Clay, together with Carve Eyewear, just came out with a new model of sunglasses that benefits Aspect, an Australian service provider for people with autism. Photo: Clay Marzo/Instagram
Right around Christmas in 2007, Clay Marzo was officially diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome. It was difficult for his mother before the diagnosis. “You can only imagine the difficulty in not knowing about the connection between Clay and Asperger’s Syndrome for all these years,” she said. “The only thing I knew was that Clay was happy in the water and struggled for air out of it. Growing up, school was a constant struggle. I tried repeatedly and desperately to figure out what was going on with him. In the end, I took him out of three schools, tried home schooling and yet nothing was a good fit. Luckily, I knew enough to keep him in the water. I could sense it as a mom. In the water, he was calm, connected and engaged … at ease.”
For those that don’t know, Asperger’s is on the autism spectrum, although a very mild form. It generally manifests with a wide variety of symptoms, one of which is often an abnormal focus on one particular thing. Of course, in Clay’s case, it was surfing, and as a result, his surfing is on a different level than nearly anyone else on the planet. Since Clay’s famously camera shy, one often wonders what we’re missing out on. But when an edit does drop, it’s full of mind-blowing stuff.
Clay, together with Carve Eyewear, just came out with a new model of sunglasses that benefits Aspect, an Australian service provider for people with autism. One dollar from every sale of the new model goes to Aspect.
“Clay and I had discussed the idea of a signature model and artwork on a recent photoshoot,” explained James Robinson, Carve’s Creative Director. “He is a huge L.A. Lakers fan, so I thought I could bring his signature model to life by combining his two passions into one logo.”
Carve is just as happy as Clay with the final product. “We are so stoked to be working with Clay on this project,” said Matt Whyte, Carve Director. “He is passionate about it and we are onboard 100%.”
Check out the new model HERE.
