I Shouldn’t Be Alive: The Miraculous Austin Hatch Story

[00:00:00] Austin: We need to be driven by something bigger than ourselves, whether that's your faith, your family, friends, teammates, colleagues, whatever your purpose is.

[00:00:07] Kate: You're not just saying the words, Austin. You are the words. You have the embodiment factor down.

[00:00:13] Austin: He said, "Go big or go home." And on my recovery, that was every single day, was like, "Dad, man, you're not here, but I'm going big for you. How can I go big to today?"

[00:00:23] Kate: You had a seven?

[00:00:25] Austin: My mine was the worst level seven that my doctors ever saw when I came out of a coma.

[00:00:29] Kate: Oh.

[00:00:30] Austin: It's impossible to be truly grateful and very negative at the same time. Being committed to the work without being emotionally tied to the result.

[00:00:37] Kate: Ooh, that's hard.

[00:00:39] Austin: You got to be in position to be in position.

[00:00:41] Kate: This is really gritty what you have endured and gone through.

[00:00:46] Austin: I was like, "Hey, my dad's going to go back in the plane, so am I."

[00:00:59] Kate: Hey, there. Welcome back to Rawish with Kate Eckman. Today's episode is unlike anything I've ever done before. I've been interviewing people for more than 20 years, and I can say that today's guest is literally a walking miracle by every definition. And he is someone who has just captured my heart.

[00:01:22] Just even hearing his story and speaking with him yesterday, it is literally a miracle that he is still alive after going through not one but two tragic and fatal plane crashes that took the lives of his family members. And we're going to talk about that briefly.

[00:01:42] But what's even more miraculous about Austin Hatch and his heroic story is what he has gone on to do after these tragedies. And he is not defined by them, but is certainly making the most of his precious life. And he has been such an inspiration to me. And the little time that I know him, I have shivers and chills in my body just thinking about what he has endured and what he has gone on to do.

[00:02:11] And I am thrilled to introduce you to him and thrilled for all of us to now watch and see what he continues to do with his miraculous life. Austin Hatch, thank you so much for being here today.

[00:02:23] Austin: Thank you, Kate. I really appreciate it. So grateful for the opportunity to contribute to your podcast, and thanks for your kind words. Life's given me some opportunities. Unfortunate circumstance, but given me great opportunities.

[00:02:37] Kate: Yeah. And I know you don't like to dwell on it, but it's also made you who you are today. And so if you could just share whatever you want to share about it. But like I told everyone, you have been through-- it doesn't even seem possible-- not one but two plane crashes, both with your father and other family members.

[00:03:00] One, when you were a little boy, another when you were in high school and had just received a scholarship to play basketball at the University of Michigan. What would you like to share about these incidents?

[00:03:14] Austin: I have an incredible family in heaven. I can't wait to see them again someday. But I got some more work to do here, me and my wife and our kids, and God willing more kids. She wants four or five, I think, so we're going to compromise and have four or five, I guess. But yeah, so I have an amazing family in heaven.

[00:03:31] I'm so grateful for them and their impact in my life and their continued impact in my life. My mom, Julie, was an incredible woman. She was the woman that lit up every room, wherever she went. She was the life of the party wherever she was. She lit up every room. And that brings up a whole other issue, which is, I think there's some people that brighten up the room when they enter, like my mom, there's some people that brighten up the room when they enter, and there's other people that brighten up the room when they leave, unfortunately. So my mom was obviously that first person. She was an incredible, incredible lady. And, yeah, tragically-- before I get into that, my sister Lindsay, she was three years older than me.

[00:04:11] We had a great relationship. She was an awesome big sister. Obviously, like any brother or sister relationship, you have your disagreements and stuff. But it was great. My little brother Ian was three years younger than me. Had an amazing, amazing relationship too. My dad was a doctor.

[00:04:27] We also had a small family plane that we would fly to go visit family and stuff. And as we were flying home from my grandparents' house in Northern Michigan, labor Day weekend 2003, as you're preparing to land, tragically, the airplane crashed, and took the life of my mom, Julie.

[00:04:44] She was 38 at the time, dad's high school sweetheart. My sister, Lindsay, was 11, a week away from her 12th birthday. Tragically I lost her too. And my little brother, Ian, was only five. Devastating loss, obviously. Incomprehensible loss, but my dad led me through that, and we did our best to keep living in the midst of the pain.

[00:05:02] He showed me how to keep going. And I can't imagine what was to lose a wife of-- at that time they were married, 16, 17 years. They'd been together 25. I can't imagine what it was like, for him to lose my mom, but he kept going for me, I think. Because he wanted to show me.

[00:05:21] And then obviously terrible losing my siblings too. But we bounced back as best we could. He was remarried a couple years later. We had a great blended family. Didn't replace what we lost. Our second family didn't replace what we lost, but it was awesome to have a mom and siblings at home again.

[00:05:40] And I was working really hard on basketball skills on the court, again, to have some success. I had a long way to go. Had to get a lot better. But our coach Beilein, the former coach in Michigan, saw me play sophomore year in February, had a good game.

[00:05:55] Then after my transcript came through, after the square ended in June, he offered me-- he saw my transcript. I had good grades, and offered me a scholarship to play for him. June 15th, dream come true. Dream come true. Hope to have a great career in Michigan. I think I could have been pretty good there. I think. Who knows?

[00:06:12] I think I could've been pretty good. But nine days later, my dad, Steve, my second mom, Kim, and I were flying to Northern Michigan this time. The [Inaudible] basically returned from her first plane crash in 2003 and had some bad weather, had to go to a different airport. And as you're preparing to land again, the airplane crashed and killed my dad, Steve, my second mom, Kim, and should have killed me too.

[00:06:37] Should have killed me too. By the grace of God, I'm here and nothing else. By the grace of God, I'm here. Had a long list of injuries. Was in a coma for two and a half months, but coach Beilein came to see me in the hospital, and I couldn't walk.

[00:06:52] He said, "Austin, man--" This is not verbatim what he said, obviously. This was 14 years ago, I don't remember verbatim, but essentially he said, "Austin, man, I can't wait to have you on my team someday. I can't wait to coach you. Whenever you have to come play for me at Michigan, I can't wait to coach you."

