Kevin Pearce – National Geographic Adventurer of the Year Nominee


[YouTubeUlar] <— 9,119 Today Ashley Cooley and I purchased two tickets to the 2014 Craig Hospital PUSH Dinner where Snowboarding star Kevin Pearce will be the recipient of the Craig Hospital Inspiration Award. Pearce was recently selected as one of the National Geographic Adventurers of the Year amongst several other, and somewhat crazy adventurists... Adventure Educators - Amy and Dave Freeman
Alpinists – Raphael Slawinski and Ian Welsted
Big-Wave Surfer – Greg Long
Climber – Adam Ondra
Community Builders – Stacy Bare and Nick Watson
Explorer – Sarah Marquis
Long-Distance Swimmer – Diana Nyad
Skier – JP Auclair
Sky Runner – Kilian Jornet
Snowboarder – Kevin Pearce

KevinPearceCrashReel

If you haven’t taken the time to watch “The Crash Reel”, which documents Kevin Pearce’s recovery from a crash in Park City, Utah where Pearce sustained a traumatic brain injury, I would highly recommend you point your iTunes or Apple TV this direction.

Pearce was attempting a cab double cork while training in the halfpipe on December 31st, 2009 — only 49 days before the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Pearce spent 34 days in critical care at University Hospital before being transferred to Craig Hospital in Englewood, Colorado to begin his rehabilitation.

“The Crash Reel” documents Kevin Pearce’s remarkable recovery while educating about the effects of traumatic brain injuries specifically tied to Action Sports. Defining the art of snowboarding and tracking Kevin Pearce from childhood to a professional career as the only snowboarder with the ability to beat Shaun White, the dynamic story line of The Crash Reel brings together every emotion related to overcoming such incredible odds.

I personally can not recommend a better documentary film for anyone to watch and am excited to see what Jake Manley and the media team at Craig Hospital have created for the upcoming 2014 PUSH Dinner.

Hashtag – Love Your Brain – #LoveYourBrain

[2014 Craig Hospital PUSH Dinner]
[Love Your Brain Campaign]
[The Crash Reel Homepage]
[National Geographic Adventurers of the Year]
[National Geographic Interview of Kevin Pearce’s 2014 Running of the 2014 Sochi Olympics]

Kevin Pearce – “The Crash Reel”


[YouTube] <— 3,789

The Crash Reel

Fifteen years of verite footage show the epic rivalry between half-pipe legends Shaun White and Kevin Pearce, childhood friends who become number one and two in the world leading up to the Vancouver Winter Olympics, pushing one another to ever more dangerous tricks, until Kevin crashes on a Park City half-pipe, barely surviving. As Kevin recovers from his injury, Shaun wins Gold. Now all Kevin wants to do is get on his snowboard again, even though medics and family fear this could kill him. We also celebrate Sarah Burke who crashed in Park City and died January 19, 2012.

I find it difficult to write about this film – simply because I strongly believe ‘the crash reel” is something everyone should just watch… and pay attention to. The soundtrack continues to get better with each viewing and the enjoyment of seeing other people finally learn about the severity of brain injuries and the consequences behind them is mind opening.

Love Your Brain - #loveyourbrain - Tee Shirt

#loveyourbrain Tahiti Blue Tee Shirt

There are so many levels of integration as to why this documentary hits so close to home with me…

  • My mom is a brain injury specialist
  • I practically grew up at Craig
  • Half pipe half pipe half pipe
  • Stephen Murray
  • Sarah Burke – CR Johnson
  • Action Sports
  • Directing and story telling

[Interview with Director Lucy Walker]

Colin Bane — Kevin Pearce Rides Again

“Pearce said his injury and the intense recovery process have taught him more than he ever hoped to know about traumatic brain injuries. “I think the most important thing that I can share with folks about traumatic brain injuries is that your brain never stops healing,” he said. “You can heal as much as you want as long as you keep your mind to it and work hard. I think it’s really hard for a lot of kids because they think they’re in such bad shape that they just give up, and that’s been the most important lesson for me: It’s hard and it takes a lot of work but you can heal.”

Welcome back to the mountain Kevin Pearce. Great work on the article Colin Bane.

[ESPN – READ FULL]
[Dew Tour Video] <— 302 views [Burton Snowboards Video] <— 316 views

“I used to take this for granted… I used to be on this lift and be like — gosh why is this lift so slow, get me to the top — and now its just nice to be up here. Be up here hang in'”

[RED – Wear Your Helmet] <— 23,113

Kevin Pearce at Craig Hospital

I’m not a fan of Microsoft or Silverlight – but this olympic video is worth the install. Mac’ers – don’t be scared. Windows’lugers – you probably already are.

Kevin Pearce who was an olympic hopeful and one of the only athletes that could give Shaun White a run for his money suffered a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) on December 31st, 2009 at Park City. In early February Kevin was moved from the University of Utah Hospital to Craig Hospital in Denver, CO where he began a comprehensive TBI rehabilitation program led by Alan Weintraub, MD.

His Facebook Fan Page is now 44,000 strong and includes daily updates and an amazing amount of activity.

It is good to see such a nice production coming from NBC during the Olympics about Kevin Pearce, his family and his injury. People don’t typically understand what an amazing piece of machinery the human brain is and how complex a full recovery can be. Thanks to Tom Brokaw for getting the facts straight on this one.

This time last year I was tracking progress coming from Riley Poor during his spinal cord injury rehabilitation at Craig. I have currently been working very closely with with Craig Hopspital on a project that will go live on March 4th at their 9th annual Push Dinner.

Being associated with such an amazing place like Craig is something I can take for granted because my parents actually met working here in the 1970s. I grew up around this place and now – after taking Craig on as a client – I have found a new respect for the roots from which I have grown. It is hard to explain what Craig Hospital does. To give you an example … you will have to wait until March 5th.