June 5, 2025 • 38 mins
Welcome to Camp Shane — one of the first weight loss camps for kids. In its 50+ years of operation, Shane was a haven for children who felt discarded by the real world. Kids who were bullied, excluded, and ostracized became confident and embodied. Campers gained friends, made romantic connections, and discovered a sense of identity. Celebrity endorsements and media coverage assured parents that Camp Shane was life-changing, but inside its gates, things were far from perfect.
Camp Shane—one of America’s longest running weight loss camps for kids—promised extraordinary results. Campers who began the summer in heavy bodies were often unrecognizable when they left. In a society obsessed with being thin, it seemed like a miracle solution.
But there were some dark truths behind Camp Shane’s facade of happy, transformed children. Kids were being pushed to their physical and emotional limits as the family that owned Shane turned a blind eye. More than 50 years after its founding, host Kelsey Snelling is bringing the real story of Camp Shane to light.
In this eight-episode series, she unpacks and investigates stories of mistreatment and reexamines the culture of fatphobia that enabled a flawed system to continue for so long. Along the way, she reveals and weighs the heavy price of shame.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Kelsey Snelling (00:00):
Listeners. Please note you'll hear the word fat used a
lot throughout this series. Many of our speakers use it
as a neutral descriptor some use it with pride. In
this episode, we also mention specific weight and weight loss numbers.
This language could be sensitive for some listeners, so please
take care. Camp Shane, That's S h a n E
(00:27):
is a summer camp much like any other. A tall
fence surrounds a sprawling wooded property, and inside set all
the makings of a great sleepaway camp. A rope's course,
a few soccer fields, a swimming pool, and rows and
rows of bunks. When you walk the grounds, you're sure
to see kids rating around and tied I counselors thickly
(00:50):
coated in sunblock, and you might even hear the unmistakable
melody of Revelie.
Arielle (00:58):
So am I saying right? Reverie, Revelie? I don't know.
We'd wake up to like patriotic music, like you're a
military camp?
Kelsey Snelling (01:07):
Is it the one that's like.
That one?
Arielle (01:10):
Maybe? Yeah.
Kelsey Snelling (01:14):
After wake up and a bit of breakfast, campers were
ready to start the day, making memories that would last
a lifetime and experiencing many many firsts. First friendships, first kisses,
first wins.
Arielle (01:28):
So I had my very first boyfriend, I had my
very first kiss but during a movie night, and it
was just just really really good for my self esteem.
For me, it was the best summers of my life.
Nelson (01:41):
You will make friends at camp that you're closer with
than your best friends in the outside world.
Kelsey Snelling (01:48):
But Camp Shane isn't exactly like your average summer camp. Here,
kids don't eat s'mores at bonfires, there are no popsicles
on hot July afternoons, and revel signals more than just
the start of the day. It signals the approach of
a morning workout. At Camp Shane, kids aren't just here
(02:09):
to make memories and get outdoors. They're here to get thin.
Tyra (02:14):
Mikey agreed to go to Camp Shane, which is a
weight loss camp for young kids.
Kelsey Snelling (02:18):
“David Ettenberg has been on the front lines of fighting Childhood obesity for more than 40 years as the founder and co-owner of Camp Shane.”
ABC Clip (02:24):
The goal here is to lose up to thirty five
pounds in just weeks.
Kelsey Snelling (02:28):
Camp Shane operated for over fifty years and in that
time was applauded by Tyra Banks, doctor Oz, doctor Phil
and even Oprah Winfrey. It was featured on MTV, ABC,
the BBC, and in the New York Times. The first
time I heard about Camp Shane, I was a junior
(02:50):
in college. My sister had been looking for summer jobs
and during a frenzied late night research session, pulled up
a wild looking job post camp New York counselors wanted.
I didn't even know Fat Camp was a real thing,
but the posting promised an unforgettable summer with top of
(03:10):
the line activities, all centered around kids who were misfits
in the outside world. Were we intrigued? Absolutely? Were we qualified.
We hardly knew a thing about weight loss or nutrition,
and we didn't really have any experience with kids. But
four months later we were in Ferndale, New York, ready
(03:33):
for Campshane counselor orientation. When I first got to camp,
I didn't know what to expect on the other side
of the tall wooden fence that surrounded the grounds, But
pretty quickly I realized what that fence concealed.
Mark (03:49):
It checks all the boxes, and it's so easy. You
send the child, you send your money, they send the
child back the way it is gone. It's fat.
Nelson (04:00):
It's the most fun you'll ever hate. That sums up
camp in one sentence. It is the most fun you'll
ever hate.
Stacy (04:05):
I don't know that I fully understood body shame until
I went to a fat camp, and it's why it
was called camp Shame.
Kelsey Snelling (04:23):
This is Camp Shame. I'm Kelsey Snelling. This is a
story about fat camp, diet culture, and the heavy price
of shame. During the production of this series, I spoke
to nearly one hundred people, former campers, counselors, staff and parents.
(04:44):
Today we'll hear stories from a handful of them. They
represent campers from the full fifty plus years that Camp
Shane was an operation. We'll get to know a lot
of them throughout this season, but for this episode, we're
going to get to know Camp Shane itself. Hi.
Camp Shane Media Clip (05:02):
Hi, I'm David Ettenberg. I'm the director and founder of Camp Shane. And I'm Ziporah Janowski David's wife and a co-director. Camp Shane was founded in 1968 and we are the original longest running weight loss camp anywhere.
Kelsey Snelling (05:16):
For decades, Camp Shane was marketed as the premier weight
loss camp for kids and teens. It was the perfect
place to meet new friends and get outside camp Shane
had it all, ziplines, arts and crafts, and a fan
favorite go karts. In addition to fun activities, camp provided
(05:37):
cooking classes and nutrition education from celebrity chefs, as well
as group therapy to uncover the root causes of Camper's
weight gain. Despite the camp being a huge success, it
actually got its start as a humble family business. Camp Shane,
the brainchild of a woman named Selma Ettenburg, was meant
(06:01):
to be a safe haven for kids, a place to
shed extra pounds without judgment. Selma took out ads and
newspapers across the country and sent out brochores to prospective families. She,
along with her husband and children, even made house calls
to interested families, armed with VHS tapes, more brochures, and
(06:24):
a pitch for a summer of fun and fitness. David Ettenberg,
whose voice was in that ad you just heard, was
part of that family, and in the nineteen eighties he
was the camp director.
Seth (06:37):
David actually came to my house, gave us the whole
presentation about how the camp was, and you know, all
the great things, showed me the video everything like that,
and my parents were like, oh, well, why not?
Kelsey Snelling (06:52):
That’s Seth Kwitko.
Seth (06:54):
A camper eighty one to eighty five, I've I remember correctly,
and then I came back as a counselor twice.
Kelsey Snelling (07:08):
He was about ten years old when he first went
to the camp, and after the house call, he was
pretty pumped about going.
Seth (07:15):
Level playing field, so we have nothing to worry about.
Everything is going to be cool. They're going to you know,
they're going to feed us, well, we're going to lose weight,
We're going to be active. But I felt like it
was easier to be active or keep up with a
bunch of kids that were equally overweight. So how bad
could this be?
Kelsey Snelling (07:34):
That level playing field that Seth talks about was so
important to the campers. They were in need of a
place where they could feel at ease, a place where
they weren't picked last, a place where they were able
to be more than just the fat kid, because in
the real world, being a fat kid is really hard.
(07:57):
Here's Seth again.
Seth (07:58):
Once I was in skating rink with this girl that
I kind of liked, and I was kind of showing
off for her. I was probably about ten.
Kelsey Snelling (08:11):
Seth was trying to be cool and made a bit
of a scene by messing with a younger kid at
the rink.
Seth (08:17):
This kid's mother was standing there and the first words
out of her mouth was a fat soo. And that
sort of took me by surprise, because I would never, never,
in my life would I say anything to a kid
like that.
