Episode 3: The Real Heavyweights – Detailed Summary
Release Date: June 5, 2025
Introduction
In Episode 3 of Camp Shame, host Kelsey Snelling delves into the intricate and often troubling history of Camp Shane, one of America's longest-running weight loss camps for children. Titled "The Real Heavyweights," this episode explores the camp's influence on pop culture, its internal power struggles, and the detrimental impact of its weight-centric regime on campers' physical and emotional well-being.
Camp Shane and Pop Culture: The Influence of Heavyweights
The episode begins by drawing parallels between Camp Shane and the 1995 Disney movie Heavyweights. Kelsey Snelling explains that Heavyweights was inspired, at least in part, by Camp Shane's promotional advertisements from the late 1980s. These ads featured images of children showcasing significant weight loss, which captivated young Steve Brill.
Notable Quote:
"When I was a kid, Steve saw the notorious Camp Shane ad in the back of the New York Times Magazine... I would always stare at that ad going, wow, what would it be like to go there?"
— Steve Brill [03:35]
Steve Brill, the director of Heavyweights, recounts collaborating with producer Judd Apatow to transform his childhood fascination with Camp Shane into a feature film. However, Brill acknowledges significant differences between the real camp and the movie's portrayal, emphasizing that while Heavyweights showcased a fun and rebellious camp environment, the reality at Camp Shane was far less idyllic.
Notable Quote:
"Camp Shane wasn't quite like Heavyweights, not really."
— Steve Brill [04:51]
Ownership Transition: From Selma to David
A pivotal moment in Camp Shane's history was the transition of ownership from Selma and her husband Irving to Selma's son, David Attenberg. By 1990, David had been camp director for eight years, overseeing a thriving business with revenues of $260,000 (equivalent to approximately $630,000 in 2025).
However, this transition was marred by familial discord. Selma, still retaining ownership while David managed the camp, led to escalating tensions. Selma insisted that David and his wife Zipporah reside on campus year-round, leading to an attempted eviction and a subsequent legal battle over camp ownership.
Notable Quote:
"Selma insisted that David and his wife Zipporah live in their house on camp all year long... David and Zipporah said no."
— Kelsey Snelling [19:08]
The legal confrontation culminated in David purchasing the camp for $1.2 million by 1993, making him the sole owner. Despite this, Selma remained a contentious presence, often meddling in camp operations from across the street, creating an environment of constant tension.
Operational Changes Under David's Leadership
Under David's leadership, Camp Shane shifted from its original mission of supporting weight loss in children to a more profit-driven business model. This shift was evident in several operational changes:
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Hiring Practices: David preferred employing Camp America counselors—international staff willing to work for lower wages—to reduce costs. This practice introduced diverse yet transient staff members who were central to the camp's daily operations.
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Cost-Cutting Measures: Instances like the infamous movie screening debacle, where a counselor mistakenly rented a pornographic film instead of Heavyweights, highlighted the lack of oversight and prioritization of fun over safety.
Notable Quote:
"Campers were being exposed to graphic pornography... with around 100 kids, some as young as 8 years old, seeing something like that."
— Kelsey Snelling [24:26]
- Staff Dynamics: While counselors like Simon Greenwood were passionate and dedicated, others viewed the camp's rigid and profit-oriented practices as detrimental to its original mission. This dichotomy created a fractured staff environment.
The Culture of Fatphobia in the 1990s
Camp Shame situates Camp Shane within the broader societal context of the 1990s, a decade rife with fatphobia intensified by media portrayals and flawed metrics like the Body Mass Index (BMI).
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BMI Misconceptions: The redefinition of BMI categories in 1998 by the National Institutes of Health inaccurately labeled individuals as "overweight" at lower BMI thresholds, misleading millions about their health status.
Notable Quote:
"BMI is also just an incredibly poor predictor of how much body fat a person has... the idea that just taking these two measurements would tell us how fat a person is is intuitively ridiculous."
— Steve Brill [12:20] -
Media Influence: Popular shows like Friends perpetuated negative stereotypes about fatness, embedding shame and embarrassment in societal consciousness.
Notable Quote:
"In 1994, Esquire magazine printed an article revealing that 54% of women surveyed would rather be hit by a truck than be fat."
— Kelsey Snelling [08:55]
This pervasive fatphobia created an environment where weight loss camps like Camp Shane thrived, capitalizing on parents' fears about their children's health and societal pressure to attain a slender physique.
