BIO

orgins and family genealogy

Vittorio Anastasio is a native San Franciscan and the firstborn son of Italian immigrants from the Italian resort island of Ischia, located just east of Naples in the Mediterranean Sea. Vittorio currently resides in the Inner-Richmond neighborhood of San Francisco with his wife Susan and their identical twin daughters, all natives of the city like Vittorio. Vittorio Anastasio’s name is Italian in origin, and Vittorio was named after his paternal grandfather. Vittorio is sometimes shortened to “Vito,” yet many of his American friends also refer to him as “Vic.” “Vic” is a shorter version of Victor which is the English equivalent to Vittorio. As an example of anglicizing names, when Vittorio’s grandfather immigrated to San Francisco in 1953 and 1954 opened the family pizzeria in the Polk Gulch neighborhood, he immediately became known by his customers as Victor. Moving forward, the restaurant was eventually called “Victor’s Pizza.” The name Vittorio translates to “winner” in Italian, and the Greek translation of the name Anastasio is “the rising of Christ.”

Education, Career and Wrestling Origins

Vittorio Anastasio holds an MA in Counseling Psychology from the University of San Francisco, and a BA in Kinesiology from San Francisco State University. He also holds California State Credentials in Secondary Education in the areas of physical and earth science and physical education, as well as a grade 7 through 12 Pupil Personnel Services Credential. Vittorio is a graduate of the Class of 1984 from Archbishop Riordan High School in San Francisco where he lettered in varsity wrestling. After Riordan, he attended Skyline Community College and began his collegiate wrestling career. It was also while he was at Skyline that he returned to his alma mater Archbishop Riordan as an assistant wrestling coach. After transferring to San Francisco State University, Vittorio suspended his collegiate wrestling career to replace the head coach, Steve Swanson, at Riordan who was suffering from a terminal disease. Vittorio went on to earn his degree and teaching credentials from San Francisco State University while he continued as Riordan’s head wrestling coach. Midway through his student teaching experience through San Francisco State, Riordan’s administration asked him to take on a part-time position in Math and Science to bridge a semester teaching gap. The following year he was hired full time at Riordan and continued to complete the necessary course and fieldwork to earn his teaching credential in 1990.

Marianist Educator

Archbishop Riordan High School was managed by the Society of Mary, the Marianists, beginning with its founding in 1949 until June of 2010. Vittorio is ever grateful for his personal experience and enduring commitment to Marianist education. Starting with his time a Riordan student to the present day, Vittorio has been an active participant in Marianist life activities. Through the years Vittorio participated in over 20 Marianist retreats and faith formation conferences including LIFE, LIT, and classes at the University of Dayton. In March 2018 he proudly became an official Marianist Affiliate. His marriage was officiated by a Marianist, and Marianist priests baptized his children.