Kelsey Snelling (08:39):
I could never imagine calling someone fat as a way
to hurt them, let alone a child. Bodies come in
all shapes and sizes, and there are many reasons why
a person might be heavy. There's stress, genetics, hormones, medications,
trauma responses, metabolic conditions. It's a long list.
(09:02):
All that aside, body diversity is natural, which makes it
endlessly disappointing that we live in a world where fatness
is so demonized. When you were a bigger kid in
a fat phobic society, you learn pretty quickly that the
world is not built for you. You're judged every time
you eat, you can't fit into desks at school, you're
(09:26):
denied access to rides at amusement parks, and worst of all,
you never really feel free in your body. You're always
forced to cover up and lay low just to avoid harassment.
For Carl Evans, a camper from the two thousands, the
judgment he felt around his weight soured one of his
(09:46):
most beloved activities. As a young kid, Carl loved swimming.
In his hometown outside of Chicago.
Carl (09:55):
There was a swimming club, and then there was also
like a public pond you could get a five dollars
summer passed the swimming. When I was really really young,
you know, kindergarten through like first or second grade, I
was like a fish. I'd spend all day in the
summers at these places.
Kelsey Snelling (10:10):
One summer, Carl went to a birthday pool party with
his brother.
Carl (10:15):
My brother, he'd make fun of my weight more than
maybe anyone else in the neighborhood.
Kelsey Snelling (10:20):
And at this party in particular, Carl remembers.
Carl (10:25):
He just really like laid in and decided to do
like a whole stand up bit, even though I'm in
third grade. He called the mamboobs. That was like a
real tipping point to you know, strategic swimming for like
the rest of our life life camp.
Kelsey Snelling (10:40):
See that moment shifted how Carl viewed himself. He started
swimming with his shirt on. As he got older, he
sometimes used his size to his advantage, like playing high
school football, but he still wasn't comfortable in his body.
And eventually his weight began to impact his health. In
(11:02):
his teen years, Carl suffered a cardiac emergency that scared
him and his family. That's when things got serious. After
doing some research on weight loss camps, his sister found
Camp Shane and Carl enrolled the next summer. The judgment
kid's face, especially during early development, can stick with them
(11:25):
for years, even a lifetime.
Arielle (11:29):
Where As I remember going to kindergarten orientation and they
were giving up cookies and I was so excited. My
Mom's like she can't eat them, and I just remember
feeling shame and embarrassment, like, uh oh, what if other
people heard? This?
Kelsey Snelling (11:41):
That Arielle Berger.
Arielle (11:43):
I went to Camp Shane in nineteen ninety three, ninety four,
ninety six, ninety eight, I was twelve, thirteen, fifteen, and seventeen.
Kelsey Snelling (11:53):
Good memory.
Arielle (11:54):
I wrote it down. I took notes. I'm an attorney,
so I take notes.
Kelsey Snelling (11:59):
Arielle still Carrie's painful memories from her early childhood, like
her first year at school.
Arielle (12:05):
I remember even like birthday party at school, like I
would always be like, oh, the teacher would be like, oh,
you can't participate, Like that's so embarrassing. So there's like
this feeling of shame that I even associate like to
young childhood.
Kelsey Snelling (12:20):
Arielle discovered Camp Shane after seeing their advertisements. Like many
kids at Camp, Aril came from a Jewish family and
she was sent to camp ahead of her About Mitzvah,
the ceremony that marks the time when a Jewish girl
becomes an adult, Many families felt pressure to present their
kids to the community in the best light, and in
(12:40):
the case of many Shaners, this meant being slim. To
achieve this, Ariel's mother took drastic steps. This is even
before discovering Camp Shane.
Arielle (12:52):
She put a lock on our pantry at one point,
and so it's like, what does that say to someone? Right? Like,
what do you lock up? I lock up jewelry or money?
Why would you lock up food? Like? That made it
even more powerful. I think.
Kelsey Snelling (13:07):
When locking food away didn’t help Arielle lose weight, her mother introduced her to some of the late 80s and early 90s most popular diets and diet foods.
Snackwells (13:16):
Snackwell’s chocolate sandwich cookies. So good can we ever make enough?
Kelsey Snelling (13:22):
The Snackwell cookies that claimed to be low fat, accomplished
this by adding additional sugar which is true of almost
all low fat diet foods.
WOW chips (13:31):
Introducing new Lays wowd potato chips. They taste just as
good as regular Lays, and because they're made with oline,
they're half the calories and one hundred percent fat free.
Kelsey Snelling (13:40):
In the late nineties, Freedom Lay introduced Wow Chips, fat
free versions of some of their best known chips like Lays,
Pringles and Doritos.
Arielle (13:50):
Something in it was essentially a laxative. You would eat
it and you would instantly get a stomach ache and
go to the bathroom. So it's like, hey, it's a
win win. I just ate a whole bag of Doritos
and I went to the bathroom. Five days worth of bathroom.
For one day. It was like the craziest thing.
Kelsey Snelling (14:08):
Those Wow chips were required to carry a warning and
were eventually taken off the market altogether. And then there
was weight Watchers, which got its started in the early
nineteen sixties as a weekly support group.
ABC Clip (14:20):
Weight Watchers new nineteen eighty eight quick Success program is
helping people lighten up.
Arielle (14:27):
I started at weight Watchers at seven, so I knew
at seven years old, which is insane. At seven, I
knew how many you know, calories ornogram of protein, fat carbohydrate.
It was like this obsession.
Kelsey Snelling (14:43):
The fat diets didn't help Arielle or anyone really get thinner.
In fact, the focus on weight only made her feel worse.
All this pressure to be thin puts kids at a
high risk for depression, anxiety, and unhealthy relationships with food
and their bodies. Here's Seth again.
Seth (15:04):
No one really thought about the long term effects. And
rather than positive reinforcement fostering that you know, eat well
and you'll live a long time, it's don't eat you know.
It is the negative reinforcement rather than the positive reinforcement.
I can't blame my parents for that.
Kelsey Snelling (15:21):
So when all of those attempts failed, Camp Shane felt
like a miracle solution.
Camp Shane Clip (15:31):
Located in the heart of the beautiful Catskill mountains, Camp Shane is the oldest weight loss camp in the country. Come spend some time with us. Make new friends, get into shape and experience a summer that will change your life.
Kelsey Snelling (15:47):
But first you had to get to Shane. To get
to Camp Shane, campers had to first traverse the roads
of upstate New York. Some kids, like Seth, had their
(16:07):
parents drop them off, but many who flew into New
York City from around the country had to take a
cramped and crowded bus. After two hours of state roads
and thousands of trees, a glimmer of civilization would appear
through the foliage, a strip of fast food restaurants. Here's
(16:29):
Nelson Jancaterino, a former camper and counselor from Alabama.
Nelson (16:35):
And I remember pulling off on that exit and seeing
like McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, and Taco Bell, I think,
and all the kids were like, oh, oh my god,
I want Taco Bell, I want Burger King, I want
blah blah blah, like screaming, and like, I think the
bus driver would like kind of like pretended like he
was going to turn left.
Kelsey Snelling (16:53):
And that was the last time most kids saw McDonald's,
but not the last time they thought about it, because
just beyond this oasis of tasty, high calorie goodness was
Camp Shane. Two worn totem poles welcomed to rivals to
the property. On the inside, forty two acres of lush,
(17:15):
green forest and hilly terrain were freckled by cabins, sports
fields and a few large buildings for gatherings. At the
base of a notoriously steep hill sat the cafeteria. The
whole design was a bit of evil genius. Walking around
campus was a cardio session itself, but struggling up and
(17:37):
down the hill was an added workout. Kids tested various
strategies like zigzagging, walking backward, and even rolling down just
to get to breakfast. Ask any Shaner and they'll tell
you right away. The hill was absolutely iconic. In its heyday.
The camp's reputation was so respected and well known that
(17:58):
a few celebrities even sent their kids to camp. Tommy Mottola,
Stephen Tyler, and Michael Bolton were just some of the
famous parents who trusted Shane with their children. Here's Nelson again.
