‘It turns out I ended up with the ability to do things with my hands, thanks to the things my uncle and aunt showed me.’

Pasquale Giaquinto, Lido Beach

“My dad died at age 37, when I was 3. However, I had a next-door neighbor who took over as my father figure. I used to go over to his house starting when I was as young as 4 years old. He would give me a hammer and nails and let me watch him build things like chairs and a treehouse, which showed me how to do things with my hands. His wife also taught me about things like nature and gardening. I called them my uncle and aunt. I spent a lot of time with them; they were there for me and helped build the foundation of who I am.

“Growing up in Elmont, I had an interest in the arts as a kid. After graduating high school in 1970, I went to an art school, but after that I realized that I couldn’t make money in the art field. A girl I was dating at the time had a floor waxing machine in her house, and I always loved the smell when my mom waxed our floors as a kid, so I was inspired and started a floor waxing business.

“I bought a truck, did some residential floor waxing and some stores, too, then eventually started a commercial cleaning business, which I’ve been doing for 50 years now.

“I ended up with a lot of free time after a while because my business was running well, so I ended up buying a shack in Patchogue and made the whole thing over — the architecture, the landscaping, the whole nine yards, the interior, all the construction. I didn’t hire any contractors, so it was a slower build, but I did it all with my own hands.

“It turns out I ended up with the ability to do things with my hands, thanks to the things my uncle and aunt showed me. I ended up selling that house and then moved to Lido Beach in 1993, where I bought a fixer-upper and redid that house, where I live today. I redid it room by room. I did intricate sculpture artwork, including moldings. I built the staircases, the outside deck and more.

“The house is filled with artwork, so much so that I can’t fit anything else on my walls. I also collect statues, and I have over 700 sculptures and statues in and outside my house in my collection. My house is like a museum.”

I had taken some boxing lessons as a teenager before I got started with martial arts. I studied tae kwon do and then got a black belt in American Combat.

“I’ve been doing martial arts for 50 years. I got started when I was 20. It was the Bruce Lee period, and I got really inspired by his movies. I also really loved watching boxing, and I was intrigued by the combat. I had taken some boxing lessons as a teenager before I got started with martial arts. I studied tae kwon do, and then got a black belt in American Combat. I used to fight in competitions, and I’ve taught Muay Thai kickboxing for 20 years.

“Today. I teach aerobic kickboxing, and I’m an official for the ISKA [International Sport Karate and Kickboxing Association], helping with fights. The martial arts are definitely an art form of their own. Learning martial arts requires repeating kicks and punches thousands and thousands of times so that you don’t need to think about what to do during a fight.

“When it comes to fighting somebody, it helps to be a creative person. You might throw a blow to the face, which distracts your opponent, and his hands go up, and then you hit him in the ribs. So a creative mind is definitely beneficial. It was the same in art school, using repetition learning to draw figures and using models, learning to draw the human body.

“Whether it’s art or martial arts, I think of myself as a creative person. I also love cooking; my mom inspired me that way. She was a single parent, but she loved to cook and cook for people. It could have been 2 in the morning, but she’d ask, ‘Do you want me to cook you something?’ She would also always tell me, ‘Don’t worry, don’t worry, it’s all going to work out.’ That’s how I live my life. I don’t worry about anything but my health. She made me into a positive person.

“All these things I do in my life, I feel, come from a great foundation that was formed by the people who raised me, who taught me to care about people and want to help them out. I like teaching people, and I like helping people with their statue repairs, or really any kind of help. Whatever people need, I’m here for them.”

Interviewed by Ian Stark