What would you do if in a single moment, everything you had worked so hard for was wrenched from your grasp forever? Scream? Cry? Give up?

Kevin Ogar may have screamed and cried after the accident that left him—a lifelong athlete —paralyzed from the waist down, but he didn't give up. He rolled with it, finding purpose in helping adaptive athletes, veterans and able-bodied people alike change their lives through fitness.

After the accident, Kevin went on to become a member of the CrossFit Seminar Staff, teaching the Adaptive Training specialty course (he now works with the independent Adaptive Training Academy, which teaches a CrossFit-preferred course). He opened his own gym, CrossFit WatchTower, and co-founded the Reveille Project, a nonprofit that uses fitness, nutrition, community and faith to help veterans post-active duty. Kevin also competed on the U.S. Paralympic Powerlifting team.

Listen to Kevin's interview with Sean Woodland to learn how he stays positive and driven—and get his advice for how you can do the same.

Links:

CrossFit WatchTower
Adaptive Training Academy
The Reveille Project
OGAR: Will of Steel

Contact:

Instagram: @kevinogar

Timeline:

1:24 – Kevin Ogar, pre-CrossFit: a “meathead.”

2:28 – His first CrossFit workout and the “Kevin-sized hole in the wall.”

4:17 – Becoming a competitor.

5:58 – The accident.

7:27 – Rehabilitation at Craig Hospital.

8:52 – Getting through the low moments.

10:32 – The response from the CrossFit community. 

12:20 – Moving forward.

13:13 – Opening an affiliate and the power of coaching.

14:52 – The Reveille Project

17:03 – On the power of helping others.

17:59 – Joining the U.S. Paralympic powerlifting team.

19:12 – On the adaptive-athlete community. 

20:55 – What it’s like to be an inspiration.

22:17 – Helping others get through similar struggles.

23:33 – Where does his positivity come from?

24:54 – Helping people understand what it’s like to be disabled.

26:20 – On being a newlywed: “I get less of my bed now.”

28:24 – Lessons learned since that fateful day in 2014.

29:05 – Refining a sense of purpose.

29:54 – Why he wouldn’t trade everything that’s happened for the ability to walk again.