Nelson (18:13):
The really rich parents would come in like limousines. Then
you had like a I think one summer Mike Tyson's
daughter was there and he showed up in a helicopter
and like landed on the field.
Kelsey Snelling (18:23):
A helicopter landing is pretty cool, but so was having
a child star as a neighbor.
Arielle (18:29):
Shaun Weiss was there, and this Shawn Wess from Mighty Ducks.
He was a legend at camp, like the coolest kid
at camp.
You wanted to know him. Talk to him. He walked
around like he owned the camp. And then one year
they even played Mighty Ducks that movie night. It was
like having Bradley Cooper walk around. It was crazy.
Kelsey Snelling (18:52):
Despite ce lab popularity, Camp Shane was actually quite rustic.
The buildings were humble and bare bone, and the grass
was often unmowed. Kids were out in the woods in
cabins with no air conditioning or TV, and it didn't matter.
Camp was the perfect bubble, a community of chubby children
(19:14):
who were finally free to be themselves. Remember Carl, the
boy who was bullied by his brother at a pool party.
Years later, he was still uncomfortable swimming around others, but
at Camp Shane he had a revelation. After spending time
in the hot sun, many Shaners looked forward to a
(19:34):
dip in the cool water. Carl was worried about swimming,
but this wasn't the outside world. Here's how Carl remembers
that moment.
Carl (19:43):
We had pool on schedule and I come down there
and some of the guys are walking down to the
pool without shits on. They just got their trunks and towel.
That was pretty radical in and of itself, But when
I got to the pool. It was another one of
the veteran guys. He totally saw it. He's like, take
your shirt off, and I was like, I will, and
(20:04):
he's like, we're all here for the same reason, baby,
and he and I took my shirt off, and the
sense of liberation of like I mean, I really mean it,
like it was like lightning and thunder crackling because I
didn't jump in the pool, took it off and just
stood there and looked around and like could feel the breeze.
It was a sunny day, and minus will have been
(20:29):
like a Christening emancipation, you know, doves flying off kind
of a thing, because that was the first like gigantic boulder.
I took that shirt off and didn't jump in the
pool and just sat there in myself.
Kelsey Snelling (20:46):
That feeling is why Carl eventually became a counselor. Kids
at Camp Shane could find a sense of security and
even pride in themselves.
Seth (20:56):
I would be walking on the campgrounds and the girls
it was like G nine through twelve that I'd be
walking by and all of a sudden I'd hear Hisa
from thirty Girls, And of course that made me feel good,
but it was certainly an ego booze.
Arielle (21:15):
Part of it was like really good for your self esteem.
Like for me, like I said, everyone's like, oh, she
has such a pretty face, but now I was just oh,
she's just pretty.
Kelsey Snelling (21:23):
There were so many people there who accepted and encouraged campers.
Here's Nelson again.
Nelson (21:29):
Like I was good at soccer, it was really good,
but I would get picked last because I was heavy.
But then at camp like I'm like, Pele, I'm like
the star soccer player so much so that like when
I was older, like the counselors wanted me to play on,
Like I played on their counselor.
Kelsey Snelling (21:41):
Team despite wanting to lose their fat. The f word
fat was used with pride at Camp Shane. The counselors
and staff made light of fatness, which was a refreshing
change of pace from the shame so many campers had
carried in the past.
Arielle (22:00):
Here's Seth again, the way trainer counselor.
Seth (22:03):
And he's one counselor who will always stand out to
me because for one of the talent shows, he actually
had a bunch of We had all the campers from
our cabin, you know, regardless of size, shape, whatever, big small,
you know, fat, skinny, whatever the case may be. And
we went up there and we did, like Arnold Schwarzenegger,
(22:26):
mister Olympia posing. We actually oiled up with baby oil.
We went up there, chunky, skinny, whatever the case may be,
and we were posing, and the camp went absolutely insane.
And he was one of these guys that again just
just saw us as kids and wanted us to have
(22:48):
a good time and feel good about ourselves.
Kelsey Snelling (22:51):
Camp was a respite kids gained confidence in their new home,
but it wasn't all friendship, bracelets and koumba. Don't forget
the camp's main goal was weight loss. Despite being free
from the school bullies, homework, and social hierarchies, the one
thing that carried over from the outside world at camp
(23:15):
was dieting. According to newspaper articles and former campers, Camp
Shane served a strict diet that ranged anywhere between twelve
and fifteen hundred calories. Meals could include a breakfast of
two French toasticks or cereal, maybe a sloppy joon lunch,
perhaps a small chicken dinner. Kids were also given two
(23:38):
snacks a day, a piece of usually bruised fruit, a
cup of cottage cheese or a small bag of chips.
Campers were also kept busy, with six to seven activity
periods daily, each lasting about an hour. The small portions,
paired with excessive exercise naturally resulted and kids losing weight
(24:01):
like a lot of weight, and really really fast.
Seth (24:08):
A kid who weighs one hundred eighty pounds should not
be down to one hundred and fifty in eight weeks.
Carl (24:16):
It's not healthy.
Kelsey Snelling (24:17):
The Camp Shane diet was not only minimal, but it
was pretty much the same for everyone. Seven year old
girls were fed the same as sixteen year old athletic boys,
and that low end of twelve hundred calories, while not
suitable for even the youngest kids, was definitely below the
recommended caloric intake for teens. Teen girls should consume at
(24:41):
least twenty two hundred calories a day, for teen boys
twenty five hundred calories.
Seth (24:48):
Because it was like a one size fits all, I mean,
someone who was like me, who was maybe thirty pounds
overweight but was active, was eating the same amount as
someone who was one hundred pounds and inactive. That was
a problem. It doesn't lead to sustaining this weight loss.
Kelsey Snelling (25:09):
However, there were some exceptions in the early years, when
a camper dropped enough weight, they were allowed back in
the chow line for second helpings as a way of
maintaining their new body. That is, if the kitchen happened
to have leftovers from that meal, so.
Seth (25:27):
You could be on like single bubble triples, so you'd
be like they put you on breakfast, where they put
you on lunch, maintenance or dinner, or they put you
on all three, depending on how much weight you lost.
When they figured that you hit some certain level, they
would not want you to lose more weight.
Kelsey Snelling (25:44):
Eventually, those small portions and hours long workouts got to campers.
They were hungry, tired, and at times a little unruly.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and campers got creative.
Here's Arielle.
Arielle (26:02):
But when we had skim milk, kids were like guzzling it,
so they had to stop. I think we had a
salad bar one year without the dressing. The dressing like
was very small or it was like a fat free dressing.
And then they used to have ketchup and mustard on
the tables for like hot dog Day or Hamburger Day,
and kids were like drinking the ketchup there were crab
apple trees and every year and crab apples are like poison.
(26:24):
Every year inevitably a kid would eat a crab apple
and go to the nurse and get sick. But it
was like sort of like this like horrible joke. There's
apples all around and you can't eat it. It was
like very uh Bible esque.
Kelsey Snelling (26:41):
And the more campers were restricted, the more powerful food became.
Remember those fast food restaurants the kids passed on the
way to Shane. Yeah, the kids remembered too, and created
a system to get food into camp.
Arielle (26:59):
So there was like one hole the fence by like
where the go karts are. They're like, if you deliver
to this hole in the fence, and they give them
like exact directions of where to pull up what they
would see across. They're like, if you delivered to this hole,
we're going to give you a two hundred dollars cash tip,
but only if you delivered to this hole in the fence.
And they did, and the entire cabin smell like Chinese food.
(27:24):
There was like low mein everywhere.
They ordered like like five hundred dollars worth of Chinese
and the entire cabin ate it.
Kelsey Snelling (27:31):
The fence trick was so successful, campers continued the tradition
for years, and sneaking around at night became so common
counselors had to patrol the grounds around the clock. When
that became too much for staff, the camp brought in reinforcements.
