hitzi

Hitzi grew up on the countryside and enjoyed an idyllic childhood. During his adolescent years he discovered the draw of beer, weed, and women. At seventeen years old, Hitzi fell 12 meters (39.3 ft) from a balcony at a party. After waking up about two weeks later, he started to realize that he was paralyzed from the chest down. The first question was whether or not it was worth continuing on living. Then followed “what would I need to keep on living?” .

Hitzi is an avid photographer. He is part of a collective that sells art for charity, distributing profit to the artists and philanthropic organizations. (They also have a state of the arts printer that I’m itching to try.) In his art, Hitzi captures what’s beautiful to him on mostly analog cameras. He’s a colorful guy and loves pastels. To him photography is an embodiment of choosing to give energy to what gives energy back.

Raising awareness on disability in society became a staple of Hitzi’s identity (Google: “Simon Hitzinger). He had heard from friends that their experiences travelling disabled in the United States were overwhelmingly positive, especially compared to awareness and infrastructure in Switzerland. For example, Greyhound buses have simple and effective solutions for problems deemed perhaps unviable to solve by similar Swiss and European companies. Finding accessible toilets is generally easier in the US. Contrasts like these motivated Hitzi to publicly campaign for change and improve awareness around making public places and businesses handicap accessible in Switzerland.

Much of our conversation revolved around awareness and choice. Hitzi knows that life is not predictable. How we react to the inevitable adversity of when things do not go as planned is an important key to sanity and mental wellbeing. “The world is how you see it.”

As we’re parting I ask Hitzi when would be a good time to share the text for review. We agree on a time and then tells me that “a single buzz is hard to notice when you don’t have feeling in your legs. Give me a call if I don’t respond.”

[34] Tuesday, June 15, 2021