JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
As Labor Day approaches, are you planning that final trip to the beach? Well, if you are, you might see Ed Kiziukiewicz. He's a lifeguard at Bay Head Beach in New Jersey. He's almost 83 years old now, but he got his first job as a lifeguard when he was just 18, and Guinness World Records recently named him the oldest male open water lifeguard. Ed Kiziukiewicz joins us now. Welcome to the program.
ED KIZIUKIEWICZ: How you doing?
SUMMERS: I am doing well. Ed, I have to say, spending more than 60 years as a lifeguard is incredible. What initially got you excited about becoming one?
KIZIUKIEWICZ: Oh, I like the ocean. I liked working on a beach. And when I was eligible at 18, I came down, took a test and got the job, and that was the start of it all.
SUMMERS: Now, you are officially now the oldest male open water lifeguard. But if I understand correctly, you didn't initially want to apply for the Guinness World Record, is that right?
KIZIUKIEWICZ: That is correct. A buddy of mine, who used to be a guard at Jones Beach, he got talking to my wife at a Christmas party, and he talked to my daughter, and that's where it all started. And I told him, Bruce (ph), I'm just doing a job. I like to be under the table and, you know, nice and quiet, nice and even, just doing the job. And he goes, no, no, no, you need this recognition. Well, my wife and daughter took it over, and that's what happened.
SUMMERS: Well, they must be so proud of you. How do you feel now that you have that recognition, even if it wasn't something you were necessarily searching for?
KIZIUKIEWICZ: I'm proud to have it. I like what I do. I like sitting with the younger kids because, as a school teacher for 37 years, I was always in contact with the younger generation, so to speak. Now I'm no longer teaching, but I do teach on a beach. And that's where I get my understanding of what the younger kids are thinking about.
SUMMERS: Now, I do have to ask you, now that you're in your 80s, let us in on the secret. How do you stay in the type of shape necessary to be good at a job like this one, which I assume at times can be physically demanding?
KIZIUKIEWICZ: I've always been physically active, and my philosophy is, if I'm on a beach, I work out two days on the beach and the health club. During the winter season, I'm a ski instructor supervisor in a ski ride school at Ski Windham in New York. And I keep busy five days a week teaching skiing. So it's just a continuous thing that I hopefully am able to operate at the standards that need to be in lifeguarding and as a ski instructor.
SUMMERS: Ed, what's your best advice for someone who might be hearing our conversation and maybe they want to become a lifeguard like you?
KIZIUKIEWICZ: Well, if you can swim 500 meters in under 10 minutes, you can take the standard test for the - most beaches. Some beaches might have additional tests that you might have to take. But if you can do that, then you can apply. And if you think you have the physical capabilities of handling somebody in the water besides yourself, try out someplace.
SUMMERS: Ed, I have to tell you a secret. I don't think I'm going to be able to become a lifeguard anytime soon. That sounds pretty hard to me.
KIZIUKIEWICZ: Now, now, don't give up so easily.
SUMMERS: (Laughter) We've been speaking with Ed Kiziukiewicz. He holds the Guinness World Record for oldest male open ocean lifeguard at the age of 82. Ed, thank you so much.
KIZIUKIEWICZ: OK, thank you.
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