Here's Nelson again.
Nelson (27:51):
We had Matoush, the notorious Polish night watchman. He scared
the shit at everybody because he was we thought it
was a vampire, like he just like kind of wanting
around that he was there at night, and he was
like fast. He was so fast.
He looked like Drago from Rocky four whatever, Like just
just like you're out like at night. We're not supposed
(28:12):
to you, and you see, like you see a quick
flash of light and next thing you know, you turn around.
He's like, get back to your bunk. What are you
doing out?
Kelsey Snelling (28:18):
But a giant Polish vampire wasn't enough to curb a
shane or appetite, and the camper has found other ways
to get food. Ariel remembers the year the more entrepreneurial
kids set up a black market.
Arielle (28:32):
So the boys in b twelve they got a foreign
counselor to somehow get almost like like a Sam's or
Costco size thing of Eminem's. And I remember there were
five dollars in the black market, and this was like
in the early nineties, five dollars a pack for one,
like fifty cent package it used to be back then.
So the eminem cartel of B twelve was like this
(28:54):
huge thing and you could tell who's the boss and
who's the muscle. I'm telling you this is like, this
is like the sopranos of Camp Shane.
Kelsey Snelling (29:03):
Campers obviously couldn't eat their contraband goodies out in the open.
They had to find more unique places to snack.
Arielle (29:12):
And I got back to my cabin that night and
I went into the bathroom and I was eating M
and M's in the toilet. So, yes, is it disordered eating? Yes,
So I'm eating M and M's in the toilet. And
I remember some of my cabins, like I smelled chocolate
and I was.
Like, how is this? Is this like a bloodhound? What
the hell's going on?
Kelsey Snelling (29:32):
The bathroom also became Ril's go to spot for hiding
Campshane's most coveted contraband item, gum.
Arielle (29:41):
So you couldn't have your stash in one spot and
There was one year I was so smart. I thought
I had a bunch of gum and I put it
in like four ziploc bags so it was completely air tight.
I opened up the top of the back of the
toilet and that gum went in the top of the
(30:04):
toilet and it lasted the whole summer. That was my
best stash, absolute best dash.
Kelsey Snelling (30:19):
Sneaking food, black market candy and generally finding creative ways
to break the rules are time honored traditions at camp,
and these stories take on mythical proportions summer after summer,
but they also take on a different que when you
remember this is a weight loss camp, a place designed
(30:40):
around how much kids weigh. This hyper focus on food
turned stashes like rls into power sat remembers. You could
trade for favors and you could use it to bet.
Seth (30:54):
It's almost like when it makes use cigarettes to gamble.
It's like we were using the hottest commodity in camp
and that was food. It became institution wise. I mean,
it just boggles my mind that became a currency. Food
should not be a currency.
Kelsey Snelling (31:12):
And speaking of prison, whenever Shaners were off campus, they
were forced to wear bright orange t shirts. Camp Shane
would sometimes offer field trips for campers, like a day
in New York City or an afternoon at the water park.
The bright colors made kids easier to spot in a crowd,
and more importantly, it helped Shaners stick to their diet.
(31:37):
Local vendors were told explicitly not to sell food to
anyone in an orange shirt. It was extreme, but there
were no days off from the Shane diet. This included
visits to nearby camps for inner mural tournaments. To prevent
kids from cheating on their diets, the counselors packed Shane
specific lunches that they ate in Shane designated areas Camp Shane.
Arielle (32:02):
We had to travel with our own food. We couldn't
even get gatoried. We had to have water, and they
would give us these sandwiches. You'd packed these sandwiches so literally,
be this soggy sandwich with a slice of cheese and
a slice of tomato and maybe a slice of lettuce,
and that is what you would eat. We'd be outside
with our pathetic sandwiches.
Kelsey Snelling (32:25):
Yep. The Shaners had to sit on the ground outside
of the cafeteria. It didn't matter how well the kids
played that day or how confident they felt the night before.
In an instant, they were back to being the fat kids,
very hungry fat kids, and when an opportunity arose for food,
you better believe they pounced.
Arielle (32:48):
So like a little boy in Camp Ecco, I guess,
was like playing outside and he had a magnifier and
he was zapping ants. It was really hot out, the
sun was really bright, so he ended up setting some
leaves on fire. So then there was sort of a
little fire, not that big, but still it was enough
to make the fire alarm go off. So the fire
alarm went off, everyone's running out. Well, the Campshaan boys
(33:11):
were outside and literally when everyone started running out and
it's chaos.
They ran into the cafeteria and they just start grabbing
whatever they can, eating plates that were left on the table,
going up to whatever food line, but like. Just grabbing
as much food. And at this point, because everyone was
(33:31):
it was chaos, everyone was running around. They were just
in there eating, eating, and the counselor's like, there's a fire,
get out, And it took like the Campshan counselors had
to bring echo counselors in. To get the kids out.
And it was just crazy. It just like describes what
Camp Shane was like.
Kelsey Snelling (33:51):
Camp Shane was a dysfunctional sanctuary, a place that preached confidence,
get celebrated campers for changing their bodies home away from home,
that worked kids to the bone. As one former camper
described it to me, the camp.
Mark (34:07):
Works, the kids lose weight. So I think that Oprah,
Tyra whomever, when they look at this camp, they see
a bunch of kids that go in heavy and they
come out thin, and they're not asking any other questions.
Kelsey Snelling (34:19):
But someone should have asked questions. In twenty twenty one,
a few weeks into the summer season, Camp Shane suddenly closed.
Archival (34:31):
Camp closed, parents left scrambling. The state is now investigating
the sudden closure.
Kelsey Snelling (34:36):
Newspapers, TV stations, and even Bloomberg BusinessWeek rushed to cover
what turned out to be a shocking twist of events.
What happened to Camp Shane. How could a beloved, celebrity
endorsed camp that made millions in profits just close its
doors with no explanation, with no promise of returning. What
(35:01):
I saw when I was at Camp Shane stuck with
me for years, and I struggled for a long time
with what I should do about what I'd experienced. Part
of me wanted to call the cops. The other part
of me thought maybe I was being dramatic. But every
time I tried to forget about Shane, something would pull
me back. I started interviewing other Shaners, not just from
(35:26):
my time there, but dating back all the way to
the beginning of the camp itself. I wanted to understand
how a police designed to help kids turned out to
be so toxic, and how it came to such an
abrupt end.
Kellye (35:40):
It was no guidance. It was more or less throw
a bunch of kids at a place, call it a
fitness camp bus, starving them.
Pamela (35:46):
It was something. It was something out of a horror movie.
Nothing about that camp was right.
Seth (35:54):
What I didn't know at the time, though, was that
he was grooming me.
Mark (35:58):
This experience It still haunts me to this day.
Kelsey Snelling (36:01):
Yet none of those things would be the end of camp.
Seth (36:05):
Until there were campers leaving or counselors were leaving. Kids
were getting sick, kids were getting hurt. They shut the
camp down, and I figured if they were shutting it
down that summer, they probably weren't going to come back.
Kelsey Snelling (36:22):
And what were you feeling when you saw this or
heard about this.
Seth (36:26):
This can't be used against me in a court of law.
A little shot and fruit. You know good. I'm glad,
But at the same time I said to myself, man,
I wish that was me. I mean, yes, they got
their come up and they got their punishment. I would
(36:46):
have felt good if if I was the one who
caused that to happen.
Kelsey Snelling (36:52):
This is Camp Shame.