School Leadership at Archbishop Riordan High School

During the 1990’s at Archbishop Riordan, Vittorio began to assume multiple leadership roles beyond his job as a science teacher. He served as Science Department Chair from 1993-1996 where he led the transition of new curriculum offerings and directed the organization and design of new science labs. Recognized for his leadership, Riordan selected him to join the administrative team as Dean of Students from 1996-1999 and once again for the academic year 2001-2002. As the Dean of Students Vittorio rewrote the parent/student handbook after creating and implementing many new successful policies. During his tenure as Dean of Students, he enrolled in evening courses at the University of San Francisco where he obtained a master’s degree in counseling psychology and a pupil personnel service credential. While he worked as Riordan’s Dean of Students by day, Vittorio enrolled in evening courses at the University of San Francisco to earn his master’s degree in counseling psychology and a pupil personnel service credential. Following, Vittorio became a school guidance counselor in 1999 and eventually ascended to Director of the Guidance Department, 2004-2013. As the Guidance Department Director, he created a new counseling structure which enabled an improved and consistent student support system. As Guidance Chair he also established a designated College Counselor and Advisor position for which he served from 2005 to 2011. Vittorio also volunteered to represent Riordan as Teachers’ Union delegate from 2006-2010 and worked diligently to negotiate salaries and benefits for all teachers within the Collective Bargaining Agreement of the San Francisco Archdiocese. Far and away from his initial expectations as a new teacher and motivated varsity wrestling coach at Riordan in 1990, Vittorio continued along a steady track to leadership at his alma mater. Following three decades of professional success and growth, Vittorio ascended to the role of Principal in 2013. He served as Principal from 2013-2017, and in 2017 he served as both the school’s Principal and Interim President. Vittorio’s tenure as Riordan’s principal began in late Spring 2013 with a grim passing of the baton from the outgoing Principal. In the spring of 2013, the Archdiocese of San Francisco recommended closing the school due to seven straight years of financial losses incurred by previous administrations. In short, the savings account had diminished, and the school was operating at a loss of over one million dollars per year. He quickly implemented an action plan to save the school. Vittorio partnered closely with the school’s development department, the finance office, and former Riordan President Joe Conti to remain steadfast in conducting better fundraising and improving money management. To better manage the school’s operational budget for which the Principal was responsible, Vittorio enlisted his skills as a former guidance counselor. In the year prior to the crisis, Vittorio was well practiced in curriculum scheduling. Thus as Principal, he set a rescheduling plan into action to produce a better-balanced program of study reflective of the school’s enrollment and academic scheduling requests. With Vittorio’s insightful evaluation and rebuilding of the master schedule, Riordan managed to save close to $500,000.00 per year. Vittorio also sought out additional revenue sources to mend the financial crisis at Riordan. He restructured leadership and hired new managers tasked with increasing interest and enrollment in both the summer school program and the international boarding program. He collaborated with the International Boarding Director to improve boarding family spirit and student life in the dorms by building a new boarding recreation room and creating a weekly boarding excursion program. The new space enhanced social activities and outings, and encouraging a streamlined leadership program with the regular day students. The fruits of Vittorio’s labor paid off almost immediately in the form of better international student retention and increased the quality of the boarding student applicant pool. As a result, the finances of the school improved each year steadily under Vittorio’s leadership, and Riordan eventually emerged with a positive cash flow following his third year as Principal. During the final two years as Principal, Vittorio planted the seeds to implement new and innovative programs designed to brand and market the school as a distinctly unique educational opportunity and academic experience. As an example, his vision for an enhanced student-centered hands-on experience learning led to new programs such as the Maker Space and the four-year engineering program. He also implemented the academic enrichment program which encompasses a diverse variety of over twenty-five unique class offerings such as automotive engineering, advanced journalism, entrepreneurship, leadership, and a barbeque grilling course. The final program that Vittorio had initiated, and perhaps of most impact, was the House System school-wide mentoring program. During his tenure as Principal, he hired over 70% of the current faculty and staff and raised the quality of the classroom and extracurricular experience. The number of on-campus coaching staff increased from three to over twenty, and the number of clubs and enrichment activities grew exponentially. Given his range of accomplishments over such a short period, it remains evident that Vittorio’s dedication and leadership had catapulted the school’s position in the regional and global admissions market which directly increased the school’s enrollment numbers.  

Overcoming Slander 2015

It is often the case that when one leader affects positive growth or change in any corporate or community setting, there are those who not only oppose the change but also act by unethical means in reaction to it. At Riordan, this was the case for Vittorio in the academic year of 2014-2015. As Vittorio had made some tough decisions in order to save the school money and improve its offerings, he was inundated with several slanderous attacks from a small group of disgruntled employees. He was put in a position where he had to take action to stop the false attacks and was forced to sue the individuals for slander. He won his case in an anti-SLAPP court ruling, and the cases were settled out of court, putting an end to the personal attacks. This profoundly troubling experience coupled with his work experience in various school life opportunities has led to his present position on the board of directors of a non-profit organization which is in its genesis stage of formation. The new organization’s mission is to help educate and support those who are the victims of cyberbullying and slander.

Transition from Archbishop Riordan

Vittorio Anastasio stepped down from his position of Principal and Interim President in the summer of 2017 due to a recurring cardiac medical issue called Brugada. Vittorio had served as Riordan’s Principal for four years, as well as interim President for the spring semester of 2017. He is the only layperson and Riordan alumnus to have held both positions in the school’s 70-year history. Over the four years of his leadership, Vittorio was able to turn the school around fiscally while creatively implementing a set of new programs which radically enhanced Riordan’s academic offerings, student experience, and branding in the San Francisco Bay Area’s secondary school market. His impact fon repairing school systems and creating new programs is arguably the greatest that the school had seen in decades.

