Athlete to Entrepreneur

I grew up loving sports and fitness. I set my sights on wrestling in college. Unfortunately, my life changed forever when I was injured in a car accident as a teenager. Through trial and error, I adapted to and embraced the world around me – learning each day how to adjust and approach things in new and different ways. I attribute my current success to this adversity.

“Go to college, get an education,” is what every kid hears growing up. I always intended on going to Penn State. I got my Bachelor’s degree in Telecommunications – getting a degree in something I enjoy has made it all so much sweeter. When I graduated from college, I was hopeful that a company would hire me right off the bat, but employers always want you to have work experience. Because my disability took away my ability to drive, I haven’t been able to work the traditional jobs that most college kids do to develop employment history. Thus, finding a good-paying job in my field has been challenging.

Finding the proper avenues to get state assistance is very tedious. Waiting months to receive help with funds and resources is somewhat infuriating. So I took matters into my own hands.

I realized that if I wanted a career, I would have to create one. Taking entrepreneurial classes in college gave me the basic knowledge I needed to open my own company. I have fused my two areas of interest, writing and fitness, to create a sustainable business while helping others. Launching Kylekeech.org, – a fitness and motivation website based on recovery and rehabilitation – has been the greatest adventure of my life. We sponsor athletes and individuals working on improving their own wellbeing.

My disability makes it hard to articulate my thoughts verbally. Writing allows me to convey my thoughts in a meaningful way. Writing daily, I find myself resorting to a stream of consciousness styles. Fitness helped me regain my independence and gave me the focus to reach my goals. I launched my website with one simple mission: to inspire people to never stop pushing as they work to accomplish their dreams. Supporting others as they transform their lives is the reason I get out of bed in the morning.

Following guidance from a mentor, I wrote every day for a month to find out what came to me naturally. I work under the guidance of and with a certified personal trainer a few times a week, allowing me to develop new workouts to share with my followers. The website is a true collaborative effort when someone joins our team. They can contribute to our content giving the website a great mix of perspectives. It reminds me of one of my favorite sayings: Find something you love doing and you’ll never work a day in your life.

Honestly, I had a slip-up or two of my own. I think I initially worked to devote my energy to writing poetry daily and being creative to incite further intellectual development. Writing to recover still plays a huge role in what I do to this day.

Feel free to check me out on KyleKeech.org and look to TeamIBK.com for details on the sponsorships and support we offer.

DO IT FOR YOURSELF AND CREATE A LIVING OF YOUR LIKING.

See the Project: RECOVERY page to create a personal page around your interests.

By Kyle Keech