Help Skateboarding Legend Paul Constantineau Fight Rare Brain Disease and Cover Care Costs

Craig RosenSat, February 14, 2026 at 1:50 AM UTC

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((Photo by Steve Grayson/WireImage))

In his youth, Paul Constantineau was a member of the legendary Z-Boys skateboarding team that shaped the extreme sport by taking it from the sidewalks to the vertical walls of drained swimming pools.

Decades later, Constantineau is in need of help.

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Dogtown Skateboards recently posted on its social media accounts about the famed skater’s current situation along with a classic 1976 photo by noted photographer Glen E. Friedman of Constantineau shooting the tube on a schoolyard bank.

“Legendary Z-Boy and @dogtownskate Paul Constantineau needs your help! PC is recently out of spending three weeks at UCLA hospital. He has Benson’s Syndrome, a rare brain neurodegenerative syndrome. He will need full time care going forward. It is only half covered by insurance. For all the inspiration that Paul has brought to the skating world, we can now step up to help him. All contributions go directly to his life partner, Maria Minelli, who is managing his care.”

Dogtown Skateboards also shared the link to a GoFundMe account created for Constantineau by fellow former Z-Boy Nathan Pratt. As of this writing, the fundraising effort was closing in on its goal of $26,000 with more than 100 donations, with word from Pratt that an anonymous donor was offering to “match all donations up to $8,000. Your dollars are doubled! Don't let us leave money on the table.”

Constantineau and Pratt were part of the scene documented in the 2001 film Dogtown and the Z-Boys, co-written and directed by onetime Z-Boy Stacy Peralta, and narrated by Sean Penn. The film, which won the Audience Award and Directing Award at the Sundance Film Festival, also nabbed an Independent Spirit Award in 2001 for Best Documentary. It also inspired the 2005 drama Lords of Dogtown, that focused on the lives of Z-Boys Tony Alva, Jay Adams and Peralta, as they revolutionized skateboarding and struggled with their newfound fame.

This story was originally published by Parade on Feb 14, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”