We reached out to David Ettenberg and his wife Ziporah Janowski for comment; at the time of this recording we have not received a reply Camp Shame is a production of iHeartPodcasts. I’m your host, Kelsey Snelling. Camp Shame is produced by Brittany Martinez, – Taylor Williamson–, Sara Schleede, Luci Jones and Aylia Yates Grau. Our Editor is Courtenay Hameister. with additional Editorial support from Lindsey Kratochwill and Grace Lynch. Our executive producers are Jenny Kaplan, Emily Rudder and me, Kelsey Snelling. For iHeartMedia, our executive producer is Cristina Everett. Fact checking done by Madeline Goore, Luci Jones, Paloma Moreno Jimenez, Lauren Williams and Fiona Pestana. Our theme music is produced by Sean Petell. Special thanks to Loren Moffett, Naomi Harvey, Jenell Manzi, Ben Wong, Travis Prow, and Stephanie Malson. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us on Instagram @CampShame – that's with an M!-- If you or anyone you know went to Camp Shane reach out with your camp stories
Listeners. Please note you'll hear the word fat used a
lot throughout this series. Many of our speakers use it
as a neutral descriptor some use it with pride. In
this episode, we also mention specific weight and weight loss numbers.
This language could be sensitive for some listeners, so please
take care. Camp Shane, That's S h a n E
(00:27):
is a summer camp much like any other. A tall
fence surrounds a sprawling wooded property, and inside set all
the makings of a great sleepaway camp. A rope's course,
a few soccer fields, a swimming pool, and rows and
rows of bunks. When you walk the grounds, you're sure
to see kids rating around and tied I counselors thickly
(00:50):
coated in sunblock, and you might even hear the unmistakable
melody of Revelie.
Arielle (00:58):
So am I saying right? Reverie, Revelie? I don't know.
We'd wake up to like patriotic music, like you're a
military camp?
Kelsey Snelling (01:07):
Is it the one that's like.
That one?
Arielle (01:10):
Maybe? Yeah.
Kelsey Snelling (01:14):
After wake up and a bit of breakfast, campers were
ready to start the day, making memories that would last
a lifetime and experiencing many many firsts. First friendships, first kisses,
first wins.
Arielle (01:28):
So I had my very first boyfriend, I had my
very first kiss but during a movie night, and it
was just just really really good for my self esteem.
For me, it was the best summers of my life.
Nelson (01:41):
You will make friends at camp that you're closer with
than your best friends in the outside world.
Kelsey Snelling (01:48):
But Camp Shane isn't exactly like your average summer camp. Here,
kids don't eat s'mores at bonfires, there are no popsicles
on hot July afternoons, and revel signals more than just
the start of the day. It signals the approach of
a morning workout. At Camp Shane, kids aren't just here
(02:09):
to make memories and get outdoors. They're here to get thin.
Tyra (02:14):
Mikey agreed to go to Camp Shane, which is a
weight loss camp for young kids.
Kelsey Snelling (02:18):
“David Ettenberg has been on the front lines of fighting Childhood obesity for more than 40 years as the founder and co-owner of Camp Shane.”
ABC Clip (02:24):
The goal here is to lose up to thirty five
pounds in just weeks.
Kelsey Snelling (02:28):
Camp Shane operated for over fifty years and in that
time was applauded by Tyra Banks, doctor Oz, doctor Phil
and even Oprah Winfrey. It was featured on MTV, ABC,
the BBC, and in the New York Times. The first
time I heard about Camp Shane, I was a junior
(02:50):
in college. My sister had been looking for summer jobs
and during a frenzied late night research session, pulled up
a wild looking job post camp New York counselors wanted.
I didn't even know Fat Camp was a real thing,
but the posting promised an unforgettable summer with top of
(03:10):
the line activities, all centered around kids who were misfits
in the outside world. Were we intrigued? Absolutely? Were we qualified.
We hardly knew a thing about weight loss or nutrition,
and we didn't really have any experience with kids. But
four months later we were in Ferndale, New York, ready
(03:33):
for Campshane counselor orientation. When I first got to camp,
I didn't know what to expect on the other side
of the tall wooden fence that surrounded the grounds, But
pretty quickly I realized what that fence concealed.
Mark (03:49):
It checks all the boxes, and it's so easy. You
send the child, you send your money, they send the
child back the way it is gone. It's fat.
Nelson (04:00):
It's the most fun you'll ever hate. That sums up
camp in one sentence. It is the most fun you'll
ever hate.
Stacy (04:05):
I don't know that I fully understood body shame until
I went to a fat camp, and it's why it
was called camp Shame.
Kelsey Snelling (04:23):
This is Camp Shame. I'm Kelsey Snelling. This is a
story about fat camp, diet culture, and the heavy price
of shame. During the production of this series, I spoke
to nearly one hundred people, former campers, counselors, staff and parents.
(04:44):
Today we'll hear stories from a handful of them. They
represent campers from the full fifty plus years that Camp
Shane was an operation. We'll get to know a lot
of them throughout this season, but for this episode, we're
going to get to know Camp Shane itself. Hi.
Camp Shane Media Clip (05:02):
Hi, I'm David Ettenberg. I'm the director and founder of Camp Shane. And I'm Ziporah Janowski David's wife and a co-director. Camp Shane was founded in 1968 and we are the original longest running weight loss camp anywhere.
Kelsey Snelling (05:16):
For decades, Camp Shane was marketed as the premier weight
loss camp for kids and teens. It was the perfect
place to meet new friends and get outside camp Shane
had it all, ziplines, arts and crafts, and a fan
favorite go karts. In addition to fun activities, camp provided
(05:37):
cooking classes and nutrition education from celebrity chefs, as well
as group therapy to uncover the root causes of Camper's
weight gain. Despite the camp being a huge success, it
actually got its start as a humble family business. Camp Shane,
the brainchild of a woman named Selma Ettenburg, was meant
(06:01):
to be a safe haven for kids, a place to
shed extra pounds without judgment. Selma took out ads and
newspapers across the country and sent out brochores to prospective families. She,
along with her husband and children, even made house calls
to interested families, armed with VHS tapes, more brochures, and
(06:24):
a pitch for a summer of fun and fitness. David Ettenberg,
whose voice was in that ad you just heard, was
part of that family, and in the nineteen eighties he
was the camp director.
Seth (06:37):
David actually came to my house, gave us the whole
presentation about how the camp was, and you know, all
the great things, showed me the video everything like that,
and my parents were like, oh, well, why not?
Kelsey Snelling (06:52):
That’s Seth Kwitko.
Seth (06:54):
A camper eighty one to eighty five, I've I remember correctly,
and then I came back as a counselor twice.
Kelsey Snelling (07:08):
He was about ten years old when he first went
to the camp, and after the house call, he was
pretty pumped about going.
Seth (07:15):
Level playing field, so we have nothing to worry about.
Everything is going to be cool. They're going to you know,
they're going to feed us, well, we're going to lose weight,
We're going to be active. But I felt like it
was easier to be active or keep up with a
bunch of kids that were equally overweight. So how bad
could this be?
Kelsey Snelling (07:34):
That level playing field that Seth talks about was so
important to the campers. They were in need of a
place where they could feel at ease, a place where
they weren't picked last, a place where they were able
to be more than just the fat kid, because in
the real world, being a fat kid is really hard.
(07:57):
Here's Seth again.
Seth (07:58):
Once I was in skating rink with this girl that
I kind of liked, and I was kind of showing
off for her. I was probably about ten.
Kelsey Snelling (08:11):
Seth was trying to be cool and made a bit
of a scene by messing with a younger kid at
the rink.
Seth (08:17):
This kid's mother was standing there and the first words
out of her mouth was a fat soo. And that
sort of took me by surprise, because I would never, never,
in my life would I say anything to a kid
like that.
Kelsey Snelling (08:39):
I could never imagine calling someone fat as a way
to hurt them, let alone a child. Bodies come in
all shapes and sizes, and there are many reasons why
a person might be heavy. There's stress, genetics, hormones, medications,
trauma responses, metabolic conditions. It's a long list.
(09:02):
All that aside, body diversity is natural, which makes it
endlessly disappointing that we live in a world where fatness
is so demonized. When you were a bigger kid in
a fat phobic society, you learn pretty quickly that the
world is not built for you. You're judged every time
you eat, you can't fit into desks at school, you're
(09:26):
denied access to rides at amusement parks, and worst of all,
you never really feel free in your body. You're always
forced to cover up and lay low just to avoid harassment.
