Just wiggle your toes.
Four words that started out as a desperate attempt to hold onto a life that had just been forever changed.
- 1M+
- students reached
- Thousands
- of schools visited
- 20+
- years speaking
- 31
- US states
- 8
- Canadian provinces
Featured nationally
“Just wiggle your toes.”
25 years later those same four words have inspired well over a million people who have heard, seen or read Kevin’s story.
- Promo videoTwo and a half minutes of what an assembly actually looks likeYouTube
- ICBC Road Safety Speakers ProgramThe Insurance Corporation of BC sponsored Kevin's first ever high school presentation in 2003. Since then they have worked together on countless in-school, community and government based campaigns.YouTube · ICBC
- ReebokKevin lands himself a spot in a Super Bowl XLIX commercial.YouTube
- SonReal — “Believe”A hit song with over a million views featuring Kevin, mirroring his own inspirational journey.YouTube · SonReal
- Just Wiggle Your Toes — the bookHis best-selling book, written with Jeff DeAngelis. The same story at length, in his own words.Paperback & ebook
Also featured on The Tyra Show in an episode called “Teens on the Edge: A Wake Up Call”, and in season one, episode one of My Life with the Walter Boys on Netflix.
What Kevin speaks about
What he actually talks about.
Traffic safety
For 20+ years Kevin has been a leading speaker on the subject. He has been the keynote speaker at numerous provincial, state and national conferences, and worked with nearly every organization there is promoting traffic safety across North America.
Attitude, gratitude & having a crew
At his lowest point, Kevin thought of ways to end the pain. But from the support of family, friends and an amazing hospital staff at Vancouver General Hospital, Kevin found the strength to persevere. He has been handed suicide notes and razor blades, and read hundreds of messages from people who were inspired to keep going because of his story.
Decision making
One poor decision cost Kevin the ability to walk and, even sadder, the life of his childhood friend Brendon. Realizing there was no going back, Kevin had to learn to make positive choices that would propel him and others forward.
Overcoming obstacles
Spend a day in someone else's shoes and maybe see their point of view. Roll around in a wheelchair for a day… Life is a labyrinth of obstacles. Kevin teaches people how to get around, over and through them.
Can't stand up comedian
Tragedy + time = comedy. Onstage or offstage, Kevin is more often than not lining up a zinger that leaves audiences rolling on the floor laughing… like him. See what he did there!?
Leadership & positive change
Kevin's story and message resonate with anyone who meets him, and he has a way of making others want to not just change their own lives, but also change the lives of others.
“If our students ever hear one speaker in their lives, it has to be Kevin Brooks.”
Who books Kevin
Who has already had him in the room.
Kevin puts the real list at many times this. These 50 are the ones we can name from his own records — the insurers, police forces, school districts, hospitals and prevention groups that have put him in front of their people.
Road safety & insurance
- ICBC — Insurance Corporation of British Columbia
- SGI — Saskatchewan Government Insurance
- MPI — Manitoba Public Insurance
- State Farm
- Florida Department of Transportation
- Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
- Florida Teen Safe Driving Coalition
- Oregon Department of Transportation
- Texas A&M Transportation Institute
- Teens in the Driver Seat
- Street Racing Kills
- BC Hydro
Prevention & youth organizations
- SADD — Students Against Destructive Decisions
- MADD — Mothers Against Drunk Driving
- TADD — Teens Against Destructive Decisions
- OSAID — Ontario Students Against Impaired Driving
- Colts Neck Alliance
- Freehold Alliance
- Douglas Community Coalition
- Together We Can Burbank
- Taylor Hagen Memorial Foundation
Police, military & emergency services
- United States Army
- Joint Readiness Training Center
- RCMP
- Bonnyville RCMP
- Vancouver Police
- Surrey Police
- Miami-Dade Police Department
- Broward Sheriff's Office
- D'Iberville Police Department
- Burbank Police Foundation
- Florida Sheriffs Association
Health & hospital programs
- Victoria General Hospital P.A.R.T.Y. Program
- Nanaimo General Hospital P.A.R.T.Y. Program
- Peace River P.A.R.T.Y. Program
- Bonnyville P.A.R.T.Y. Program
- Alaska Emergency Nurses Association
School districts & schools
- Miami-Dade County Public Schools
- Palm Beach County School District
- Orange County Public Schools
- Katy Independent School District
- Burbank Unified School District
- Clackamas School District
- Clackamas County
- Freehold Regional High School District
- Claremont Secondary — SD63 Saanich
- California State University, San Bernardino
- Collingwood School
- Langley Christian School
- MEI Schools
The short version
How he ended up doing this.
Kevin Brooks skateboarded, snowboarded and played hockey. One Saturday night he left a party and drove drunk. The crash left him paralyzed from the chest down, and his passenger — his childhood hockey friend Brendon — did not survive it.
Lying in a hospital bed, he tried to move his legs and could not. Walking was not the goal any more. The goal was four words: just wiggle your toes.
He has spent the years since telling that story — in thousands of middle and high schools across Canada and the United States, at colleges and conferences, to sports teams, and to thousands of US Army troops. One minute he has an audience laughing. The next he has them crying.