fives, which made it that much sweeter.
After months of almost no swell, we arrived to a solid week of firing waves and gorgeous weather. Maui welcomed us with open arms and we relished its embrace. Its warm clear water, the place of healing, empowerment and source of motivation to go beyond what was once possible. Surfing Maui’s stunning beaches with a group of the most inspirational and determined people was nothing short of a dream.
This dream was made possible by the incredible vision of Roy Tuscany, Executive Director of the High Fives Foundation, with the contribution of donors and supporters, the board of directors and the awesome people who hold down the fort at the High Fives’ headquarters in Truckee, Calif. Tuscany, started the Foundation in 2009 after the mountain action sports community came together to aid in his recovery from a life-altering ski injury sustained in 2006
“EVERYONE TRIED TO MATCH THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF STOKE, ENERGY AND POSITIVITY OF EACH PERSON. IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO PEAK SOME OF THE PEOPLE, BUT YOU WANTED TO GET AS CLOSE TO THEM AS YOU COULD.”
– Roy Tuscany, High Fives Foundation Executive Director/Founder
Since the Foundation’s beginnings, Tuscany is the man who makes the impossible possible, pushes people to go further than their perceived limitations, and spreads positivity all along the way. Though his muses began in the mountains, Tuscany is obsessed with surfing. If he wasn’t so impassioned and devoted to the people who support him and the athletes he supports, it’s quite possible that he would move to a tropical island and spend his days riding aqua blue walls, fist pumping and high fiving his way down the lineup.
“WITH SURFING, AS LONG AS YOU GET AHEAD OF THAT WHITE WASH, IT’S JUST LIKE ENDLESS POW TURNS OUT IN THE OCEAN.”
– Roy Tuscany, High Fives Foundation Executive Director/Founder
For additional media inquiries:
Luka Starmer
Outreach Coordinator | High Fives Foundation
luka@highfivesfoundation.com
(530)-587-4453
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ABOUT THE HIGH FIVES NON-PROFIT FOUNDATION: High Fives Foundation is a Tahoe-based, national 501.c.3 non-profit organization The High Fives Foundation supports the dreams of mountain action sports athletes by raising injury prevention awareness while providing resources and inspiration to those who suffer life-altering injuries. Formed as a way to “pay-it-forward” by the founder from his own recovery to help injured athletes, the Foundation has helped 89 athletes to date since its inception in 2009, more information visit www.highfivesfoundation.org.
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