because zack's been busy. . . when he's not on facebook.

Zack is an 18 year old American comedian, autism activist, best-selling/award-winning author, teen-social entrepreneur, and talk-show host. He formerly attended Sacred Heart Elementary School (Los Angeles, CA) and graduated in 2007. He attended Cathedral High School in Los Angeles from 2007-2010 before enrolling into the Kaplan Academy of Los Angeles Online School to complete his Senior year and focus on work. He successfully graduated from high school in June 2011. 

According to his family name ancestry, Zack is of a German and Spanish decent (and part Jewish and French from his great-grandparents' ancestory). 

 

Zack has a total of six siblings. Five brothers (Shawn, Isaiah, Elijah Joeb "EJ," Ethan "Deets," and Joshua) and one sister (Breanne). His mother, Nancy, is a mother of three boys from Los Angeles, CA. She is married to Chef Jay Quesada. She was a contestant on the ScyFy reality competition show, Esate of Panic. She also spends most of her days advocating for autism, giving motivational speeches on autism, and has even formed a support group for mothers of children with autism. His father, Peter, is a paralegal. He has five children and is currently married to stay-at-home wife and homeschool teacher, Jessica.

 

Zack is very open about his family-relationships and family-issues in his books.

 

When Zack isn't poking fun at his cougar "relationships" with autism activist and writer, Kim Stagliano, and President of the National Autism Association, Wendy Fournier, he is more than happy to vocalize that he is in a happily committed relationship. . . with himself. "It's the best way to know my lover will never cheat on me," he joked on his public Facebook page.

In an interview he stated, "I always like to play on the arrogance teenagers are known for. . . It makes me 'normal.'"

 

Zack receives much criticism and is perceived as being a part of the "anti-vaccine movement." However, he claims that he is not anti-vaccine and simply believes in being educated before vaccinating and making sure everyone makes informed health decisions. He has gone on to interview many medical professionals to make sure he has collected a substantial amount of information before "spitting out something stupid," which he will be the first to admit that he done in the past. He has interviewed Dr. Bob Sears, Dr. Jerry Kartzinel, and Dr. Paul Offit, all on his show,it's on with Zack. 

 

 

Zack has been very active in the autism community since his nine-year-old brother, Ethan, was officially diagnosed in 2005 (at the age of three). He has fundraised and worked with a variety of organizations includeing Generation Rescue, Autism Speaks, the AUTSPOT Foundation, TACA, Autism Youth Sports League, The A.Skate Foundation, and more.

 

Zack attends a variety of charity events in So. California that benefit autism. He has even created his own series of annual Play Now for Autism charity events. Play Now for Autism events are sporting events for children with special needs. The events include sporting games, a resource fair, and many fun activities all benefiting autism. He created Play Now for Autism with the support of his mother in 2009. 

 

With the release of his second book, Zack launched a national comedy tour titled Laugh Now for Autism (a branch off of Play Now for Autism). The Laugh Now for Autism Comedy Tour will be stand-up performances by Zack that will raise money for autism and encourage others to take a stand for autism. Generation Rescue and the National Autism Association are beneficiaries. 

 

In 2009, Zack wrote a book titled, Saving Deets!: A Family's Journey with Autismwhich was released in October 2009. Narrated through Zack's mind, the book tells of his family's journey with his autistic brother. The book includes heart-filled stories and pictures from Zack and other families. The book also includes helpful information and charts. Zack received an award for his book at the end of 2009 from Mendoza Science and Art Autism Foundation Inc. (MSAAF Inc.). The second edition of the book was released in November 2010.

 

The comedic author's second book is titled Charity Bites!: The Untold Stories of the Dog-Eat-Dog World of Autism Activism. It is a collection of humorous tales from Zack's eccentric adventures as an autism activist. 

 

He is currently working on his third book, When Life Hands You Lemons... Throw Them At People: A Book About Growing Up, Screwing Up, and Moving Up, with Just and Ounce of Maturity. 

 

Zack has also been a contributing writer for "Autisable" and "Age of Autism" online publications. On May 17, 2011 Zack announced that he would begin writing as a contributing write for Yahoo! starting in June 2011. He has since been asked to be a featured writer for many other websites and blogs. 

He currently has a comedy blog on Tumblr: The Official Blog of Zack Gonzalez. 

 

In July 2009, Zack started his autism-talk radio show, "it's on with Zack". The show was online-based and recorded live on Saturday mornings. After the 4th Episode, he brought in a Co-Host, Deborah Noonan, to join him. (Zack met Deborah while volunteering at the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center in Summer 2009, at his brother's summer camp for children with special needs, where Deborah worked.) Together the duo hosted the show and interviewed guests active in the community. Autism-related songs were played on the show and occasionally they held a debate show. The first season ended in December 2009.

 

Season 2 kicked off on April 2, 2010 for a special premier episode on World Autism Awareness Day. The rest of the season was hosted with new Co-Host, Nicci Bates. It was announced that Season 2's ratings nearly quadrupled (from hundreds to thousands) since the end of season 1. It was later announced that Season 3 would not follow the same radio-format, but that instead it would be filmed with a "Zack On the Go" theme, following Zack around at his different events and continuing to interview individuals in the autism community. Both co-hosts, Nicci and Deborah, had a role on the third season. 

 

Season 3 aired June 18, 2011 on www.youtube.com/itsonwithzack. It is undetermined what the future will hold for the show. 

 

In 2011, Zack announced that he was merging into the world of comedy. He studied different forms of comedy in early 2011 and released his first comedy book, Charity Bites!, in June 2011. With the release of the book came a series of Laugh Now for Autism stand-up performances. 

Zack says that after he saw that his candid and brash approach to things was found humorous by peers, he decided to try getting into comedy. He has been compared to comedians like Chelsea Handler, David Spade, and Kathy Griffin. 

He's shared the stage with the comedians of "Chelsea Lately", including Sarah Colonna, Jen Kirkman, Heather McDonald, and Fortune Feimster. He has performed at popular Hollywood comedy clubs including the Comedy Store and the world famous Laugh Factory. 

 

In March 2011, Zack began his own comedy production company, named Zack G. Comedy Productions. He then turned his radio show, "it's on with Zack," into a comedic based web-show, continuing to promote autism awareness.

 

The comedian performs nationwide and is currently on tour. 

 

 

In June 2010, Zack released a clothing line, AUTISM AWARENESS by Zack. The line features clothes by American Apparel with autism-related designs and slogans by Zack and Co-Designer of the line, Veronica Beltran.The clothes are all organic. 

In Summer 2011, the line was put on hiatus, following the release of two new designs. 

AUTISM AWARENESS by Zack is now no longer just the name of his clothing line, but also his volunteer-run group that organizes Play Now for Autism and Laugh Now for Autism events, as well as other fundraisers and efforts to raise awareness and funds for autism. 

Zack was  featured in the upcoming book, The Parents' Guide to Raising CEO Kids by Sarah Cook, which was released in 2011. 

He was named one of 2009's Teens That Inspire by Sue Scheff in an article on Examiner.com. 

In October 2011, Generation Rescue announced that they had nominated Zack for the Outstanding Youth Volunteer award by the Association of Fundraising Professionals. 

Zack took home the award on National Philanthropy Day at the AFP award ceremony on November 16, 2011. He was up against Bosilika An and Katelin Wagner; two other amazing teen philanthropists. 

 

For event booking or speaking engagements please email booking@zackgonzalez.com