For Carl Evans, a camper from the two thousands, the
judgment he felt around his weight soured one of his
(09:46):
most beloved activities. As a young kid, Carl loved swimming.
In his hometown outside of Chicago.
Carl (09:55):
There was a swimming club, and then there was also
like a public pond you could get a five dollars
summer passed the swimming. When I was really really young,
you know, kindergarten through like first or second grade, I
was like a fish. I'd spend all day in the
summers at these places.
Kelsey Snelling (10:10):
One summer, Carl went to a birthday pool party with
his brother.
Carl (10:15):
My brother, he'd make fun of my weight more than
maybe anyone else in the neighborhood.
Kelsey Snelling (10:20):
And at this party in particular, Carl remembers.
Carl (10:25):
He just really like laid in and decided to do
like a whole stand up bit, even though I'm in
third grade. He called the mamboobs. That was like a
real tipping point to you know, strategic swimming for like
the rest of our life life camp.
Kelsey Snelling (10:40):
See that moment shifted how Carl viewed himself. He started
swimming with his shirt on. As he got older, he
sometimes used his size to his advantage, like playing high
school football, but he still wasn't comfortable in his body.
And eventually his weight began to impact his health. In
(11:02):
his teen years, Carl suffered a cardiac emergency that scared
him and his family. That's when things got serious. After
doing some research on weight loss camps, his sister found
Camp Shane and Carl enrolled the next summer. The judgment
kid's face, especially during early development, can stick with them
(11:25):
for years, even a lifetime.
Arielle (11:29):
Where As I remember going to kindergarten orientation and they
were giving up cookies and I was so excited. My
Mom's like she can't eat them, and I just remember
feeling shame and embarrassment, like, uh oh, what if other
people heard? This?
Kelsey Snelling (11:41):
That Arielle Berger.
Arielle (11:43):
I went to Camp Shane in nineteen ninety three, ninety four,
ninety six, ninety eight, I was twelve, thirteen, fifteen, and seventeen.
Kelsey Snelling (11:53):
Good memory.
Arielle (11:54):
I wrote it down. I took notes. I'm an attorney,
so I take notes.
Kelsey Snelling (11:59):
Arielle still Carrie's painful memories from her early childhood, like
her first year at school.
Arielle (12:05):
I remember even like birthday party at school, like I
would always be like, oh, the teacher would be like, oh,
you can't participate, Like that's so embarrassing. So there's like
this feeling of shame that I even associate like to
young childhood.
Kelsey Snelling (12:20):
Arielle discovered Camp Shane after seeing their advertisements. Like many
kids at Camp, Aril came from a Jewish family and
she was sent to camp ahead of her About Mitzvah,
the ceremony that marks the time when a Jewish girl
becomes an adult, Many families felt pressure to present their
kids to the community in the best light, and in
(12:40):
the case of many Shaners, this meant being slim. To
achieve this, Ariel's mother took drastic steps. This is even
before discovering Camp Shane.
Arielle (12:52):
She put a lock on our pantry at one point,
and so it's like, what does that say to someone? Right? Like,
what do you lock up? I lock up jewelry or money?
Why would you lock up food? Like? That made it
even more powerful. I think.
Kelsey Snelling (13:07):
When locking food away didn’t help Arielle lose weight, her mother introduced her to some of the late 80s and early 90s most popular diets and diet foods.
Snackwells (13:16):
Snackwell’s chocolate sandwich cookies. So good can we ever make enough?
Kelsey Snelling (13:22):
The Snackwell cookies that claimed to be low fat, accomplished
this by adding additional sugar which is true of almost
all low fat diet foods.
WOW chips (13:31):
Introducing new Lays wowd potato chips. They taste just as
good as regular Lays, and because they're made with oline,
they're half the calories and one hundred percent fat free.
Kelsey Snelling (13:40):
In the late nineties, Freedom Lay introduced Wow Chips, fat
free versions of some of their best known chips like Lays,
Pringles and Doritos.
Arielle (13:50):
Something in it was essentially a laxative. You would eat
it and you would instantly get a stomach ache and
go to the bathroom. So it's like, hey, it's a
win win. I just ate a whole bag of Doritos
and I went to the bathroom. Five days worth of bathroom.
For one day. It was like the craziest thing.
Kelsey Snelling (14:08):
Those Wow chips were required to carry a warning and
were eventually taken off the market altogether. And then there
was weight Watchers, which got its started in the early
nineteen sixties as a weekly support group.
ABC Clip (14:20):
Weight Watchers new nineteen eighty eight quick Success program is
helping people lighten up.
Arielle (14:27):
I started at weight Watchers at seven, so I knew
at seven years old, which is insane. At seven, I
knew how many you know, calories ornogram of protein, fat carbohydrate.
It was like this obsession.
Kelsey Snelling (14:43):
The fat diets didn't help Arielle or anyone really get thinner.
In fact, the focus on weight only made her feel worse.
All this pressure to be thin puts kids at a
high risk for depression, anxiety, and unhealthy relationships with food
and their bodies. Here's Seth again.
Seth (15:04):
No one really thought about the long term effects. And
rather than positive reinforcement fostering that you know, eat well
and you'll live a long time, it's don't eat you know.
It is the negative reinforcement rather than the positive reinforcement.
I can't blame my parents for that.
Kelsey Snelling (15:21):
So when all of those attempts failed, Camp Shane felt
like a miracle solution.
Camp Shane Clip (15:31):
Located in the heart of the beautiful Catskill mountains, Camp Shane is the oldest weight loss camp in the country. Come spend some time with us. Make new friends, get into shape and experience a summer that will change your life.
Kelsey Snelling (15:47):
But first you had to get to Shane. To get
to Camp Shane, campers had to first traverse the roads
of upstate New York. Some kids, like Seth, had their
(16:07):
parents drop them off, but many who flew into New
York City from around the country had to take a
cramped and crowded bus. After two hours of state roads
and thousands of trees, a glimmer of civilization would appear
through the foliage, a strip of fast food restaurants. Here's
(16:29):
Nelson Jancaterino, a former camper and counselor from Alabama.
Nelson (16:35):
And I remember pulling off on that exit and seeing
like McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, and Taco Bell, I think,
and all the kids were like, oh, oh my god,
I want Taco Bell, I want Burger King, I want
blah blah blah, like screaming, and like, I think the
bus driver would like kind of like pretended like he
was going to turn left.
Kelsey Snelling (16:53):
And that was the last time most kids saw McDonald's,
but not the last time they thought about it, because
just beyond this oasis of tasty, high calorie goodness was
Camp Shane. Two worn totem poles welcomed to rivals to
the property. On the inside, forty two acres of lush,
(17:15):
green forest and hilly terrain were freckled by cabins, sports
fields and a few large buildings for gatherings. At the
base of a notoriously steep hill sat the cafeteria. The
whole design was a bit of evil genius. Walking around
campus was a cardio session itself, but struggling up and
(17:37):
down the hill was an added workout. Kids tested various
strategies like zigzagging, walking backward, and even rolling down just
to get to breakfast. Ask any Shaner and they'll tell
you right away. The hill was absolutely iconic. In its heyday.
The camp's reputation was so respected and well known that
(17:58):
a few celebrities even sent their kids to camp. Tommy Mottola,
Stephen Tyler, and Michael Bolton were just some of the
famous parents who trusted Shane with their children. Here's Nelson again.
Nelson (18:13):
The really rich parents would come in like limousines. Then
you had like a I think one summer Mike Tyson's
daughter was there and he showed up in a helicopter
and like landed on the field.
Kelsey Snelling (18:23):
A helicopter landing is pretty cool, but so was having
a child star as a neighbor.
Arielle (18:29):
Shaun Weiss was there, and this Shawn Wess from Mighty Ducks.
He was a legend at camp, like the coolest kid
at camp.
