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Writer's pictureDYEEY EEL

Choose954 Podcast Episode 45 With Dr. Hackie Reitman


Evan: So we are back here on the Choose 954 podcast, episode 45, with local former boxing champ, doctor, surgeon, and founder, Dr. Hackie Reitman, from his Different Brains headquarters here in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. If you didn’t know about Choose 954, we started this social movement to cultivate culture and community here in Broward County, where I’m from, in an effort to make this a better place to live and not just a place to vacation. The point of the podcast is to connect you with amazing people like him who do incredible things for our community. This podcast is sponsored by the Thousand Mermaids Artificial Reef Project, creating artistically crafted artificial reef modules to help save our natural reefs, create research opportunities, ecotourism, and tons of other benefits. Find out more at www.philippinetraveler.com.


Dr. Hackie Reitman: My dad was a mechanic, and one day my mother was pumping gas. I was like 10 years old, and one of my older brothers—I'm the youngest of four—comes up and says, "Hey mom, I got an 88 on a spelling test." She says, "Good, I’m going to make you cookies tonight." The next week, I got a 92 on a spelling test, and I told her, "Mom, I got a 92." She started hitting me with a dog leash. I was confused. He gets an 88 and gets cookies; I get a 92 and get hit. She said, "That’s the best he can do, but you should get a hundred on every test. You have a moral obligation to work up to the full gifts that God gave you to help yourself, others, and your community." I never forgot that. Despite getting expelled in the first and tenth grades, I managed to get into the six-year medical program at Boston University, became an orthopedic surgeon, and eventually came down here to Florida. I was lucky enough to get involved with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Broward County many years ago. We have the Hackie Reitman Unit on Beryl Boulevard, where we serve 12,000 at-risk youth.


Along the way, I got married and had a wonderful daughter, Rebecca, who is my hero. She had some challenges—23 brain tumors, two major brain surgeries—but still graduated with a degree in discrete mathematics from Georgia Tech. Afterward, we found out she also had Asperger’s. The owner of the school she was volunteering and interning at—a school for autistic individuals where Rebecca was tutoring math—told me, "Doc, your daughter also has Asperger’s." And me, being a brilliant MD, asked, "What’s that?" She explained it was on the spectrum of autism. That started my journey into understanding neurodiversity.


I had just made a full-length movie inspired by Rebecca's challenges in college, and I held up the release of the film to learn more about what it was really about. A couple of years later, after researching, I had my "aha" moment where I realized it wasn’t just about autism—it was about mental health issues, anxiety, neurological issues, and more. That’s when I wrote the book Aspertools: The Practical Guide to Understanding and Embracing Asperger's, Autism, and Neurodiversity. It’s a common-sense guide, not an academic book. And then I thought, "Why not start a place with free resources and tools for all kinds of different brains?" That’s how we started DifferentBrains.org, a place full of positive, helpful stuff. We’ve made a documentary, mentored amazing neurodiverse interns, produced media, and interviewed 100 neurodiversity leaders from around the world. All of this is done on a volunteer basis and it’s free for anyone who wants to use it.


Evan: You’ve left out something people might notice in the background—you also did a little sparring with some of the best out there.


Dr. Hackie Reitman: I was very lucky. I had 26 professional heavyweight fights. It started in 1971 during my first year of medical school. I was jealous of my friends who were all-American football players, so I went to the Golden Gloves in Lowell, Massachusetts. In my first fight, I knocked out the favorite of the tournament. That was before we used headgear, and I’d get scared before every fight. My reward? The dean of the medical school called me, saying, "One more fight, and you’re out of medical school." I didn’t know what to do, so I called my Uncle Mo in Las Vegas, who worked at Caesar’s Palace. He gave me some advice: "It wasn’t fair of you to ask the dean to get in the ring and take punches for you." So I kept fighting. After I won the whole tournament, the dean wanted pictures with me!