[00:07:08] I couldn't walk. I didn't know if I was ever walk ever again. But incredible man and coach Beilein to honor his commitment to me. And was blessed to make a pretty good comeback. I spent four years on the team at Michigan, and yeah, life's good. We're so blessed. The challenges are giving me an opportunity. Our challenges are opportunities.

[00:07:28] Kate: Thank you for sharing that. I know it's not pleasant to talk about. I know you've been asked about it for years now, and I know you did a beautiful piece for ESPN and SportsCenter and had to go there. I'm so sorry. You essentially lost your whole family and not one, but two moms. It's unthinkable.

[00:07:47] Like you said, what you've been through, it's hard to even wrap our human minds around it. It hurts my face even to even talk about it. And I didn't go through it. And yes, I'm deeply empathetic, but I can't imagine surviving the one, losing the family and you're just a little boy and then going on to be such a success both on and off the court as a basketball player.

[00:08:12] It's just hard to even say, so I can't imagine living it. What even allowed you-- because I think this is important just to talk about your character and the relationship you had with your father because, for instance, I will never get on a helicopter again because of what happened with Kobe Bryant, who his family went through what you've been through, tragically. What even allowed you to get on that plane the second time? Because to me it speaks to your faith and your love and trust of your father.

[00:08:45] Austin: Yeah, 100%. I was so young. I was eight years old when the first one happened. I was almost nine, about six weeks away from my ninth birthday. So I was really young, and I idolized my dad. He was my hero, and I wanted to be him. I wanted to be as much like him as I could, and I still do, in fact.

[00:09:08] You could have gone about it two ways. Maybe something like that happens, you shrivel up in fear and stop living your life or you acknowledge what happened and got to-- just because it happened once, one bad thing happens-- this is not really an explanation that makes sense, but statistically flying is a lot safer than driving, statistically.

[00:09:30] My life doesn't prove that, obviously. But just because you get in a really bad car accident, you're not never going to drive again. And obviously driving is a lot more common than flying, but the principle's the same. Just because one bad thing happens, just because you lose one deal in business doesn't mean you're going to go out of business and quit.

[00:09:49] Just because you have one bad relationship doesn't mean you're never going to try for a better one the next time. Just because you have one bad thing, I don't think that you can let that prevent you from doing things in the future. You know what I mean? Like I said, I just wanted to be like, I followed my dad's footsteps.

[00:10:05] So everything he did. I didn't even think twice about it because obviously, I was young, and flying for me was normal. It's just what we did. When I was that young, I don't think I ever really thought twice about it. I was like, "Hey, my dad's going to go back in the plane, so am I."

[00:10:24] Kate: Do you remember what went through your mind? Because again, you did survive. Obviously, we're here talking a true miracle. But you were in a coma for two and a half months and didn't know or think you would even walk again. You had to learn to talk and do everything all over again despite being this star athlete.

[00:10:43] What was that moment like where you realized you're alive? You're coming out of this coma, but you found out that you lost your hero, your best friend, and your second mom?

[00:10:55] Austin: Yeah. I think it was a blessing that, I say blessing, that I was hurt so bad because I had such a long road to recovery. And I had so much to focus on. I had to get myself better. And not that I didn't have time or energy to worry or think about other things. Obviously, I did, but it's like I had so far to go that I was like, "Man, I got to be spending all my time on getting myself better."

[00:11:29] Actually, I thought about this, like, if I was totally healthy, if nothing had happened to me-- I think about all my other family members, other people close to me who were just-- they weren't in the crash, but they were close to it. They were close to me, close to my family, and they were perfectly healthy.

[00:11:47] And they just had to just deal with the loss, deal with the emotions. What else was they got to think about besides that? And for me, like I said, I had so far to go. I had so much work to do to get myself better and try to get to Michigan. That was every day, 24/7/365 for three years.

[00:12:06] It was just trying to get to Michigan. I think that brings a whole other issue. I think the ability to be laser focused on things is really important, because there's a lot of distraction in the world, a lot of things that we get distracted about, whether it's media, drama, stuff happens.

[00:12:23] But I think having something to really focus on and pour a lot of energy into, whether you're in a bad situation, whether you're hurt really bad like me or not, no matter what, I just think having something that you're really working towards every day is a good thing to have in your life.

[00:12:37] And for me, that was my recovery at the time, was my recovery, trying to get to Michigan. Now it's my family. Now it's my business. I'm just trying to pour everything I have into it. And we'll talk about this more in a minute, but my dad, as I said, my hero and one thing he always said, he said, "Austin, man, whatever you want to do in your life," he said, "Go big or go home."

[00:12:59] He said, "Go big or go home." And on my recovery, that was every single day, was like, "Dad, man, you're not here, but I'm going big for you. How can I go big to today?" And I think in life, just go big or go home. Because the reality is, how we do one thing is how we do everything.

[00:13:17] How we do one thing is how we do everything. If you're going big to be a really good basketball player, you are working really hard at that, but then life presents you with some challenges. Okay, I can't work to be the best basketball player that I could be anymore, but now I'm going to work to make the best recovery from a level seven traumatic brain injury that's ever been made by anyone.

[00:13:39] Quick thing on the note of TBIs. So TBIs, I'm not sure if you know-- you probably do, but TBI is traumatic brain injuries. Measured on a scale of severity from one to seven, seven being the worst. Levels one, two, and three have a pretty good chance of returning to normal life, regaining your independence.

[00:13:57] In football, a concussion is a TBI. Fortunately, I'm not going to say it's minor, but it's like a level one or a two, concussion. A really bad concussion, I think, it's like a level one or a two. You get your ball run and you're open.

[00:14:13] Kate: And you had a seven?

[00:14:15] Austin: My mine was the worst level seven that my doctors ever saw when I came out of a coma.

[00:14:20] Kate: Oh.

[00:14:21] Austin: I'm just like, man, if I want to overcome this, I got to go big. I want to get to Michigan after being in this spot. I got to go big. Dad, I'm going big for you, going big for-- yeah. So go big or go home, it's a mantra for me. It's how I live my life every day. I try to go big as a husband, going big as a dad, going big in business.