You wanted to know him. Talk to him. He walked
around like he owned the camp. And then one year
they even played Mighty Ducks that movie night. It was
like having Bradley Cooper walk around. It was crazy.
Kelsey Snelling (18:52):
Despite ce lab popularity, Camp Shane was actually quite rustic.
The buildings were humble and bare bone, and the grass
was often unmowed. Kids were out in the woods in
cabins with no air conditioning or TV, and it didn't matter.
Camp was the perfect bubble, a community of chubby children
(19:14):
who were finally free to be themselves. Remember Carl, the
boy who was bullied by his brother at a pool party.
Years later, he was still uncomfortable swimming around others, but
at Camp Shane he had a revelation. After spending time
in the hot sun, many Shaners looked forward to a
(19:34):
dip in the cool water. Carl was worried about swimming,
but this wasn't the outside world. Here's how Carl remembers
that moment.
Carl (19:43):
We had pool on schedule and I come down there
and some of the guys are walking down to the
pool without shits on. They just got their trunks and towel.
That was pretty radical in and of itself, But when
I got to the pool. It was another one of
the veteran guys. He totally saw it. He's like, take
your shirt off, and I was like, I will, and
(20:04):
he's like, we're all here for the same reason, baby,
and he and I took my shirt off, and the
sense of liberation of like I mean, I really mean it,
like it was like lightning and thunder crackling because I
didn't jump in the pool, took it off and just
stood there and looked around and like could feel the breeze.
It was a sunny day, and minus will have been
(20:29):
like a Christening emancipation, you know, doves flying off kind
of a thing, because that was the first like gigantic boulder.
I took that shirt off and didn't jump in the
pool and just sat there in myself.
Kelsey Snelling (20:46):
That feeling is why Carl eventually became a counselor. Kids
at Camp Shane could find a sense of security and
even pride in themselves.
Seth (20:56):
I would be walking on the campgrounds and the girls
it was like G nine through twelve that I'd be
walking by and all of a sudden I'd hear Hisa
from thirty Girls, And of course that made me feel good,
but it was certainly an ego booze.
Arielle (21:15):
Part of it was like really good for your self esteem.
Like for me, like I said, everyone's like, oh, she
has such a pretty face, but now I was just oh,
she's just pretty.
Kelsey Snelling (21:23):
There were so many people there who accepted and encouraged campers.
Here's Nelson again.
Nelson (21:29):
Like I was good at soccer, it was really good,
but I would get picked last because I was heavy.
But then at camp like I'm like, Pele, I'm like
the star soccer player so much so that like when
I was older, like the counselors wanted me to play on,
Like I played on their counselor.
Kelsey Snelling (21:41):
Team despite wanting to lose their fat. The f word
fat was used with pride at Camp Shane. The counselors
and staff made light of fatness, which was a refreshing
change of pace from the shame so many campers had
carried in the past.
Arielle (22:00):
Here's Seth again, the way trainer counselor.
Seth (22:03):
And he's one counselor who will always stand out to
me because for one of the talent shows, he actually
had a bunch of We had all the campers from
our cabin, you know, regardless of size, shape, whatever, big small,
you know, fat, skinny, whatever the case may be. And
we went up there and we did, like Arnold Schwarzenegger,
(22:26):
mister Olympia posing. We actually oiled up with baby oil.
We went up there, chunky, skinny, whatever the case may be,
and we were posing, and the camp went absolutely insane.
And he was one of these guys that again just
just saw us as kids and wanted us to have
(22:48):
a good time and feel good about ourselves.
Kelsey Snelling (22:51):
Camp was a respite kids gained confidence in their new home,
but it wasn't all friendship, bracelets and koumba. Don't forget
the camp's main goal was weight loss. Despite being free
from the school bullies, homework, and social hierarchies, the one
thing that carried over from the outside world at camp
(23:15):
was dieting. According to newspaper articles and former campers, Camp
Shane served a strict diet that ranged anywhere between twelve
and fifteen hundred calories. Meals could include a breakfast of
two French toasticks or cereal, maybe a sloppy joon lunch,
perhaps a small chicken dinner. Kids were also given two
(23:38):
snacks a day, a piece of usually bruised fruit, a
cup of cottage cheese or a small bag of chips.
Campers were also kept busy, with six to seven activity
periods daily, each lasting about an hour. The small portions,
paired with excessive exercise naturally resulted and kids losing weight
(24:01):
like a lot of weight, and really really fast.
Seth (24:08):
A kid who weighs one hundred eighty pounds should not
be down to one hundred and fifty in eight weeks.
Carl (24:16):
It's not healthy.
Kelsey Snelling (24:17):
The Camp Shane diet was not only minimal, but it
was pretty much the same for everyone. Seven year old
girls were fed the same as sixteen year old athletic boys,
and that low end of twelve hundred calories, while not
suitable for even the youngest kids, was definitely below the
recommended caloric intake for teens. Teen girls should consume at
(24:41):
least twenty two hundred calories a day, for teen boys
twenty five hundred calories.
Seth (24:48):
Because it was like a one size fits all, I mean,
someone who was like me, who was maybe thirty pounds
overweight but was active, was eating the same amount as
someone who was one hundred pounds and inactive. That was
a problem. It doesn't lead to sustaining this weight loss.
Kelsey Snelling (25:09):
However, there were some exceptions in the early years, when
a camper dropped enough weight, they were allowed back in
the chow line for second helpings as a way of
maintaining their new body. That is, if the kitchen happened
to have leftovers from that meal, so.
Seth (25:27):
You could be on like single bubble triples, so you'd
be like they put you on breakfast, where they put
you on lunch, maintenance or dinner, or they put you
on all three, depending on how much weight you lost.
When they figured that you hit some certain level, they
would not want you to lose more weight.
Kelsey Snelling (25:44):
Eventually, those small portions and hours long workouts got to campers.
They were hungry, tired, and at times a little unruly.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and campers got creative.
Here's Arielle.
Arielle (26:02):
But when we had skim milk, kids were like guzzling it,
so they had to stop. I think we had a
salad bar one year without the dressing. The dressing like
was very small or it was like a fat free dressing.
And then they used to have ketchup and mustard on
the tables for like hot dog Day or Hamburger Day,
and kids were like drinking the ketchup there were crab
apple trees and every year and crab apples are like poison.
(26:24):
Every year inevitably a kid would eat a crab apple
and go to the nurse and get sick. But it
was like sort of like this like horrible joke. There's
apples all around and you can't eat it. It was
like very uh Bible esque.
Kelsey Snelling (26:41):
And the more campers were restricted, the more powerful food became.
Remember those fast food restaurants the kids passed on the
way to Shane. Yeah, the kids remembered too, and created
a system to get food into camp.
Arielle (26:59):
So there was like one hole the fence by like
where the go karts are. They're like, if you deliver
to this hole in the fence, and they give them
like exact directions of where to pull up what they
would see across. They're like, if you delivered to this hole,
we're going to give you a two hundred dollars cash tip,
but only if you delivered to this hole in the fence.
And they did, and the entire cabin smell like Chinese food.
(27:24):
There was like low mein everywhere.
They ordered like like five hundred dollars worth of Chinese
and the entire cabin ate it.
Kelsey Snelling (27:31):
The fence trick was so successful, campers continued the tradition
for years, and sneaking around at night became so common
counselors had to patrol the grounds around the clock. When
that became too much for staff, the camp brought in reinforcements.
Here's Nelson again.
Nelson (27:51):
We had Matoush, the notorious Polish night watchman. He scared
the shit at everybody because he was we thought it
was a vampire, like he just like kind of wanting
around that he was there at night, and he was
like fast. He was so fast.
He looked like Drago from Rocky four whatever, Like just
just like you're out like at night. We're not supposed
(28:12):
to you, and you see, like you see a quick
flash of light and next thing you know, you turn around.
He's like, get back to your bunk. What are you
doing out?
