Kevin Saunders

From tragedy to triumph, Kevin Saunders has risen to become one of the world’s greatest wheelchair athletes and top inspirational speaker and motivational coaches today. He has captivated audiences at thousands of schools, colleges and universities, not to mention businesses of every size.

During a USDA examination of a facility in Corpus Christi, Saunders was injured in the worst grain elevator accident in Texas history. The explosion, which left ten of his coworkers dead, threw him over 300 feet through the air onto a concrete parking lot. After nearly a year in the hospital, he returned to what was left of his life as a paraplegic.

Saunders turned the setback into a success. He became a world champion wheelchair athlete. In 1990 was named ‘the world’s greatest all-around wheelchair athlete’ when he won the pentathlon with a record-breaking performance at the World Track & Field Championships. Saunders established the Wheelchair Success Foundation (WSF), dedicated to providing scholarships to enable people permanently confined to wheelchairs to improve their education.

In 1989, Saunders worked alongside Tom Cruise and Oliver Stone as a principal actor to feature in the major studio release “Born on the Fourth of July,” an Academy award winning movie directed by Oliver Stone. He has also been featured in over 50 TV commercials promoting fitness, education, health and wellness.

Saunders attended Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas where he earned an Associate’s Degree in Kinesiology and acting. In 2000, Del Mar College selected him to their Wall of Honor as an outstanding Alumnus, and nominated him for the same honor across 1,500 community colleges in America. Kevin was the first and only recipient of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Outstanding Alumni, and recognized in Washington, D.C.

From 1991 to 2005, Saunders worked with Head Coach Bill Snyder and the Kansas State University football team, where he served as the motivational coach during what would later become the “Greatest turnaround in college football history.” Kevin came back as the motivational coach when Snyder resumed his duties as head coach in 2009 and he has been working with the team and Coach Snyder since then.

Saunders was the first Paralympian and person with a disability appointed to the President’s Council on Physical Fitness & Sports by President George H. W. Bush. He was also the only member re-appointed to the President’s Council on Physical Fitness & Sports by President Clinton and as a constituent expert by President Bush & the PCPFS & Department of Health & Human Services for a special imitative to improve fitness for children & youth with disabilities.

More recently, Saunders pushed his wheelchair over 2,500 miles across America promoting health and fitness, speaking to schools, students, teachers & administrators about the importance of education for proper nutrition and fitness activities. Later, he wheeled himself through portions of five countries in Europe serving as an International Ambassador for Health and Fitness encouraging active lifestyles. He is the author of several books including “There’s Always a Way,” “Mission Possible,” and most recently, “Blueprint for Success.”