Ezra Frech is a World Champion para-athlete and disability rights advocate. A two-time track and field Paralympian, Ezra won two gold medals at the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris. Keep reading to learn more about why he’s passionate about ocean conservation as a Team Ocean Captain.
Q: You’ve made a name for yourself as a two-time gold Paralympian and disability advocate. What inspired you to get involved in ocean conservation?
I grew up a few miles from the beach. The most amazing thing about being from Los Angeles is that we have mountains and beaches that you can drive to in the same day. I love how beautiful and accessible nature is in Southern California. My childhood consisted of hiking in the Santa Monica Mountains, playing in parks across the region and spending weekends at the beach with my younger brothers and extended family.
Nature is part of who I am. It is part of my DNA. I love nothing more than playing sports or games with my friends and family outdoors. In fact, I spent most of my time training on the beach during COVID when all of our sport facilities were closed. It was literally my training ground, my playground, my soul’s retreat.
I also was raised with a high level of awareness regarding environmental issues. My mother studied and taught environmental science earlier in her career and continues to be a strong advocate for the environment, health and safety. My father is a surfer from Santa Barbara and worked in The White House and at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on a variety of global environmental issues.
So in a sense, in addition to disability advocacy, environmental advocacy was also an important part of the dinner table conversation.
Q: As a co-founder of Angel City Sports, you’re no stranger to making an impact for communities that need support. What unique perspective do you bring to ocean conservation as a disability advocate?
A: While Angel City Sports was founded when I was 8 years old, I have been sharing my story in the media and speaking at events, schools and companies re: disability since I was 4 years old. I don’t remember it that well, but in preschool, I would do talks at elementary schools around Los Angeles. In fact, one of these speeches was actually featured on Good Morning America! I do remember that I had a duffel bag full of old legs that we would carry around to the different schools.
Looking at my experience in disability advocacy, I think that it is critical for anyone working on a specific cause to understand the importance of education and awareness. The best approaches to solving an issue will not go anywhere unless there is broad, societal understanding of the issue.
These days everyone is so busy, stressed out and focused on social media. There are so many distractions to keep us away from learning, engaging, connecting with issues or even other humans. So all advocates, regardless of their issue, must be creative in how to break through the busyness and the noise of the world.
But if we can focus on educating everyone with a baseline of knowledge, we can then start to develop and implement strategies to address the problem. For example, one of the issues my dad worked on was the ozone layer. He jokes that saving the ozone layer was easier than starting Angel City Sports—simply because the world understood we had a problem and we rallied as a global community to solve it.
So this begs the question, how do we do this? I am definitely of the social media generation, and I love the power of social media to communicate directly with your audience. I have been growing my following and am excited that I am seeing a high level of engagement from my followers. I also strongly believe in the power of traditional media like print, TV and even podcasts. Messaging needs to get out through every possible channel, both directly through social media and indirectly through media.
Q: What personal connection drives your commitment to be a catalyst for change in the ocean conservation movement?
A: I think being raised in Southern California gives me a unique perspective on the natural world. It gives me a deep appreciation for natural beauty, whether it is our stunning sunsets, beautiful coastal mountain ranges or our endless run of stunning beaches. We have it all here. It’s the most amazing playground … I am really grateful to be from Los Angeles, and for the natural environment that surrounds me. I want to ensure this beauty around me is still here in 20, 50 or 100 years. I want to be sure that we don’t spoil our environment and negatively impact future generations.
I also can see some parallels between my work in disability advocacy and the environment. The disabled community is not organized and thus doesn’t speak from one powerful voice when there is a concern or a problem. The disabled community needs strong advocates to make noise, cause a stir and educate others.
And, of course, the environment can’t advocate for itself the way a person with a disability can. But similarly, the environment needs individuals to understand and embrace the cause, and then to help educate the world … I hope I can be a strong voice for the ocean conservation movement as well as the disabled community.
Q: Any final message you’d like to share with people who look up to you— – whether as an athlete, an advocate, or now as a Team Ocean Captain?
A: I realize the world is getting increasingly divided. It is my hope that as we move forward, we can all agree on some basic principles, such as the idea that all humans are created and should be treated equally. And that a healthy environment and natural world help humanity in many ways.
If we can agree on these principles, we can sit down and have an honest conversation about where we are and where we need to go as a community and as a global society of concerned citizens. It will be my honor, leveraging my platform in sport, to help the world understand the issues facing the ocean, and then to help do the work to protect our ocean. It is our only ocean and we need to start acting like it.
“I have dedicated my life to providing people with disabilities access to sport and helping them live a healthy, optimized life. And, importantly, that means ensuring that we all have safe and healthy places to play.
The recent LA wildfires affected me deeply— – many of my friends lost everything. We need to do everything we can to reduce the impact of extreme weather events … and the ocean is a powerful place to start.
The ocean is personal to me and my family. I grew up a few miles from the beach and, since I can remember, our family has spent weekends at the beach during the summer. Also, my mom studied environmental science and is an environmental advocate. My brothers and father are surfers, and my father even worked on environmental issues in the federal government.
To protect our planet, and to create the best world we can for the next generation to enjoy sports like I have, we need to protect the oceans. We need to protect where we play.”
– Ezra Frech, Paralympian and Team Ocean Captain
Q: At every athletic event, you bring the intensity; how can we bring that same energy to ocean conservation?
A: I have an “all-in” approach to manifesting my athletic goals. I look at every aspect of my life, from how I sleep, to how I eat, train, recover and everything in between. My philosophy is to do everything in my power to achieve my goals. I look at every decision from the lens of, “Does this get me closer to my goal or farther away?” It’s a simple path from there.
The beauty of this approach is that, if I don’t win at the end of the day, or I don’t achieve my stated goals, I know I have not left any stones unturned. I know I won’t feel any regret. When I think about protecting the environment, and in particular the ocean, I would hope we would all have a similar approach.
Let’s do EVERYTHING IN OUR POWER to protect the ocean. Let’s rally the global community to support our work. Let’s be sure to not have any regrets in 20, 50 or 100 years. Let’s take this seriously, like the world depends on it. Because the world does depend on a healthy ocean and a healthy environment in general.
This is your chance to win gold. By joining Ezra and taking action to #ProtectWhereWePlay, you’re protecting the ocean and the future of the sports and entertainment we all love.