Impact on Campers: Disordered Eating and Physical Strain
The strict regime at Camp Shane had severe consequences for the children enrolled, fostering disordered eating habits and extreme physical exertion without adequate nutrition.
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Food Restrictions:
- Campers were subjected to minimal caloric intake, insufficient for their age and the extensive physical activities prescribed.
- The introduction of the "Pig Out Room" paradoxically punished campers by restricting their food intake while subtly encouraging binge eating through access to contraband snacks.
Notable Quote:
"Food intake was heavily restricted... their reward for restriction was to eat a bunch of cake and cookies in the Pig Out Room."
— Kelsey Snelling [30:07] -
Extreme Exercise:
- Campers engaged in up to eight hours of exercise daily, often leading to physical exhaustion, illness, and injuries.
- Instances like Stacy Toth's collapse due to overexertion and inadequate nutrition underscore the camp's disregard for the campers' well-being.
Notable Quote:
"My body was overwhelmed with the amount of exercise and extreme pressure... my body literally crashing, crumpling to beg for help."
— Stacy Toth [43:02] -
Psychological Effects:
- The camp's focus on weight loss as a performance metric instilled a cycle of shame, self-criticism, and unhealthy relationships with food.
- Former campers like Stacy recount feelings of failure and the perpetuation of disordered eating behaviors long after leaving camp.
Notable Quote:
"I didn't think calories really work that way. Like, you need enough calories every day. It doesn't work that way."
— Sue Steinberg [40:07]
The Decline of Camp Shane and Lasting Consequences
By the mid-1990s, Camp Shane was embroiled in controversies ranging from suspected arson to accusations of mismanagement, reflecting the broader dysfunction within the camp's leadership.
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Safety Incidents:
- A 14-year-old camper's broken collarbone from unsupervised play exemplified the camp's neglect of camper safety.
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Internal Sabotage:
- Selma's relentless attempts to reclaim control led to actions like tackling camp operations and instigating fear among staffers.
Notable Quote:
"Nothing about that camp was right. It was really actually like a horror movie."
— Steve Brill [33:51] -
Staff Exodus:
- Increasingly untenable conditions and unresolved tensions led dedicated staff members like Jana Hopkins to leave, fearing for the campers' well-being.
Notable Quote:
"I had the sense that something bad was going to happen and I didn't want to be there when it did."
— Jana Hopkins [33:45]
Despite attempts to maintain operational stability, the cumulative effect of poor management, internal conflicts, and harmful weight loss practices marked the beginning of the end for Camp Shane's reputation and effectiveness.
Contrasting Camp Shane with Heavyweights
While Heavyweights concluded on a hopeful note with campers triumphing over an oppressive camp director, the reality of Camp Shane was starkly different. The episode highlights the absence of positive reinforcement and self-acceptance for campers, underscoring the enduring psychological scars left by the camp's practices.
Notable Quote:
"If you've never seen the movie, then spoiler alert, I'm about to talk about the ending... there's no trophy, no music that swells as the credits start to roll, no hearts filled with new lessons about loving yourself."
— Kelsey Snelling [47:56]
Conclusion and Teasers for Future Episodes
The episode wraps up by contrasting the fictionalized optimism of Heavyweights with the grim reality of Camp Shane, emphasizing that while the movie ends with a sense of accomplishment and self-love, Camp Shane left its campers grappling with unresolved shame and unhealthy body images.
Kelsey Snelling teases future episodes, hinting at deeper explorations into Camp Shane's legacy and the broader implications of fatphobia in society.
Production Credits
Camp Shame is a production of iHeartPodcasts, with Kelsey Snelling as the host. The episode was produced by Brittany Martinez, Taylor Williamson, Sarah Schlied, Lucy Jones, and Aaliyah Yates Grau. Editing was managed by Courtney Hommeister, supported by Lindsay Cradlewill and Grace Lynch. Executive producers include Jenny Kaplan, Emily Rutter, Christina Everett, and Kelsey Snelling herself. Fact-checking was conducted by Madeline Gore, Lucy Jones, Paloma Moreno Jimenez, Lauren Williams, and Fiona Pesto. Theme music was produced by Shaun Patel.
Call to Action
Listeners are encouraged to share their own Camp Shane stories and follow Camp Shame on Instagram @CampShame to engage with the community and stay updated on upcoming episodes.
End of Summary