[00:14:41] I just try to go big in whenever I do. It's not the right way or the best way, but if you go big consistently, generally speaking, good things are going to happen. Things tend to work out for the good.

[00:14:55] Kate: And I want to talk a little bit more about that in a bit, just so everyone can really define what going big for them looks like and start trying that on more consistently or adding to that. But what I'm really hearing that you just spoke to is the importance of having a goal, whatever that goal is. And that got you through heroically.

[00:15:16] I'm laughing with, because we're both Big Ten athletes, former Big Ten athletes, and especially swimmers, and you're a high-revenue sport. People care about basketball. I was a swimmer. Unless you're Michael Phelps, people don't care as much about it. But I look back at what we did and what I did and I'm like, "You're in insane, how we trained." And my niece is doing it now.

[00:15:41] The discipline that it sets you up for life, and I can't help but think that that fight in you and that heart in you is of a Big Ten athlete or a college athlete who there's no choice but to go big or go home. So I love that fighting spirit and just what an example you are.

[00:15:59] And I'd love in a moment if you could talk about how we can all embody that a bit more. That's the good news, is what you were able to do and continue on. I have to ask because it's something that I've been really focusing on, and it can be very, very painful. And that is sitting with our pain and blocking out all the distractions. And yes, working toward goals, but also allowing the discomfort to come up, allowing the heartache to come up.

[00:16:24] Did you go through that, or do you have those moments, or did you, or do you work with a coach or a therapist to, I guess, really let the enormity of the pain out? Can you just talk about that? Because it's been a huge part of my journey through trauma and loss, and I'm just curious how you've grappled with that or managed the amount of pain that gets stored in our bodies and in our fascia tissue.

[00:16:49] Austin: Yeah. After the first plane crash, my dad was my therapist. I never went and saw-- I was eight years, just turned nine shortly after, and I never went to a therapist. It was my dad. We talked about it.

[00:17:05] And he was the one that I could share with and be honest with because he went through it too, obviously. And so we both understood. And then after the second one, like I said, I was hurt so bad, I had so far to go. And I'm not going to say that I never felt the pain because obviously I did and still do to this day.

[00:17:26] But I just try to focus more on what I have instead of what I've lost. I think a lot of our lives, the lives we live, the lives we experience is largely determined by what we focus on. And obviously, it's not bad to focus on a loss or an adversity or anything.

[00:17:48] It's human. We're all human. But I just found for me, it makes for better experience in life just to focus more on the good. And maybe this is naive for me to say, but you look at my life now, it's like, man. I'm not going to say that anybody would wish they had what I do.

[00:18:08] And that sounds arrogant, but I'm saying like, I've got the girl of my dreams, an amazing wife who's an incredible mom. I have two beautiful kids who are just awesome. I've got an amazing extended family, amazing friends who are like family. My wife's family is my fa-- I've just got so much to be grateful for.

[00:18:26] And this thing that I found, and I actually talk about this when I speak, it's impossible to be truly grateful and very negative at the same time, for me. I don't understand the-- my best friend, the neurosurgeon, he probably knows the neurological side in this.

[00:18:42] I don't know what parts of your brain control negativity versus gratitude, but it's like, you can't be really, really grateful, like, I'm so grateful for this conversation. We both have reasons to be negative. We both experience things. But it's like, I can't really be overcome with negativity while I'm also focused on being just so grateful for your time and wanting to have me on.

[00:19:04] So I just try to always be grateful. There's always reasons to be grateful, even when things are tough. Even when you go through something terrible, like what we did, I lost my whole family, the worst thing in the world. But look at the family I still have, look at my family I have now too.

[00:19:21] My kids, my wife, my in-laws, like I said, my friends who are like family. I just have so much to be grateful for. When you take a step back and look at the big picture, like I said, it's hard to be consumed by only worrying about the loss. You're only focusing on that. Sorry, it was kind of a long-winded answer.

[00:19:40] Kate: No, it was perfect and beautiful, and I appreciate you sharing that because there's all these shows out there with the gazillionaires and how we make the money and they give their approach. And for you, you're way more impressive than anyone who's made millions and gazillions of dollars because this is really gritty, what you have endured and gone through and come out of and have triumphed over.

[00:20:06] And something that, fortunately, 99.9% of people will never experience. Thank God. And so that's why I just like to kind of get inside your mind of how you even-- because I just think back to-- and again, you were still a kid. You were a teenager who just signed this huge scholarship to play at Michigan with one of the most beloved coaches ever.

[00:20:30] And it was taken away from you. But it wasn't, because you still got to go. And I would love to talk about that because I would just even love to talk about the journey from that hospital room to where you are now. We're seeing the fruits of your labor and blessings. I don't know if anyone's told you lately, but you're clearly very protected and blessed.

[00:20:49] There's someone up there, a greater power who's looking out for you. And I love what you said because you could be bitter or resentful or angry or on drugs and alcohol, and we all wouldn't blame you. Angry with God, very angry with God. And instead you've chosen-- and I see. I'm like, despite all of that, gosh, you're so blessed and protected.

[00:21:14] And then to go on and have this beautiful family of your own, thank you, God. But what was that journey like between the hospital room and how you got to where you are now? And I can see why you're a very successful professional speaker, and I hope anyone who is listening to this hires you immediately because what I said to you yesterday that makes you so impressive is you're not just saying the words, Austin.

[00:21:42] You are the words. You have the embodiment factor down. You embody what you're living. So everyone is going through something right now. How do we get from our coma level 7 TBI to the success story that you are now? Wat would you like to share with us? Because it is heroic what you've done.

[00:22:03] Austin: Thank you so much. Like I mentioned earlier, the tragic plane crashes and the tragic loss and the terrible injuries I had in the second one, there's an opportunity there. There's an opportunity there. And what I do now, I speak and try to inspire people to overcome their challenges and keep getting after it and overcome and persevere.

[00:22:25] There's an opportunity there too. People need to be inspired. People need to hear a positive message about grit and resilience and overcoming adversity. There's always an opportunity. And you know, for me, I just did my best. I couldn't control what happened to me, obviously.

