Kevin Flike on the Day That Changed His Life Forever
Our guest today is former Special Forces Green Beret Kevin Flike. Kevin first came to TB12 in 2017 and has completed over 160 sessions with us to date. Kevin’s story is one of overcoming the odds at every turn, and we’re proud to have him in our TB12 family. Kevin was born and raised in Stillwater, a small town in upstate New York. After graduating from Union College (BA), he served as a Special Forces Engineer assigned to the 1st Special Forces Group and deployed to the Philippines, Thailand and twice to Afghanistan. On September 25, 2011, Kevin was on patrol with his team in the mountains of northwestern Afghanistan when a firefight broke out. After 10 hours of intense fighting, a Taliban sniper shot Flike in the stomach as he walked around the corner of a building – changing his life forever. As you’ll hear, Kevin’s problems started with the physical: a fractured hip, loss of 20% of his colon, and a damaged femoral nerve. He would endure six surgeries marked by 40 inches of scars. As he worked towards a physical recovery, growing psychological and spiritual problems complicated his progress: depression, despair, addiction, anger, jealousy, and post-traumatic stress. After a life-altering conversation with his wife, Kevin began to ascend from the dark place he had been in – beginning with attending graduate school. In the Spring of 2016, Kevin completed dual masters degrees from MIT and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. We sat down with Kevin to hear about his early life, how his upbringing led him to the Green Berets, and how his experiences have forced him to adapt and take back control of his life.