If there’s ever been a time that we need heroes, it’s now. The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented health and economic challenges. Many heroes of this time live among us and our aim is to highlight as many people as we can to inspire all of you. We are proud to have such people inside the WRRC community. We promise you will be overwhelmed by examples of humanity flourishing through the stories of volunteers, doctors, nurses and many other frontline heroes fighting against Covid-19.
Meet Luca Paolozzi
Boogie Woogie dancer from Italy and a volunteer of the civil protection.
My career as a dancer saw me as a protagonist between the late 80’s and 2008, my passion, my life have always been Acrobatic Rock ‘n’ Roll and Boogie Woogie, since the age of ten they have been part of my life and still, they are an integral part of my daily life.I have participated in many WRRC events, some World Championships and several European Cups, I have not had great results, but having lived these disciplines, has formed my character with a great sense of responsibility, moral integrity and protection towards others, just like a dancer towards his partner.
Read the interview with Luca Paolozzi and get inspired
How did you get involved in this volunteer work?
I have been a volunteer for almost ten years, volunteering is a fundamental part of my life.
I have found myself in so many bad situations but never have I had to face such a catastrophe.
I live the reality of hospitals and see the worry in the eyes of people who fall victim to the virus, until it hits you, you can’t realize what it really means. I’ve seen people stop breathing and cling to me asking for help, I have seen family members desperate and without any light in their eyes, doctors and nurses helpless in the face of a situation that only those who live it can understand.
What impact has COVID-19 had on your own life and work?
After dancing for 25 years, I have embarked on a career as a sports masseur and I can only say that this virus has had a strong impact on my work, the company I was working for has closed now, like many others, I do not have a job.
On my life the virus has not had a real impact, apart from work, my habits have not changed, helping people is a strong component of my life, what has changed are the lives around me, the family members that I can hardly see because of the restrictions, the sociality that I did not believe I would have missed so much and above all the freedom to be able to speak freely with people without reciprocally worrying about distances, contacts and all that this virus there has removed.
What is your biggest challenge?
My biggest challenge is to be able to be useful at least a little to defeat this virus and above all to help people to recover, I certainly want sport to return to the top in people’s social life and I want to return to competitive competitions, to savor that atmosphere of serenity that existed before this bad period.
Do you think our day-to-day will ever be the same?
I am convinced, for what I see and experience every day, that this period will last two or three years, it will be an indelible stain on humanity because unlike other similar periods, in this present there is a greater awareness and above all information, there is the possibility of being able to inform and there are more educated people.
Many do not believe in this virus and frankly at the beginning, neither do I. Then I lived it on the skin and now I do not see a bright future, in my opinion a period of restrictions, masks and gloves awaits us, like the fear we had over the years ’80 for AIDS.
But it is also true that the human being easily forgets and as soon as the shirts are enlarged, one part will return to live the stadiums, sports halls, holidays and beach parties, soon forgetting what we are leaving behind.