[00:22:42] I couldn't control that. It is what it is. But by the grace of God, I survived. Shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be here no chance. But by the grace of God, I am. I knew I had 100% control of how I chose to respond. 100%. And I'm not going to say I made a perfect recovery, because obviously I didn't.

[00:23:01] But if we just always remember to control the controllables and not be distracted by the other stuff, focus on what we control, good things are going to happen, and we're going to get to where we want to be. Maybe not by next week or next month, but if we control the controllables for many years on end, we're going to get there.

[00:23:25] And for me, as you guys alluded to it, it took some grit though. It's going to take grit. It takes grit to control the controllables. It takes grit to overcome challenges. Whatever your challenges are, whether you're in a coma trying to get to Michigan, like me, or whatever it is, or to deal with your family or at work, whatever the challenges are, I do believe it's going to take grit to get there.

[00:23:45] And so this is what I talk about. A lot of people think about grit is hard work for the long-term goal, perseverance and discipline. That's all true for sure. But for me, it's defined a little more specifically than that. Grit's the long-term goal.

[00:24:04] I'm in a coma trying to get to Michigan. That's a long-term goal. That's many years down the road. It's going to take grit to get to Michigan, but it's also going to take grit to get out of this hospital bed and walk to the other side of the room. That's going to take grit too. I think grit's more specific than just hard work.

[00:24:23] I want to run the marathon, so to speak, but if I can't run one mile today, I better try to be able to run one mile first and then two and three, and then five, and then a 10k, then a half marathon, and work more up to it. So I think grits it the same way. So grit's four letters, four key components to it, but I believe it's driven by greater purpose first and foremost.

[00:24:45] We need to be driven by something bigger than ourselves, whether that's your faith, your family, friends, teammates, colleagues, whatever your purpose is. I have my purpose, my faith, my family in heaven, all those who are there to support me, coach Beilein, my Michigan family. That's what it is for me.

[00:25:02] Yours is different than mine. Everybody has a different purpose. But I think we need to find that though. We need to find something that we're willing to sacrifice for. That's what it is. Because if it's just for me, if I was only making the recovery for me, it was way too hard. It was so hard.

[00:25:20] If it was only for me, I would've given up. But it was to honor my family in heaven, honor God. And it's like nothing I was going to do for them. So I think being driven by something bigger than ourselves is very important. And I think even the more important thing is to remember that every day.

[00:25:36] I'm not saying everything I do, I take, okay, what's my greater purpose here? But you need to have it in the back of your mind all the time, like, this isn't only for me. Obviously, recovering was for my benefit too, but it was more so to honor my family and make them proud because I think they're still with me.

[00:25:52] So purpose, drive is great. I'll go through this really quick. I know I've been talking for a while. So the growth mindset. Adversity is opportunity. We don't grow from adversity. We don't grow from injuries or losses or any adverse circumstance. We don't grow from it.

[00:26:08] But I think we can grow by how we choose to respond. It's a choice to have the growth mindset. It's also a choice to have the victim mindset. It's a lot more common to choose that, I think. But if we want to achieve our goals in the face of challenges, I think we need to have the growth mindset.

[00:26:24] We got to always look for the opportunity. I'm reminded of how at Michigan, we didn't lose many games when I was there. But whenever we would lose Coach Beilein, my coach, he would come in the locker room and he'd list the reasons why we lost, what we didn't do, what we didn't execute, how we need to get better, to prepare for better for the future game.

[00:26:43] But then he would say every time, "We're going to watch the film of the game and find a way to get better from it. We're going to watch the film and get better from it." Not get better because we lost, but get better by looking at our mistakes and turning those mistakes into learning opportunities. So I think the same is true in life.

[00:27:01] Kate: I am just pausing you there because I'm sure people listening need to pause and are like, "Wait a minute. He had the level 7 traumatic brain injury, couldn't walk, talk, do anything, and he's talking like he still went on to play basketball at University of Michigan. Because for you, it's just another Tuesday that you're doing these unbelievable things, Austin. But for my audience, they're like, "Wait a minute. He went on to University of Michigan and played basketball? How? What?"

[00:27:37] Austin: Yeah. Like I said, I had an incredible, incredible team that helped me overcome, and amazing doctors and therapists and nurses and the prayers and support of many. I don't know how we did it, but we did. And no, it was great. I'll get into this more in a minute too, but coach Beilein honoring his scholarship offer to me, honoring his commitment.

[00:28:03] Kate: Oh, man.

[00:28:04] Austin: I'll talk about that more in depth in a minute, but he does not honor my scholarship, I don't meet my wife, we don't have our kids. That man himself literally changed the entire trajectory of my family forever.

[00:28:20] Kate: So you met your wife at Michigan because he still offered you the scholarship. You still went. I don't know how long after you were in the hospital, and then you met your wife.

[00:28:31] Austin: Met my wife my freshman year, and something's cool about her. Maybe talk about her a little more in a minute. Incredible woman. And so her dad's a big Michigan fan. When I committed June 15th, 2011, her dad [Inaudible] recruiting and stuff, and it's like, "Hey, Abby, we got this really good player from Indiana. I think he's going to be a really good player for us."

[00:28:53] She's, "Oh, cool. He looks he's going to be good." And then nine days later, her dad went down to her Abby's bedroom. It was 10:30 at night. It was a Friday night, June 24th. And her dad was like, "Hey, remember the guy I showed you last week who just committed to Michigan?"

[00:29:12] And she was like, "Yeah, the guy from Indiana." Her dad was like, "Yeah, well, he just got on a plane crash. He's probably not going to make it through the night. We just got to pray for him and his family." The emotional thing about it now, they got on their knees and prayed for me.

[00:29:27] They didn't know me or my family. They didn't know who I was, and they just prayed for me and my family. If that's not the good stuff, I don't know what is. You know what I mean? Can't believe I'm married to her now. We got two kids. God willing, more on the way. Like I was saying before, I look at my life now. Yeah, obviously, there's a lot of reasons to be negative, a lot of reasons to be mad at God and frustrated and stuff. But I don't deserve to have it this good either. I don't.