My daughter Rebecca always reminds me of this, and I even put it in the movie. She had a similar moment at Georgia Tech when a dean offered her an easy graduation deal. All she had to do was sign a piece of paper saying she did something wrong (which she didn’t), and she would graduate. Rebecca refused, even though I tried to convince her to take the deal. She fought through it and emerged victorious.


Evan: And that’s a great story. I guess one of the things you’re most proud of now is Different Brains. For those who don’t know, can you tell us a little bit about it?


Dr. Hackie Reitman: Sure. Around 1986, I found myself in the waiting room of the Mayo Clinic while my daughter Rebecca was undergoing experimental brain surgery. She wasn’t supposed to come out alive. I was sitting next to this great guy from Chicago, Eddie Bukowski, whose son was undergoing similar surgery. We talked about how we should do something good, and Eddie suggested we do a charity boxing event. So we did, donating the money to St. Jude’s Hospital. That’s how I turned pro, eventually having 26 pro heavyweight fights, with each purse going to a different charity. It was a great way to get publicity for the charities. I was once ranked number 12 by the IBC, but then I got killed twice on national TV! I had 13 wins, 7 losses, and 6 draws by the end of my career.


Evan: So how did that lead to the creation of Different Brains?


Dr. Hackie Reitman: It was all related to Rebecca’s neurological challenges. After learning she had Asperger’s on the autism spectrum, I started writing and doing more work around neurodiversity. Now, at DifferentBrains.org, we’re a nonprofit that produces media with the help of terrific neurodiverse interns. Our mission is to give people positive tools they can use, and everyone can benefit from things like a healthy diet, exercise, using their brain, and socialization—one of the most underrated factors for overall health.


Evan: You’re absolutely right. Socialization is key, and that’s one of the great things about events like Creative Zen. You can watch the replay online, but nothing beats attending in person and connecting with like-minded people.


Dr. Hackie Reitman: Exactly. Social interaction releases oxytocin, which makes you feel good. It’s the same hormone released when a mother holds her baby for the first time. There’s a real physiological basis behind the importance of face-to-face interaction.


Dr. Hackie Reitman: And so, it’s my feeling that if we can harness all the tools—which are not expensive tools or magic pills or anything—it’s just positive habits that can help. We can get everyone together and get them to help each other out because the resources are many of the same. The research is often the same, but the way our society is structured, everything is in different silos. So, the Alzheimer’s people are over there, and they’re getting a grant for Alzheimer’s, right? And the autism people are over here, and they may be getting a grant for autism.


So, one time, I was speaking at the Aspen Institute, and I said, "Look, I’m the least qualified up here, but you just heard a presentation from one university that showed, beyond a shadow of a doubt, in their autism population, when these individuals were fed a Mediterranean-style healthy diet, you saw their brain scans and proof that it was beneficial." Then you’ll hear from another university that did the same thing in their Alzheimer’s studies. So, they got a grant for Alzheimer’s, and guess what? It shows the same thing! Why not share all this stuff, especially with modern technology and artificial intelligence? And the resources, you know, Alzheimer’s is increasing at a rate of about 178%. It’s off the charts.


And when I first started, when I wrote my Aspertools book, the autism rate was one in 68. Last year or the year before, it was one in 59. Now, I think it’s even higher. Some people say, "Oh, they’re just diagnosing it more." But neurodiversity and changes in our brains are increasing for many reasons—some of it is the neurotoxins we eat, the stuff in the air, the environment, others are genetics and mutations. But you can’t get everyone on the same page because, as you know, in our society now, everybody wants to fight instead of coming together. So, the vaccine people are over here, instead of everyone pooling their resources and figuring things out.


Maybe if you have a certain gene type, and you had a certain immunological reaction, and maybe you were exposed to something in your environment, and then you got the vaccine at the wrong time—maybe that combined created a problem. But in our present society, finding nice people like you is difficult.


