Our Guest Igor Ashkinaszi
Sid: I’m speaking to Igor Ashkinaszi at his home in Brooklyn, New York. He was born in Odessa, Ukraine in 1950. In 1975 after becoming a star with the Muska Circus after winning championships in Odessa for acro-gymnastics he finally got out it wasn’t easy he went through all sorts of humiliation. At that time it was very difficult for a Jewish person to go to Israel. He actually stopped off in Vienna he stayed there for a few months and instead of going to Israel his mother and grandparents went to the United States. He didn’t speak any English he got kicked out of his first job I guess because he didn’t speak any English as a busboy. He finally got a job in New Orleans as an instructor in gymnastics but then with $150 you started the all American dream didn’t you Igor?
Igor: Yes I was looking at the Jewish Community Center and so then when my concert was over they asked if they could loan me $150 and with that I just bought paper, envelopes and a letter and it was sent I don’t know 500 people. And I started my first gymnastic school, acro-gymnastic school which became very popular very well to do. The school became…won first place in the nation, in fact 5 years in a row. I myself began to perform to brought myself back into shape to perform rather l United States National Championship. In fact 4 years in the row was appointed to be a United States National 1st honorary United States National Coach.
Sid: How well were you doing financially?
Igor: Financially in the beginning of course I started as a busboy and quickly was able to acquire a good some of money it was I had the school and had a lot of students. And enjoyed a very serious popularity in New Orleans everybody knew us everybody family wanted to be part because they started in school they wanted their child to take part in school. We had big shows every year.
Sid: I mean everything is going good why in the world would you try cocaine?
Igor: Well that’s that is that’s what we come to when we get everything we want in life. That’s what I always wanted to be I wanted to become an American I wanted to be accepted here in the country and I was in New Orleans it’s a very social city and the cities divided by social groups and I was able to break through those social groups and was accepted as a New Orleanian as an American. Many people came into me I received a lot of money I received everything all of the pleasures of the world. I’d say that somebody wanted to investigate I did and but it didn’t satisfy me. I asked myself “You have everything you wanted again an athlete of recognition of 1st place performing Johnny Carson, Mike Douglas, Merv Griffin Shows, I had my own show at the Superdome in New Orleans. And you know just making a lot of money having everything I’ve ever wanted but something was missing in my heart something was empty in my heart and I asked myself “What haven’t you yet tried.” And did one thing I didn’t try was drugs I never did drugs I drank I smoked like all Russians did, but I never had drugs. And a friend of mine had given me a drug simple marijuana and I tried it and very quickly I became addicted all kinds of drugs including cocaine, hallucination drugs, LSD at the time. I’m talking about 20 years ago I’m talking about more than 20 years and it was much easier to get and the fact that I had money now cash I had no property, I have no family I was by myself only me and my parents. My mother had already had a job at the New Orleans Dental School she is a dentist by a profession. So we were really established and I was using and began spending money on drugs and money began to go right through my hands until I couldn’t quit. I absolutely couldn’t quit. And so it caused me a great embarrassment because I couldn’t quit I couldn’t work I couldn’t continue to work. So I left New Orleans and went to Los Angeles to live away from everybody and everything hoping that something would change something would break for me I would leave my environment. My business was left to my assistant and there it was left to my family I never returned to it. I don’t know what happened to it I don’t know what happened to it I took my cash and went to Los Angeles where it became worse and worse and worse until I fell into the deepest depression that I’ve ever experienced. I didn’t want to live anymore I was embarrassed ashamed and I could not break from it. And even if I would break from myself where would I go the place that I started that caused me to begin to use drugs because of the emptiness of my heart? And then I experienced what is the life? I came to this country to work hard to achieve some success and I had but what is to life I had it and it didn’t satisfy me what was the reason for life? And just about that time I met a German man that Bob York was in Los Angeles he was a big man in Hollywood and I respected him and he’s the first one that shared the gospel with me. I did not like Germans ever since my parents were Holocaust survivors and some relatives died in the Holocaust and I didn’t like Germans at all and neither did my family. But he showed me he first shared the gospel with me but he did not call me to Jesus he just simply told me about Jesus about the Jewishness of Jesus which I thought he was just joking of course. But he was a very nice man and he showed the great love toward Jewish people and that surprised me. And it caused me to think “Why does he really feel like he does love Jewish people?” And after that I had a television experience when I was a little bit drunk and sick and sat on my bed and tried to get away from that feeling of sickness and nauseation I turned television on it was 4:00 in the morning in Los Angeles and guess who was there a preacher was on television pointing his finger towards me literally saying “You are in bed drunk and sick.” Now I did not know who that preacher was and I would never I didn’t even know that it was a Christian program. I thought he just found me exactly where I was I was in bed sitting in bed drunk and was sick to my stomach. And caused me to listen to that program and he said that you “No one can help you you cannot help yourself.” And I could identify with that “Your parents cannot help you because you never even told them” and it was me again. And then “Your friends cannot help you because they are just like you.” And I felt that exactly felt same way truly were exactly like me. “But I know somebody who can help you.” But when I heard somebody I thought it was a doctor I pulled out a pen and wanted to write a name of a guy that was how absolute even I was at that point. And then I don’t remember a word he said until this day I was just waiting for the guys name but the next thing I remember he was crying and begging something people for something I don’t know what it was. And he said “Repeat after me” and I repeated after him the sinner’s prayer on television. I don’t remember what I said I just remember “Repeat after me” and I remember I was looking for a guy somebody to help…it was Jimmy Swaggert actually and I didn’t know at that point and I just repeated the prayer it was 1982… oh 1981 and there was when I finished the prayer the tears started coming out of my eyes and I was surprised that it happened but I was glad that nobody was because I was embarrassed I was actually crying I didn’t know why I was crying. I switched television very quickly.
Sid: Was it unusual for you to cry?
Igor: That’s what I’m coming to yes. Yeah I never really cried unless somebody hit me in the nose I was embarrassed to cry I didn’t like to cry it would show certain weaknesses I felt. And suddenly I was crying real literally crying my eyes…and I found myself crying and I did not want to remember this experience. I just blotted it out of my mind and I said “It cannot happen I’m crying and it’s no good.”
Sid: Did you stay on drugs?
Igor: Huh? Yes nothing changed for 4 more months not a thing, but then 4 months later a friend of mine asked me to go with him to gamble in Vegas. And I thought well that would kind of keep my mind away from everything you know from the culture I was in from the group of people that I was with. A friend of mine who a group of people who I grew up together with from Russia and he said “Let’s go to Las Vegas. And we went to gamble in Vegas I didn’t gamble much money we just simply moseyed around and you know just I felt my time…In Las Vegas I began to feel that I’m totally wasted completely my life is wasted.
Sid: Igor our time is up we’ll pick up right here on tomorrow’s broadcast. Mishpochah you’re going to find out he got something in Las Vegas he never ever expected.