Kelsey Snelling (28:18):
But a giant Polish vampire wasn't enough to curb a
shane or appetite, and the camper has found other ways
to get food. Ariel remembers the year the more entrepreneurial
kids set up a black market.
Arielle (28:32):
So the boys in b twelve they got a foreign
counselor to somehow get almost like like a Sam's or
Costco size thing of Eminem's. And I remember there were
five dollars in the black market, and this was like
in the early nineties, five dollars a pack for one,
like fifty cent package it used to be back then.
So the eminem cartel of B twelve was like this
(28:54):
huge thing and you could tell who's the boss and
who's the muscle. I'm telling you this is like, this
is like the sopranos of Camp Shane.
Kelsey Snelling (29:03):
Campers obviously couldn't eat their contraband goodies out in the open.
They had to find more unique places to snack.
Arielle (29:12):
And I got back to my cabin that night and
I went into the bathroom and I was eating M
and M's in the toilet. So, yes, is it disordered eating? Yes,
So I'm eating M and M's in the toilet. And
I remember some of my cabins, like I smelled chocolate
and I was.
Like, how is this? Is this like a bloodhound? What
the hell's going on?
Kelsey Snelling (29:32):
The bathroom also became Ril's go to spot for hiding
Campshane's most coveted contraband item, gum.
Arielle (29:41):
So you couldn't have your stash in one spot and
There was one year I was so smart. I thought
I had a bunch of gum and I put it
in like four ziploc bags so it was completely air tight.
I opened up the top of the back of the
toilet and that gum went in the top of the
(30:04):
toilet and it lasted the whole summer. That was my
best stash, absolute best dash.
Kelsey Snelling (30:19):
Sneaking food, black market candy and generally finding creative ways
to break the rules are time honored traditions at camp,
and these stories take on mythical proportions summer after summer,
but they also take on a different que when you
remember this is a weight loss camp, a place designed
(30:40):
around how much kids weigh. This hyper focus on food
turned stashes like rls into power sat remembers. You could
trade for favors and you could use it to bet.
Seth (30:54):
It's almost like when it makes use cigarettes to gamble.
It's like we were using the hottest commodity in camp
and that was food. It became institution wise. I mean,
it just boggles my mind that became a currency. Food
should not be a currency.
Kelsey Snelling (31:12):
And speaking of prison, whenever Shaners were off campus, they
were forced to wear bright orange t shirts. Camp Shane
would sometimes offer field trips for campers, like a day
in New York City or an afternoon at the water park.
The bright colors made kids easier to spot in a crowd,
and more importantly, it helped Shaners stick to their diet.
(31:37):
Local vendors were told explicitly not to sell food to
anyone in an orange shirt. It was extreme, but there
were no days off from the Shane diet. This included
visits to nearby camps for inner mural tournaments. To prevent
kids from cheating on their diets, the counselors packed Shane
specific lunches that they ate in Shane designated areas Camp Shane.
Arielle (32:02):
We had to travel with our own food. We couldn't
even get gatoried. We had to have water, and they
would give us these sandwiches. You'd packed these sandwiches so literally,
be this soggy sandwich with a slice of cheese and
a slice of tomato and maybe a slice of lettuce,
and that is what you would eat. We'd be outside
with our pathetic sandwiches.
Kelsey Snelling (32:25):
Yep. The Shaners had to sit on the ground outside
of the cafeteria. It didn't matter how well the kids
played that day or how confident they felt the night before.
In an instant, they were back to being the fat kids,
very hungry fat kids, and when an opportunity arose for food,
you better believe they pounced.
Arielle (32:48):
So like a little boy in Camp Ecco, I guess,
was like playing outside and he had a magnifier and
he was zapping ants. It was really hot out, the
sun was really bright, so he ended up setting some
leaves on fire. So then there was sort of a
little fire, not that big, but still it was enough
to make the fire alarm go off. So the fire
alarm went off, everyone's running out. Well, the Campshaan boys
(33:11):
were outside and literally when everyone started running out and
it's chaos.
They ran into the cafeteria and they just start grabbing
whatever they can, eating plates that were left on the table,
going up to whatever food line, but like. Just grabbing
as much food. And at this point, because everyone was
(33:31):
it was chaos, everyone was running around. They were just
in there eating, eating, and the counselor's like, there's a fire,
get out, And it took like the Campshan counselors had
to bring echo counselors in. To get the kids out.
And it was just crazy. It just like describes what
Camp Shane was like.
Kelsey Snelling (33:51):
Camp Shane was a dysfunctional sanctuary, a place that preached confidence,
get celebrated campers for changing their bodies home away from home,
that worked kids to the bone. As one former camper
described it to me, the camp.
Mark (34:07):
Works, the kids lose weight. So I think that Oprah,
Tyra whomever, when they look at this camp, they see
a bunch of kids that go in heavy and they
come out thin, and they're not asking any other questions.
Kelsey Snelling (34:19):
But someone should have asked questions. In twenty twenty one,
a few weeks into the summer season, Camp Shane suddenly closed.
Archival (34:31):
Camp closed, parents left scrambling. The state is now investigating
the sudden closure.
Kelsey Snelling (34:36):
Newspapers, TV stations, and even Bloomberg BusinessWeek rushed to cover
what turned out to be a shocking twist of events.
What happened to Camp Shane. How could a beloved, celebrity
endorsed camp that made millions in profits just close its
doors with no explanation, with no promise of returning. What
(35:01):
I saw when I was at Camp Shane stuck with
me for years, and I struggled for a long time
with what I should do about what I'd experienced. Part
of me wanted to call the cops. The other part
of me thought maybe I was being dramatic. But every
time I tried to forget about Shane, something would pull
me back. I started interviewing other Shaners, not just from
(35:26):
my time there, but dating back all the way to
the beginning of the camp itself. I wanted to understand
how a police designed to help kids turned out to
be so toxic, and how it came to such an
abrupt end.
Kellye (35:40):
It was no guidance. It was more or less throw
a bunch of kids at a place, call it a
fitness camp bus, starving them.
Pamela (35:46):
It was something. It was something out of a horror movie.
Nothing about that camp was right.
Seth (35:54):
What I didn't know at the time, though, was that
he was grooming me.
Mark (35:58):
This experience It still haunts me to this day.
Kelsey Snelling (36:01):
Yet none of those things would be the end of camp.
Seth (36:05):
Until there were campers leaving or counselors were leaving. Kids
were getting sick, kids were getting hurt. They shut the
camp down, and I figured if they were shutting it
down that summer, they probably weren't going to come back.
Kelsey Snelling (36:22):
And what were you feeling when you saw this or
heard about this.
Seth (36:26):
This can't be used against me in a court of law.
A little shot and fruit. You know good. I'm glad,
But at the same time I said to myself, man,
I wish that was me. I mean, yes, they got
their come up and they got their punishment. I would
(36:46):
have felt good if if I was the one who
caused that to happen.
Kelsey Snelling (36:52):
This is Camp Shame.
We reached out to David Ettenberg and his wife Ziporah Janowski for comment; at the time of this recording we have not received a reply Camp Shame is a production of iHeartPodcasts. I’m your host, Kelsey Snelling. Camp Shame is produced by Brittany Martinez, – Taylor Williamson–, Sara Schleede, Luci Jones and Aylia Yates Grau. Our Editor is Courtenay Hameister. with additional Editorial support from Lindsey Kratochwill and Grace Lynch. Our executive producers are Jenny Kaplan, Emily Rudder and me, Kelsey Snelling. For iHeartMedia, our executive producer is Cristina Everett. Fact checking done by Madeline Goore, Luci Jones, Paloma Moreno Jimenez, Lauren Williams and Fiona Pestana. Our theme music is produced by Sean Petell. Special thanks to Loren Moffett, Naomi Harvey, Jenell Manzi, Ben Wong, Travis Prow, and Stephanie Malson. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us on Instagram @CampShame – that's with an M!-- If you or anyone you know went to Camp Shane reach out with your camp stories
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