Evan: That’s a great point. One of the overlaps I think we have is related to something economist Richard Florida talks about in his creative economy dialogue. He makes the point that creatives—whether they’re painters, engineers, designers—want to live in places where other like-minded creatives live, where there’s also a lot to do. But he also talks about the “mating pool.” I’ve been single for four years, and I work a lot, I’m in the community, but if you don’t have social skills and you’re not out and about, how are you supposed to meet someone to share your life with? It’s a real problem.


The other thing I found interesting is the silos you mentioned, not just between autism and Alzheimer’s but in our own community. The marine community is traditionally siloed from the art community, which is siloed from the business community. That’s one of the things we’re working to change—bringing these groups together. There’s more to life than just drinking and going to the beach, right? I don’t drink much, and you can’t go to the beach every day. What you’re doing provides an invaluable service. There are so many resources out there—from mindfulness to online courses like Udemy and TED Talks.


What’s something you’d want people to know about Different Brains when they’re browsing the internet, especially with short attention spans? What sets you apart, or what’s one thing you’d want people to know?


Dr. Hackie Reitman: I’d want them to know that you can go to our website, head to the little search bar in the top right corner, and put in any kind of different brain that might be affecting your family. Whether it’s Alzheimer’s, anxiety, depression, ADHD, or something else—you’ll find a video interview with me and maybe one of the world’s leading experts on that topic. If it’s autism, you might see my interview with Temple Grandin, who’s like the Elvis of the autism community. If it’s ADHD, you might see Sean Smith from Canada, who has severe ADHD and formed his own company.


I learned something new every day, like about misophonia—it’s when body sounds, particularly from someone else, not only make you hypersensitive but trigger a nasty reaction in your amygdala, the fight-or-flight center of your brain. You can see this on a brain scan. I learned that from Jennifer Jo Brout, one of the world’s experts.

So, if you go to Different Brains, you’ll find resources, interviews, articles, and podcasts on anything neurological, mental health, developmental, or learning differences. It’s all positive—we focus on tools that can help. We’re not dwelling on the negative, and we’re not blowing sunshine either. We’re just about "What can I do to help?" That’s what we do here in our office in Fort Lauderdale.


We mentor interns who are 18 and older—some might be at home playing video games or just not thriving. They may have a college degree or a high school degree, or no degree at all. They might have trouble socializing. They come here into a nurturing, inclusive environment and get exposed to different things. They learn video editing, transcription, researching, and even appear in front of the camera. It’s all about exposure, because one of the biggest problems with our education and employment system is that it’s a one-size-fits-all approach.


We also bring in special guests like you, and they interact with you. A couple of them will probably come to Creative Zen and get involved with your organization.


Evan: That’s great. I met one of your interns, Michael, and we went through the exercise of him introducing himself. We are all humans on this planet, and I give you a lot of credit for taking the time to mentor these young people. I can only imagine how many lives you’ve touched and changed through this setup. Where can people find you online?


Dr. Hackie Reitman: They can go to DifferentBrains.org, and they can email me at hackie003@gmail.com. Our social media handles are @DifferentBrains on Facebook and @DiffBrains on Instagram and Twitter.


Evan: You can also meet Dr. Hackie and hear his story this Friday morning for free at AAF Creative Zen. It’s a monthly breakfast lecture series, kind of like a mini TED Talk. It’s where I had my "aha" moment that led me into the arts and culture scene, and I decided to pay it forward by hosting and making it available to the community.


This Friday’s event is at a unique location—our first Zero Empty Spaces artist studio on Las Olas. We started Zero Empty Spaces to help artists who need affordable studio spaces. There’s a lack of studio spaces, which forces artists to leave town. Yet, there’s no shortage of vacant commercial real estate. So, we approached real estate developers and property owners to offer these spaces to artists at $2 per square foot, including water, electricity, and utilities. Our first location is on Las Olas, and that’s where Hackie’s talk will be this Friday.


Doors open at 8:30 AM, the talk starts at 9:00, and you’re out by 10:00. Free breakfast bites and coffee from our sponsor, Cal Bakery.


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