The Inspiring Story of Photographer Kevin Young And His Paralysis

On July 4th, 2011 Kevin Young's life unexpectedly changed forever, and what started as a fun day with friends at the beach ended up being a horror story for this very young photographer. At the time, Kevin was very busy working on few different projects but his friend convinced him to take a break and have a nice day outside with few friends. When Kevin jumped to the water to swim he broke three vertebrae in his spine and instantly became paralyzed from the neck down.

Kevin Young is a very talented architecture and portrait photographer based in San Diego, California. When he took few hours off work to go hang out with friends on a boat, he never believed he will end up spending the next few years in the hospital and in physiotherapy sessions, but that's what happened. He had to learn how to walk again and even how to use his hands. 

In this very moving interview, Kevin shares how photography helped him recover and get some balance in his life. And how photography was his way to pay back to the person who saved him on that horrible day back in 2011. 

[Via SLR Lounge]

Noam Galai's picture

Noam Galai is a Senior Fstoppers Staff Writer and NYC Celebrity / Entertainment photographer. Noam's work appears on publications such as Time Magazine, New York Times, People Magazine, Vogue and Us Weekly on a daily basis.

Log in or register to post comments
7 Comments

...wow...

Amazing story......I'm a little intrigued what caused the accident? He said that he was waist deep in the water, then just jumped forward to swim. What happened? How did the vertebrae break?? Scary how much punishment our bodies can take, but something so unexpected can change our lives forever...

From my understanding, no one knows what caused it to happen. He jumped head first to the water, nothing unique or crazy and with impact it just happened. Crazy how things can happen like that and change everything forever.

His story is amazing. The last 1:12 sums it up beautifully. SLR Lounge did a fantastic job getting this to video.

Great story and makes you think about life and how it could be taken away at any time. Glad your back to doing what you love Kevin, amazing photography...

So glad that this story has a happy ending. I can't imagine going through something like that, but what a powerful message he gives at the end of the video.

Wow! such an amazing story.