Brugada and Cardiac Health

In February 2010 Vittorio Anastasio suffered a sudden cardiac death episode (aborted). During the event, he experienced ventricular fibrillation which often causes the heart to immediately stop pumping blood leaving about five minutes in which to be resuscitated. Vittorio had no past history of medical issues and was fortunate to receive an almost immediate response from the San Francisco Fire Department paramedics who happened to be near his home where the incident had occurred. He was rushed to the University California San Francisco Medical Center and was induced into a coma, and the doctors searched for evidence in determining what had caused his cardiac arrest. As an immediate treatment, he had an Internal Cardiac Device (ICD) surgically implanted to act as a pacemaker and defibrillator should any future incidents of cardiac arrest were to occur. Due to his excessive time without oxygen, he suffered slight brain damage and severe short-term memory loss. In the following, May 2010 his defibrillator fired for the first time after he experiences an yet another unexpected ventricular fibrillation episode. In June UCSF’s genetic testing program and Dr. Melvin Scheinman collaborated and diagnosed Vittorio with a rare arrhythmia called Brugada. Brugada usually kills healthy adults ages 30-50 when they are at rest. For some time it was considered a mysterious adult version of SIDS. Brugada is a genetic disease that can be passed down through each generation, and other people in Vittorio’s family have discovered that they have the Brugada gene as well. In August 2010, Vittorio Anastasio returned to work, and during a faculty meeting he went into cardiac arrest and began to suffer from a rare Brugada storm. He was repeatedly going into vfib cardiac arrest, and in each instance, he would be defibrillated by his internal device. At UCSF Dr. Scheinman administered Isopropyl to pull Vittorio out of the cardiac storm, and over the course of the hospitalization, he tried various methods to gain control over Vittorio’s Brugada. Eventually, a combination of medication including Quinidine and Thyeolfplin were used to control further shocks, yet PTSD and memory issues continued during his initial recovery, and some problems continue to the present day. Vittorio’s quinidine doses have continued to increase, and cognitive and physiological challenges often result from the medication. Stress, fatigue, and any infection such as a common cold are all known to trigger Brugada. Working at a school, especially in the stressful role as an administrator, Vittorio was forced to return to the hospital on a few occasions. In his continued battle with Brugada, Vittorio is now considering a new operation which hasn’t been performed yet in the United States. In short, the experimental procedure consists of conducting an internal ablation of a heart chamber which can possibly cure his disease. Vittorio has volunteered to speak with others who are living with Brugada or arrhythmias which required an ICD, and his blog has a special section dedicated to patients and families dealing with Brugada. It is his goal to share his story and experience to help others who also have the disease.  

Bay Area Wrestling Legacy

Known as “Vic Anastasio” in the local wrestling community, Vittorio Anastasio’s roots in Bay Area wrestling began during his high school years at Archbishop Riordan and later at Skyline College. While wrestling at Skyline, he became an assistant wrestling coach at Riordan in 1984. When Riordan’s head coach became terminally ill, Vittorio took over as the head coach at the age of twenty years old and went on to coach at Riordan for a total of 26 seasons, with 23 seasons as the head coach. In 1988 he established the San Francisco Elite Wrestling Association which is the longest running and most active club in the city of San Francisco. SF Elite became a Non-profit corporation in 1994 and Vittorio has been the CEO every year since he first founded the organization. SF Elite has had more high school, Jr. High, and elementary school Bay Area Champions, State Placers, and National award winners than any other club of all time in San Francisco. As Vittorio began his head coaching career at Riordan, he realized that he needed to infuse a renewed interest into the program and promote the world-class benefits of the sport in general. That said, when the opportunity arose to take a group of wrestlers to the Soviet Union to train with some of the best wrestlers in the world, Vittorio decided to make the trip. The Cold War was ending, and the former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev had just begun to allow international athletes to visit Russia. Vittorio and four Riordan wrestlers embarked upon a world tour starting with training in Montreal and Prague. The final stop was Moscow where the students continued to practice and ended their trip with wrestling competitions with the best in the world. Vittorio and his student wrestlers returned to San Francisco with increased confidence and a spark that propelled the team to new heights. Vittorio is the most successful high school wrestling coach in the history of the City and County of San Francisco. As a head coach, he led his program to earn 212 dual meet victories, seven “Top 10” finishes in the Central Coast Section Championships, a 4th place CCS team award in 2011, and a “Top 25” and “Top 15” finish at the CIF State Championships. He coached four California State medalists, thirty-eight Central Coast Section placers, and fifty-­two West Catholic Athletic League Champions. Over twenty-five of his past wrestlers went on to wrestle at the collegiate level, including one NCAA finalist and nine junior college State Placers. Many of his former wrestlers and assistant coaches went on to become head wrestling coaches. Vittorio served as the President of the Bay Area Wrestling Association (BAWA) for thirteen years, and as a BAWA board member for over twenty years. He led several teams to international competition in Japan, the former Soviet Union, Canada, and Czechoslovakia, and in turn, host of a dozen international teams here at home. He served as the California USA Wrestling State Board Chairman for International Cultural Exchange. Vittorio has directed over sixty-five freestyle and high school tournaments at Archbishop Riordan and volunteered to lead over two hundred tournaments at other local venues including San Francisco State University, Skyline College, Menlo College and other various high schools and middle schools. In 2009 he was inducted into the Archbishop Riordan High School Athletic Hall of Fame, and in 2011 he received a Central Coast Championships “Coaching with Honor and Sportsmanship” medal. In 2016 he was inducted into the California Wrestling Hall of Fame for a lifetime of achievement. He is currently the CEO of San Francisco Elite Wrestling which is in the process of expanding to a national program of education for high school wrestlers, parents, and coaches.

