Exonian Profiles
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When Brian Newmark ’68 was a boy, he and his friends used to jump a fence to get to Coney Island to ride the famous wooden Cyclone. Little did he know that as an adult, he would become an expert on the psychology of riding roller coasters. The Boston-based psychologist has developed a program to help people deal with their fear of riding roller coasters. Newmark’s career has curved in many directions, but much of it has been devoted to helping people overcome fears that prevent them from doing something they want to do but cannot. His work on roller coasters came in 1999 at the invitation of Universal Studios, which was then preparing to open a new theme park. “I’ve always been a roller coaster fan,” Newmark admits, “but there is a small segment of the population that has excessive fears when it comes to thrill rides.” Newmark’s mission: prepare a group of roller coaster phobics for a wild ride on “The Hulk,” which travels from zero to 40 miles per hour in two seconds. Newmark developed two separate programs: one for staff to assist anxious riders and the other for genuine “coaster phobics.” He selected 14 people from hundreds of applicants recruited by Universal. “We needed people who had motivation,” notes Newmark, “and who did not have other serious psychiatric problems—just a fear of getting on a thrill ride.” Newmark and his staff implemented phobia response training including anxiety education, ride simulation and dizziness induction. The coaster phobics practiced spinning and breathing while watching a muted video loop of the actual ride. “Scream as loud as you can,” Newmark advised them. “It will help you to breathe. Keep your eyes open. Stop fighting the sensations you’re feeling and let yourself enjoy them—even the fear.” With training completed during a full morning session, Newmark paired each of the coaster phobics with a member of the American Coaster Enthusiasts, an organization of roller coaster buffs, for their fateful ride. “The question was,” says Newmark, “how many would dare to ride? Well, not only did they all go on once, but every one of them went on two or three times.” Although pleased with the success of the program, Newmark says “the real success is not about the thrill ride, but knowing they were overcoming an obstacle in their lives and acquiring skills to gain confidence in themselves.” Newmark says his post-graduate year at Exeter taught him “confidence in my own abilities—academic and social. I learned to write around that Harkness table, I matured into my physical strength and I was able to take charge of my life.” From Exeter, Newmark went on to Harvard, where he majored in social relations and captained the basketball team. After earning his B.A. in 1972, he went to Israel and played professional basketball: “I was good, but not great. I had a wonderful time.” Later, he returned to graduate school, earning a master’s degree in education from Simmons College and a doctorate from the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology. In addition to his private practice, Newmark works part time in the special education department at Wayland high school. He Lincoln the with Terry Accola, his significant other, and enjoys time spent with his 15-year-old daughter, Joy. Newmark’s latest project is serving as a storyteller for a documentary film on his boyhood home of Brighton Beach, NY. As part of the filming, Newmark and some of his buddies “got permission to cut a hole in the chain link fence to get to Coney Island, where we rode the wooden Cyclone roller coaster with the sharpest drop in America.” Now that is going full circle, and having a great time too. —Alice Ann Gray |