[00:30:06] Kate: I disagree. I feel like you deserve the world and then some.

[00:30:12] Austin: Yeah. We're so blessed.

[00:30:16] Kate: So you go on to Michigan, you're on the team, and I'd love to talk about your role on the team and how much you were able to play, if at all. And that moment when-- because you didn't know Abby, but she knew of you. It's a big school. Listen, I went to Penn State.

[00:30:34] There's 40,000 people there. People were like, "Oh, so and so went to Penn State. You know them." I'm like, "Unless they were an athlete, probably not." But there's tons of people at the University of Michigan. You're there. You're on the team. What was that moment that you met Abby who knew you and has been praying for you? And she was probably like, "Oh my God. How is he here?"

[00:30:57] Austin: Yeah. So PSA 101, big intro class, 900 people in the class. Started at 8:30 or 8:40. Started at 8:40 AM Tuesday, Thursday. This was a Thursday. She walked into class late, 20 minutes late. They played at Nebraska the night before. Flew back. We got back at 2:00 in the morning, and then they were expected to be in class at 8:30.

[00:31:26] Kate: Oh, so she was an athlete too.

[00:31:29] Austin: Yeah. She was a three-time All-American volleyball player. Yeah. She was amazing. So she walks into class late, and I flagged her down, let her know. I said, "Hey, got one here." And she came and sat next to me. Rest is history.

[00:31:45] Kate: Oh, wow. So she knew who you-- did she realize, like, oh my gosh, this is that guy who I've been praying for?

[00:31:53] Austin: I don't know. Maybe. I knew who she was. She was the star of the volleyball thing. Whether she knew who I was, that's irrelevant.

[00:32:06] Kate: You know who she was. Okay. I love this.

[00:32:09] Austin: Yeah. Did I ever? Flagged her down. That was October 26th, 2014. Then the next class, I saw her again. She came and sat next to me again. And then, yeah, the rest is history. We started dating a month later, or a month and a half, December 17th, 2014. And then dated through college and got engaged when I was a junior. She had just graduated because she was a year ahead of me.

[00:32:45] Kate: But Austin, it's not falling lightly on me that it sounds like you were-- were you three years delayed getting to Michigan?

[00:32:53] Austin: One year.

[00:32:54] Kate: One year.

[00:32:56] Austin: I committed to play of Michigan June 15th. She committed to play like July 15th, the same summer, to play volleyball. But it's amazing. So grateful for her life. Let me go back really quick. We talked about grit, so purpose-driven growth mindset.

[00:33:17] The R is the decision to be resilient. And I think if we decide to be resilient, we commit to taking massive action. You're not resilient if you overcome your challenges. I think you're resilient if you take action in the face of adversity. And overcoming your challenges is a byproduct of being resilient.

[00:33:35] Resilience is what you do every day. For me, people may think of me as resilient because I made it to Michigan after being in two plane crashes and almost being killed in the second one. That doesn't make you resilient. I think the resilience was every day.

[00:33:50] You're resilient if you get out of bed in the morning. Practice walking. Learn how to do, what, wall pushups. Learn how to do speech therapy. Learn how to talk again. That's resilience. You're not resilient if you achieve the goal. You're resilient if you take action.

[00:34:06] The I's integrity. Of course, integrity is being honest. Doing the right thing when no one's looking. Very important obviously in any business. Obviously a big part of it, big part of the culture. But to me, integrity is also following through in our commitments, especially when circumstances change. Make a promise to someone, you tell them you're going to do something, so you give them your word.

[00:34:28] Like, what Coach Beilein did for me. He offered me a scholarship. It's a multimillion-dollar deep commitment. When I was playing at a high level and then when I'm 16 years old, he thought I was going to be able to help his teams on the court by scoring and rebounding.

[00:34:42] The second plane shot nine days later, should have killed me, put me in a coma for two and a half months, and he came to see me in the hospital when I couldn't walk. I might never walk ever again. And he basically said, "I can't wait to have you my team someday, Austin. Whenever you have to come play for me in Michigan, I can't wait to coach you.”

[00:35:02] So his follow-through and his commitment didn't depend on the circumstance. He made a commitment, so I made a commitment. And I think, from an organizational, cultural, collaborative team perspective, if we could all do that, if we could all live by that idea that we give someone our world, we make a commitment, yeah, we're going to follow through.

[00:35:19] It's just what we do. Of course, we're going to get it done. I feel like if the world was full of people, full of more people that follow through on every commitment they made, I think things should be a little different. Lastly, last letter is T, the team persontality.

[00:35:34] The team persontality. And as you talked about earlier, we're both Big Ten athletes. You're probably better than me. I'm the all-time lowest-scoring full scholarship athlete in program history at Michigan. I scored one point in four years, Kate, one point in four years.

[00:35:52] But I was on the team, coach gave me a role, and so I owe it to my team to take pride in that, in that role every day. Be a great teammate. Shaq balls at practice, help with drills, bring positive energy to the gym every day. Just bring energy and work hard to be the best that I could be. That was my role.

[00:36:12] I scored one point in four years, one point in four years, but coach kept me in the program. He included me, and I wanted to find some way to contribute. So that's the nutshell, the grit, purpose-driven growth mindset. Decide to be resilient, live with integrity, follow through on our commitments. Lastly, be a great teammate. Take pride in our role.

[00:36:33] Kate: Some people talk about grit, and they have their own framework. And like I said, you embody it. You live it. And it's just such an honor to be here with you, I think too, because it is a miracle that we're even talking and that you're here. And I love what you said to me yesterday because the journalist in me, I could spend hours-- we could do a 10-hour interview just on the plane crashes.

[00:36:58] I have that many questions. There's so many things I want to talk to you about, and I love that we can talk about something that doesn't define you. And what defines you, Austin, is what you've done in spite of it or because of it, and in honor of the loved ones who are no longer physically present in your life.

[00:37:20] That's why I'm like, you don't even need to say much, it's just you living and walking and just being in the world is the inspiration. So it is important we share your story though, so that people can just think of you when they're going through a hard time-- you really put things into perspective for me.

