By Emily Cummins, Assistant Features Editor
You may have seen him around campus trying to make "Hawaiian Shirt Thursdays" popular among his peers, but there is a lot more to Maximillan Zdrada than his eclectic fashion. The junior liberal arts major with a concentration in psychology, history and religion is from New Hampshire and has a flair for the odd and interesting.
The Chronicle: So what are your hobbies?
Zdrada: Well I play the didgeridoo. I've been playing for about four years now just for fun. I love it immediately because it was so interesting and different from the trombone (which he used to play before).
The Chronicle: Do you play with a group or just for yourself personally?
Zdrada: Mostly I play for fun and play for my friends, but I've also been getting into didgeridoo therapy where you play – its hard to explain- it produces vibrations that release the chakras in your body so it relaxes the people listening to it. I've played for my mom's yoga class.
The Chronicle: What else do you do in your spare time?
Zdrada: Right now I'm practicing ninjutsu (or becoming like a ninja). I've been practicing back home over the summer for two years now. I just came back from a ninja camp where we went into the woods learned new things and ideas.
The Chronicle: What got you into being a ninja? Did you practice martial arts as a kid?
Zdrada: I did wrestling, football and lacrosse my whole life and stopped once at Hofstra, but I had always liked martial arts so I stumbled upon a dojo in my town and met the people running it. I loved it from then on.
The Chronicle: What does being a ninja involve?
Zdrada: Stealth, evasion, self-defense, hand-to-hand combat, Samurai sword training, which I do every Friday.
The Chronicle: So you have your own sword?
Zdrada: Yeah [laughing]. That's one of the big reasons I had to move out of the dorms. I only own one sword though, but I'd love to build a collection. I'm interested in other weapons like the kyoketso shoegi, a roped weapon where there is a metal hoop on one end and a dagger on the other.
The Chronicle: What do you do when you're back in New Hampshire?
Zdrada: I lumberjack during the summer. I've been doing it for five years so I'm very familiar with an axe and chainsaw. My brother and I started our own business. I find it more rewarding than some retail job I could get. Working outdoors is enriching. I love the outdoors. I enjoy skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, kayaking and canoeing. I love to do it all.
The Chronicle: What are your plans for when you graduate?
Zdrada: I'm going on to Chiropractic College. I've looked into three schools over the summer and I'm really sold on Palmer Chiropractic College in Florida, but before I do that I'm going to hike the Appalachian trail with a friend of mine. We decided we're going to embark on the 5-month journey starting in Maine and ending in Georgia. Then I'll enroll in school in the spring.
Max has been playing the didgeridoo for four years. (Jim Ausanio/The Chronicle)