Q & A with Ethan Zohn
Survivor Star Discusses Grassroots Soccer

Oct. 30, 2007

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Survivor: Africa winner Ethan Zohn is a co-founder of Grassroot Soccer, an HIV/Aids outreach program. Zohn will be in Winston-Salem this Saturday at the 3v3 KICKAids Tournament at Spry Stadium before the Wake Forest/North Carolina match on Saturday night.

WF: How did you get started with Grassroot Soccer?
EZ: I played professional soccer in Zimbabwe for a year where I witnessed all the horrors of the disease. I had a close friend that died from it. I knew I wanted to help but I didn't really know what to do.

My Survivor series took place in Africa. One of my challenges was to play soccer with Kenyan children in this little village, and I found out later all the kids were HIV positive. After I returned and had my fifteen minutes of fame I knew something had to be done. Grassroot Soccer (GRS) was the brainchild of Dr. Tommy Clark, a former teammate of mine in Zimbabwe. We took the idea and ran with it. I had some extra money from the show and we used it to help start the organization along with some of my other former teammates.

WF: What's the primary goal of GRS?
EZ: Our goal is to teach the role models in the African communities about HIV/Aids prevention. Over there soccer players are the people everyone looks up to. Our job is to not only teach these pro players, coaches and youth players the ins and outs of HIV/Aids, but also important life skills that are crucial in helping youth make the right decisions. The curriculum is extremely activity based with lots of games and role play. After we've taught the athletes they go into the schools and teach the kids.

We don't do anything on the medical side in terms of administering medication. We hope to get to the up and coming generation before they contract disease or if they already have HIV, to teach them how to keep it from spreading.

WF: Have you seen any effects of the program?
EZ: I was teaching the GRS curriculum in one village and decided to go for an early morning run with a buddy of mine. It must have been around five o'clock in the morning and we saw a child outside playing a game. We watched him for a little while and realized he was playing one of the Grassroot games. It was such a cool moment for me to be able to see that the program is working and the kids are picking up some of the lessons.

WF: What's your history with soccer?
EZ: I started playing when I was six years old. I had two older brothers I was always picked on and I wanted to be better them.

Now I can't even imagine my life with out soccer. I never had any intentions of playing professional soccer. I went to a Division III school, but soccer was always my first priority there.

After graduation I moved to Hawaii and started working in a youth hostel. One day I saw an ad in the paper for open tryouts for the professional soccer team there. I made the team and from there played with a few other professional organizations in the U.S.

Soccer really is the common theme in my life. Without it, I really can't even imagine what I'd be like. Whether I'm playing the game, coaching youth, calling the game as ref, or using it to save lives in Africa, it's always going to be a huge part of me.

This Saturday the Wake Forest men's soccer team will host the KICKAids 3v3 tournament, an event expected to draw nearly 400 girls and boys ranging from age 7-13 beginning at 1:30 p.m. The World Cup style tournament will be played prior to the Demon Deacons' game against Atlantic Coast Conference rival North Carolina scheduled for 7 p.m. that evening. Finals of the KickAIDS 3v3 will be played during halftime of the match. For specifics on the tourney visit Miludo.com.