Out of sight: water-skier Allan Golabek lost his vision but found his calling - Cool Down - Brief Article - Interview

Men's Fitness, May, 2002 by Allan Donnelly

Life can turn pretty quickly some times. In the blink of an eye, your entire world can get spun on its head. Happened to Allan Golabek.

Happened about nine years ago, when, while riding his Kawasaki 750 up the Connecticut coast to meet some friends for an early-summer picnic, the then 24-year-old Golabek met an oncoming vehicle in a head-on collision that nearly killed him. What it cost him was the two months he spent in a coma.

And his vision. What it didn't cost him was the rest of his life, and his desire to live it. Two years after the accident, Golabek found something in which to invest his energies: waterskiing.

"I was really leery because I'd only water-skied once or twice during my sighted years," Golabek says. "But I met a guy who was a world-famous waterski jumper who was willing to take some time to teach me how."

He learned the lessons quickly. A year after his first run, Golabek picked up a pair of bronze medals, in the jump and slalom events, at the 1997 National Disabled Waterski Championships. Since then, he's won 12 other medals, including a gold in the jump at the 1999 World's Disabled Waterski Championships. When he's not on the water, Golabek's competing in tandem cycling races, building wooden canoes, or running camps and clinics for blind and visually impaired children.

"This waterski program really boosts the kids up," Golabek says. "Sports are really a great vehicle for people to build up their self-confidence."

Q: How hard was it to get ready for your first jump?

A: I was really afraid of the landing at first. But my waterski coach took me over [the jump] at a real slow speed and made me feel it from top to bottom and left to right, so I kind of got an idea in my mind of what it looked like. I think the biggest thing that helped me out was not being able to see the jump. A lot of drivers and a lot of skiers on the lake would take a look and say, "No way, I'm not jumping that thing."

Q: You were 24 years old when you lost your sight. Besides the obvious, how did that change your life?

A: When I [first] lost my vision, it was two years of hell just being able to walk again. I had to grow up real quick. I never saw anyone who was blind when I had my vision, and, you know, having the doctors tell me I was going to be blind for the rest of my life ... well, I had to learn how to do some things real quick. I had to learn how to be independent. I didn't want my mom or dad or brother doing stuff for me. I wanted to do stuff on my own. I wanted my life back.

Q: How did you stay mentally strong and keep moving forward?

A: Depression is really tough. It can really eat you up--it can basically kill you if you don't take care of your mind and your body. My guide dog, Kessler, who I got from Guiding Eyes for the Blind, is my inspiration. And once I started waterskiing, it built my self-esteem up, built my self-confidence up so much that I was able to take on other challenges. I realized shortly afterward that I could still do things; I just had to do them in a different way. I found it challenging and fun. I tried to make it fun.

Q: What can others learn from your experience?

A: If you can find, somehow, the positive side to your negative situation and just focus on that and accept it--once you accept it, it's just going to get so much easier. Things happen. They happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. But once you accept it and just deal with it, it gets so much easier. Realize that life is really short. Do the things you want to do before it ends.