Restaurant and Culinary Background

Vittorio’s paternal grandfather Vittorio Anastasio (also known as Victor) opened the family pizzeria “Victor’s Pizza” on San Francisco’s Polk Street in 1954, setting the stage for Vittorio’s passion for pizza making. Vittorio grew up working at Victor’s, and his love of the business continued to grow especially his father Stanley took over the restaurant in 1976. During the summer months of his high school years, Vittorio managed Victor’s lunchtime operations as well as all of its staff. Victor’s Pizza was sold in 1985, and while it still exists at the same location, it is no longer owned or operated by the Anastasio family. Before selling the restaurant, Vittorio’s father Stanley offered Vittorio the opportunity to take over ownership of the restaurant, but he declined in order to pursue his college education and to continue competing in the sport of wrestling. Though Vittorio had made a right decision regarding his college pursuits, he continued to harbor a close connection to the pizza making industry. He always knew when his career in education was to end; he would most likely return to the industry in which his family had established so well in San Francisco and beyond. “Giorgio’s Pizza” in San Francisco and Healdsburg were also Anastasio family restaurants; both opened by Vittorio’s uncle, George Anastasio. Additionally, Vittorio’s father Stanley had opened a restaurant and bar in San Francisco called “Anastasio’s” for a short time in the early 1980’s. Today, only Giorgio’s Pizza in Healdsburg is still owned by family. Vittorio’s mother’s side of his family is also a part of the pizza making industry. Vittorio’s great uncle Louis Lucullo took over his father-in-law’s restaurant “Conte’s” in Princeton, New Jersey. Although Vittorio only worked in his family’s California restaurants, he enjoys visiting Conte’s when he is back east, reminiscent of his adored grandfather’s Victor’s Pizza.  

Entrepreneur

Vittorio found Vista United LLC in January of 2018. Vista-United is a company formed as a parent company for several different types of endeavors including multimedia production, educational authority resources, educational affiliate resources, product development, sales, personal coaching and consulting services. Vittorio’s company will successively launch a variety of business that has a united view (Vista United) in creating several new avenues to foster education and enrichment. Outside of the Vista United company, Vittorio has teamed up with various groups and is in the process of starting up two non-profit educational corporations and expand his established wrestling non-profit company. The future non-profits will provide services in college matriculation for wrestlers, anti-bullying support and the creation of a new school. To support his vision for Vista United, Vittorio has actively engaged in continuing education. He has taken extended education courses at UC Berkeley’s School of Journalism as well as several online courses in Social Media Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, Non-Profit Business Management, web design, and UCSF’s mini-medical university program.

Real Estate

Vittorio’s father Stanley Anastasio became interested in the San Francisco real estate market during the 1960’s. He earned his broker’s license in 1968 and began operating Anastasio Real Estate in 1970. Vittorio and his younger brother Vince have both supported and invested in various ventures with their father over the years. The company now focuses on private sales and purchases, as well as rental and property management for their private holdings.