[00:37:39] And I love that you have a happy ending. And I even think of you went to Michigan with this scholarship and you would think that that would be the biggest thing that you would do, is I played basketball at the University of Michigan, regardless of how many points you scored. And you did that still somehow.

[00:37:58] But also what's way more fabulous than that for me is that you met Abby and that story, and that gets to be your legacy. And building something with her and having this family. Do you feel your mom and your dad and your second mom and your brother and your sister around this family, their presence, and what they would think of Abby and your kids?

[00:38:26] Austin: Some was really cool. I have a big family. My dad's side is a big family. My dad's mom was the middle child of 12.

[00:38:37] Kate: Oh my gosh.

[00:38:38] Austin: Big family was a little more common back then. O'Donnell was a my grandma's maiden main. And the Hatch O'Donnell family, it's a big family. He's technically one of my second cousins, so he is my dad's cousin. My second cousin, he is a minister. He married us. I remember in his wedding sermon homily, he said, "I know exactly what Steve and Julie and Kim would say if they saw Abby and you."

[00:39:10] They'd just say, "Oh, perfect." They'd say, "Oh, perfect." That's it. It's cool because I feel like it's-- I think they're proud of how we responded to the loss and how we overcame it. And not overcame it, but how we kept living in the midst of it. And I'm sure they would have been proud of Michigan and stuff, but they're way more proud of my family now.

[00:39:45] And, no, they're with us every day, and he is actually really cool. So our son's two and a half and pretty routinely, he'll like-- and actually this was a couple of weeks ago. We were talking though because-- he's two and a half, but my wife's family lives 30 minutes away from her. We see them all the time, and it's awesome.

[00:40:08] But he's never going to meet his grandparents on my side. He'll never know. He'll never know them. And that's obviously sad [Inaudible], but he knows he has angels in heaven, and he talks about it. It was cool. A couple of weeks ago, he was talking about his angel and he's like, "Mom and dad, I see them. They're flying. They're flying up. I see them."

[00:40:35] And it took us aback. It was emotional. It's like, yeah, they're not here, but it's like they're still impacting him. We want to keep their memory alive. And I don't want to just have our kid know me as a dad who went through some terrible stuff. I lost what I lost.

[00:40:54] I want my family to be celebrated and honored by how we talk about them. Because you can try to keep that from your kid, like, oh, you never want them to know that because it's a tragic story. You could try to keep it from them. We look at it like, this is reality. Let's just try to celebrate this as much as we can and celebrate the memory that we have with them.

[00:41:18] Kate: That's so beautiful. Thank you for sharing that. I have done a lot of research in the realms, because I've lost loved ones too. They've crossed over obviously, and I feel their presence. I hear their messages. Children, Austin, are still so connected to the source. They haven't been messed up by the world yet, so to speak.

[00:41:40] And so they still have those senses where they can see and hear and feel the presence. And he doesn't know to say something to be cute or funny or make you feel a certain way. He really felt that and meant that. And that just brought tears to my eyes because it's so powerful.

[00:41:59] And the fact that he knows and can feel their presence. And then what's beautiful, and you said it yesterday, they're in a better place. And when our loved ones cross over, it's just all love and forgiveness there. All this stuff in the world, anger and people fighting and all of that, it all dissolves when we go to heaven.

[00:42:19] And so the fact that he can feel that presence and knows that he has these powerful angels, and then not that you need a reminder, but it does remind you of their presence around you, and maybe that's why you don't dwell in the sadness, because you're like, "Man, I've got so many powerful angels, and they connected me with Abby. They've helped me go on to do all of this. "

[00:42:40] And I don't know, you probably even feel them when you're on stage speaking, because I know it could be quite uncomfortable to talk about the plane crashes, but you also get to feel their presence are. Do you feel that? I feel it for you.

[00:42:55] Austin: Totally. Yeah. I sometimes feel like-- obviously, you've done a lot of speaking too. I know. Sometimes we're on stage speaking and giving a message and stuff, but sometimes I feel like it's God speaking through us.

[00:43:14] This is how I feel about it every time. And I'm obviously not up there giving a Christian presentation, trying to convert the audience to Christianity, but it's like God made me say, "Hey, I want to let these people know they can have hope because they're going through stuff."

[00:43:35] I want to convey a message of hope to them from me, and I'm going to use you to do it. Obviously, I have the great stuff that talked about, the purpose, the growth mindset, decide to be resilient, live with integrity, fall through our commitments, be a great teammate.

[00:43:50] I've never once in a presentation said, by show of hands, if anybody in here wants to give their live to Christ now-- I've never done that. It's awesome those who do. I'm a huge fan of that, but that's not me. That's not what my role is when I speak at companies.

[00:44:11] But every time I speak, people come up afterwards, and they'll say something like, "I could tell you're a Christian about how you spoke today." Or, "I can tell God is leading your life by how you conduct yourself on stage." And obviously I'm not saying, look at me, look at the example.

[00:44:29] All I'm saying is like, I think a lot of people in today's culture try to shy away from the faith component of life, try to keep it on the back burner and not let it speak too loudly. But that's who I am. I'm going to let it speak loud and clear as best I can.

[00:44:53] Kate: We just spoke about how your son at two and a half has this knowing, this inner knowing, and also can feel. This just came to me as you were talking, and I'm imagining you in that hospital room. And you maybe you didn't know at the time. Just so curious, and there are no right or wrong answers, of course.

[00:45:10] Do you think somewhere in there, despite the traumatic brain injury, the severe one, that you had this inner knowing that if you kept going and somehow even went to Michigan-- so I love that coach came and visited you, because he kept that hope alive, that that dream and scholarship is still available to you.

[00:45:32] And that kept you going, that you had an inner knowing that if I can just get there, because you met Abby there-- I can't help but think, and especially both of us believing in a higher power, that there was some inner knowing that if I can just get there, there's this pot of gold waiting for me.

[00:45:50] Austin: Yeah. I think to be totally honest, and I'm sure you think about it, there's no way of knowing that, but if you grind and you work and you keep getting after it-- have you ever notice how some people, good things just seem to happen to them?

[00:46:10] The ball just bounces their way pretty consistently. And I'm not going to say I'm that person, but I feel like after the loss, after the tragedies and stuff, I feel like the ball just bounced my way a lot of the time. Not all the time, but a lot of the time. Because if you're disciplined and committed and work at it, good things just happen.

[00:46:32] And it's one of those things where you create your own luck, so to speak. And I think a lot of that is just by the discipline you have every day, by controlling the controllables. And yeah, when I speak, I make a few-- and you'll probably appreciate this being a Penn State alum. Maybe you did the same or do the same when you speak, but I often give some pro Michigan comments. Subtle, but pro Michigan comments.

[00:47:05] And here's the thing. I'll often joke. I talk about Angela Duckworth. Ypu maybe heard of her. She were in business school. Really smart lady. Not a Michigan professor, but we're UPenn. UPenn's a good school. It's not Michigan though, but I'll say those kind of things. But the reason I say that is Michigan is such an incredible place. It's such incredible people.

[00:47:32] It's the people there that make it what it is. It's the culture that Coach Beilein built at Michigan when he was there. And I'm not going to say I'm not surprised that I had such an amazing experience with him because he's such a high character, high integrity man of such discipline, faith, and values.

[00:47:54] And I'm not surprised by it. I'm not surprised that he did that. Coach Beilein is everything that's good about coaches. He's everything that's good about coaches in the world of college sports. And to me, Michigan's everything that's good about higher education.

[00:48:14] I'm like, "Of course I'm going to meet the girl of my dreams there." Like what you said, there was a powder gold waiting for me at Michigan. I had to do a little extra work to get there. Sorry, again, for the long-winded answer.

[00:48:30] Kate: No, you're great. You're perfect, Austin. It's a lot to digest and articulate. And you're doing it perfectly. As your family says about your wife and children and your life now, you're doing it perfectly. What I'm getting is, because it wasn't a risk, but it's almost like the pot of gold was even bigger because of what you've been through.

[00:49:00] And I think it's a message of when we're going through really hard times, if we can find this strength and courage and grit to keep going and keep putting one foot in front of the other, the treasure in the pot of gold on that path is even greater than what we could have imagined. And I can't help but think you'll have at least one child who is some sports star at the University of Michigan and can continuing that legacy. What else do you want your legacy to be?

[00:49:29] Austin: Well, one thing I was thinking about as you were speaking and achieving the pot of gold, me believing there was a pot of gold that Michigan, if I could just make it there. But I think for me, a big thing is, and you'll probably agree with this, being committed to the work without being emotionally tied to the result.

[00:49:58] No one had any idea that I was going to be able to make to Michigan. I didn't know. Nobody knew. No one knew I was ever going to walk again or ever talk. Nobody knew. I didn't know. And it's like, okay. One of my coaches at Michigan always talked about this. He ran the defense at Michigan. He always said, you got to be in position to be in position. In basketball, you probably know, but help side defense, right?

[00:50:28] If the ball's on the other side of the court, I got to be in a position to help my teammate if it gets beat. But if I'm out of position, I'm never going to be able to help my teammate out because if I'm not keeping my head on the swivel, looking at the ball, being able to watch the ball and my man, if I'm not paying attention to what's going on over there, if I'm only focused on my guy, I'm not going to be able to help him because I'm not in the right position.

[00:50:52] So it's like, I don't know. Maybe it's like in swimming. I don't know if you did relays or something. Maybe. I'm not a swimmer. But I think if you're not set up-- it's got to be a quick changeover. Person touches the wall above your [Bleep] that has to jump in right away.

[00:51:10] If they're not set up ready to go, they're going to take too long, and then the other team is going to get ahead and beat you. You got to be in the right position and be ready to jump off that block. I don't know if that's an actual example that makes sense.

[00:51:23] Kate: Yes, yes.

[00:51:25] Austin: And I think in life, we could put ourselves in a position to be in position. And I think in my marriage, want to have an amazing, happy life, loving family? As a dad, what can I control to almost-- you can't guarantee that's going to happen. But I can support my family and do my role as a provider. Be loving and supportive and help my wife with what she needs, be a great dad to our kids. Be present.

[00:51:55] That's not going to guarantee a happy, healthy family, but it's going to put us in a good position. Again, sorry for the long-winded answer. I think about it in terms of probability. This probably doesn't make any sense. I didn't do very good in stats class at Michigan.

[00:52:17] Kate: You're great. You’re great.

[00:52:19] Austin: But probability, what can I do to increase the probability of achieving the desired outcome? On my recovery, take massive action, be disciplined, don't take shortcuts every day. That's going to increase the probability that I get to Michigan. It's not going to guarantee it, but it's going to give me a pretty good chance. What's going to increase the probability that I have a happy, healthy, loving family?

[00:52:48] Well, be a loving dad, be present, be involved, be engaged. It's not going to guarantee it, but it's going to give us a pretty good chance. In business, how can I increase the probability that I grow this brand and keep inspiring as many people as I can by inspiring one person at a time?

[00:53:05] Well, build the brand every day. It's not going to guarantee that I achieve my goal, but it's going to give me a pretty good chance. It's going to increase the probability. So that's how I think about it. And I think in life, there's probability in everything. And what can we do to-- can't guarantee success-- but make, achieving the desired outcome the most likely?

[00:53:29] Kate: I love that answer, and I still would love for you to speak on looking back at your life, you're still so young, but whether it's now or in 50 years, 60 years, what you want to be remembered as.

[00:53:46] Austin: I think it's someone who found a way. Someone who found a way. And in our family, family's hard. It is the greatest blessing in the world, but it's hard. But you find a way. You find a way to give your kids the best. It's tough, but it's like you find a way. And I think two things for me. This is my dad too.

[00:54:15] So a quick story about my dad. Impacted a lot of lives as a doctor. Impacted a lot of lives that way. But he impacted more lives by how he treated people every day and just by the man he was. He would drive carpool to school two days a week, Wednesday and Friday, from like 2005 to 2011, before I could drive myself to school.

[00:54:36] And the cashier at the McDonald's we'd go to, on the way to pick up my buddy and his little sister at the house. The guy at the pickup window, excuse me, guy named Josiah. Josiah was always there Wednesday and Friday, whenever we'd go. And instead of just getting the food and driving away, my dad would take an extra two or three seconds and just told Josiah, "I appreciate you, man. Praying for you and your family. Make it a great day. Can't wait to see you again next time. You'll be in my prayers."

[00:55:04] Super small. Took very little effort. Was talking to a family friend of mine last summer, and she said the guy at the pickup window at McDonald's on Dupont Road in Fort Wayne, Josiah, was at my parents' funeral after my dad and second mom died. He was at their funeral.

[00:55:21] I wasn't there. I was in a coma fighting for my life. But I think the reason Josiah-- he didn't know my dad outside of McDonald's. I think the reason he went to my parents' funeral after my dad died, dad and second mom, celebrate their life, is because my dad left him a little better than they found him.

[00:55:37] Just by doing a common thing in an uncommon way. Very common to go to McDonald's or Starbucks or Dr Donuts or wherever you go. Very common. But it's not common to take the extra couple seconds to look at the guy or girl out the pickup window know that they're appreciated and valued and you care about them.

[00:55:56] And so I think, that's one the thing that I know my dad most by, that I'm most proud of him for, it's just how he left everything, wherever he went, whoever he talked to, whoever he worked with, whatever patients he treated, or the pick-up window at McDonald's, or anytime we'd go to dinner together. Whatever he did, he left people better than he found them everywhere he went.

[00:56:21] And I think if you could be known as that kind of a person, that kind of a man or woman, I think that's a great way to be known. So if I can someday, when the good Lord calls me home 75 years from now, after we had a lot of kids and grandkids and great grandkids, Austin Hatch, I think three big things.

[00:56:42] One, he found a way. That's a good one. But the three big things are for me. Actually, it's two big things. He honored God with his life, and he always did his best to leave things better than he found them.

[00:56:59] I can't really do anything to guarantee you, you have that reputation, but if I could be known as that kind of a man who always impacted people in a positive way and left him better than a found them, I think that'd be a great way to be known someday.

[00:57:12] Kate: That's so beautiful, and we could leave it there. I have one more question, and I love that Josiah was at the funeral almost taking your place in a way. He can't take your place, but even went for you, and I'm sure knew that you couldn't be there. It's so beautiful.

[00:57:30] If anyone listening, including myself, we're having a bad day, a challenging day, and those days where we find it hard to find a way, and we had the privilege and honor of calling you, what would you say to us if we're like, "Man?" For whatever reason, big or small. It's, I don't know if I can keep going or I feel really stuck or hopeless or stressed or fearful. What would you say to us?

[00:57:58] Austin: Don't think if, think when. Don't think if I'm going to overcome this, don't think if I bounce back from this challenge, don't think if I achieve this goal. Think when. It's not if. It's when. What you're going through right now, I don't know if this actually applies to you directly or anyone listening.

[00:58:19] Whatever you're going through, yeah, it's tough, but it's not going to be nice if you overcome it. It's going to be nice when you overcome it. And I think to give ourselves the right to have that mentality, we got to commit to doing the work. I'm a big fan of encouragement, positivity, motivation, inspiration. It's all great, but that doesn't replace the work though.

[00:58:47] It takes work, and there's no two ways around it. It's going to take work to overcome. So whoever's listening, whoever needs to hear that message, I believe you'll overcome. I believe you'll find a way. And yeah, it's not going to be nice if you overcome. It's going to be nice when you do.

[00:59:07] Kate: There's no two ways around it about putting in the work.

[00:59:10] Austin: Yeah. It takes work. And I think to have the thoughts, but it's going to be nice when I overcome this. We got to first commit to doing the work every day. We got to have the discipline to commit to the work. So if you need to hear that message, or whoever's listening, if they need to hear it, it's going to be nice when you overcome it.

[00:59:32] Kate: When.

[00:59:33] Austin: As long as you commit to doing the work.

[00:59:35] Kate: And then I just add to it, and your story inspires us. That plot of gold that is waiting for us at the end and somewhere in that journey of doing the work, and I wish we all had a picture of Abby's face, is that symbol or picture of you and your beautiful family that you've created and that you've been blessed with, both your family in heaven and your family here on earth.

[00:59:59] Please send me that. I want to put it in the show notes because everyone can have their symbol of that and the hope and inspiration that you have earned and that you deserve and that you have worked for. It's just such a testament to your character, Austin.

[01:00:16] And I can see why coach wanted you there as the MVP of inspiration on and off the bench. That's part of your legacy too. I'll give you the final word here. I honor you and what you have overcome. This is a show that is full of overcomers, and no one does it better than you. So thank you for just giving us all that boost of hope and determination and faith.

[01:00:45] Austin: Yeah. For sure. Thank you so much for having me on. I really appreciate it. Grateful we got connected. Not sure how we did. I don't even remember if you-- but I'm so grateful that we did. And I hope this podcast, I hope the recording adds value. I hope you get some good feedback. Yeah, I guess if there's anything else that I can ever do to help you or support you in any way, definitely don't hesitate to reach out. Okay?

[01:01:11] Kate: Yeah. Thank you. And same, we're on this journey together now, and huge fan of you and all that you're doing. And I can't wait to see where you go. I know there's books and TV shows and speeches and just so many incredible things in your future along with the five children.

[01:01:27] Austin: Yeah. Kate, we're going to have as many as my wife wants. So if she wants four, we're going to compromise and have four. If she wants six, we're going to compromise and have six, whatever. However many she wants. So yeah, we'll keep you posted for sure.

[01:01:47] Kate: Thank you so much. Thanks for allowing us to be on your journey, and I'm so glad that all of you here are here as well. And you can follow Austin's journey. All of his information is in the show notes. Please book him as a speaker, and I'll have to have him back on. So thank you all for being here. I'm taking it all in. We got to meet a real-life hero and a walking miracle today. So thank you Austin, and thanks to all of you. We'll see you next week right here on Rawish. Bye, everybody.