We were lucky to catch up with Kevin J DeBruin recently and have shared our conversation below.
Kevin J, we are so appreciative of you taking the time to open up about the extremely important, albeit personal, topic of mental health. Can you talk to us about your journey and how you were able to overcome the challenges related to mental issues? For readers, please note this is not medical advice, we are not doctors, you should always consult professionals for advice and that this is merely one person sharing their story and experience.
The lowest point in my life came September 3, 2021. I contemplated suicide. I journaled about it but was afraid to even write down my real feelings. I was scared to write the word. I had the most emotional pain I’ve ever felt—deep depression and loneliness. I understood why someone would want to take all the pain away. I looked over at my dog Titan on the couch next to me, and thinking of him and what would happen to him is what stopped me. Why didn’t I end it? How did I pull myself out? Why did I think of Titan at that moment? Why was it that? Why wasn’t I totally selfish? And then also, why was I able to be successful in other aspects of my life at this time?
In this deep darkness, I still was able to thrive in my chaos. I launched a new company in a thirty-day time span, ran a 5:30 mile (after recovering from my motorcycle accident), finished first place in the second-toughest Spartan Race at Big Bear, celebrated six years sober, partnered with a production company for a space TV show, and ultimately improved relationships with my friends and family. I also started writing my most recent book To Dare Mighty Things. I needed to find meaning for my suffering. I told myself, “My suffering means that someone else doesn’t have to experience theirs—or that I can provide them with the tools, the hope, to not only make it through but also to be able to thrive in the chaos.”
That’s why I wrote the book: To help you thrive in chaos, no matter how bad it is, and also to help you level up, no matter where you are. What I will teach you will help you no matter what. And it was through my own self-reflection during and after that moment in September that I was able to figure out why I was able to survive.
Why did I consider anything else at that moment? And the answer is The Practices and the Phoenix Mentality, it’s section three of the book. It’s because of the lifestyle, habits and choices that I made in like the five, ten years before that day. That is what prepared me to be able to weather that storm. And I don’t like using that phrase, weather that storm, because I don’t think that really gives validation to the extremity of the situation.
But to get through that chaos to to, to just get through it, just get through it, and all of the personal development, the personal growth, the always being a student, being that continued lifelong learner, like how I can improve myself and fortify myself to achieve success. That’s what I was doing. I was training myself to achieve success, not training myself to survive chaos.
And what I ended up doing is something I call forging a Phenix Mentality within myself. For the Phoenix, it’s not a bird of immortality. It’s a mythical bird of perpetual mortality. So every time it’s struck down, it’s reborn stronger through the ashes. And I realize that that’s what was going on in my life. All of these things devastated me at the time, but forged me into the stronger being that I am today.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
My name is Kevin J DeBruin and I am a former NASA Rocket Scientist turned public Space Expert & Motivator. I teach about space exploration through my instagram @kevinjdebruin and company Space Class (VirtualSpaceClass.com). I also provide motivation and life coaching through my latest book To Dare Mighty Things.
I am an expert in NASA’s mission & spacecraft design process. I’ve pretty much achieved every goal I’ve ever set and share my space & success knowledge to educate and inspire others. I like to crafts engaging stories to share my expertise with the world in an easy to understand and relatable way. From the best place to find alien life in our solar system to overcoming obstacles to achieve your dreams, I aim to motivate all those I interact with.
Some of the things I have accomplishd include becoming a NASA Rocket Scientist, a Masters of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech, designing more than 30 advanced space missions and spacecrafts, authoring three books: ‘The Quick Quide to Adulting’, ‘To NASA & Beyond’ and ‘To Dare Mighty Things’, giving two TEDx talks, founding Space Class (VirtualSpaceClass.com), establishing myself as a well-respected & trusted space expert and personality, expert space consultant for media companies, spacecraft design course instructor, contract engineer for the aerospace industry, an Eagle Scout, certified personal trainer, American Ninja Warrior, bodybuilder, and 1st place finisher in obstacle course races.
To Dare Mighty Things:
This book will give you confidence, motivation, and actionable steps to make any dream a reality. I share NASA’s design principles and proven practices that allowed myself, and several notable figures, to achieve our dreams and defy limitations. Think like a rocket scientist, these steps and habits can be used to get through trauma, figure out your path, explore options, embody perseverance, and ultimately accomplish your goals.
The mission of To Dare Mighty Things is to enable people to help humanity, change the world, and feel great about themselves. The goal is to disrupt the Personal Development space with the Launcher System Forging a Phoenix Mentality,a scientific process focusing on creating an unbreakable spirit and relentless work ethic to survive & thrive in chaos – a fortified attitude to always stand back up and never take no for an answer. The Einstein meets Rocky Balboa method of Personal Development.
To NASA & Beyond:
3 years and over 150 applications to NASA before I received his first internship, Georgia Tech was the only graduate school I wanted to attend initially denied my application & gave me no funding, Georgia Tech actually paid my full tuition and gave me a research stipend, after three rounds of interviews with NASA JPL they did not give me a full time job, I decided to graduate without a job but take a 10 week internship with NASA JPL, after knocking on countless doors and setting up over 30 interviews on the last day of that internship I received word that he would be given a job offer!
Space Class:
Space Class offers engaging online educational videos for kids ages 8-12 about outer space, like a virtual space camp! We currently have 10 different Space Science, Space Vehicle, & Space Exploration lessons & a follow along PDF booklet with space to take notes. Each lesson ends with a quiz. Space Class is where curious kids come to learn! All lessons have been reviewed & approved by scientists and engineers from NASA and other top aerospace organizations. We believe in educating kids about the wonders of science & space exploration, and its importance to us here on Earth. We believe in giving kids the knowledge required to grow up and impact the world in a positive way.
Space Class will evolve into an entire suite of STEM master classes for kids – Ocean Class, Water Class, Air Class, Weather Class, Land Class, Wildlife Conservation Class, and more! The goal is to disrupt the STEM Education industry in America and across the globe by providing all youths with exposure and access to credible, engaging, & interactive STEM information taught by experts. We believe in giving the world’s youth access the STEM knowledge required to grow up and impact the world in a positive way.
I worked as a Systems Engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) in Pasadena, CA. My main focus was on the Europa Lander Mission Concept as a Flight Systems Engineer as well as more than 30 advanced mission concepts exploring the universe as a member of TeamX, TeamXc, and A-Team. I am an expert in Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) and offer a training course Fundamentals of MBSE with OpenX Education. After NASA , I worked for a short while full time at The Aerospace Corporation as a Senior Systems Engineer where I launched two 1.5U CubeSats into Earth orbit. I now work periodically with The Aerospace Corporation as a Senior Member of their Technical Staff.
I fell in love with science communication while working at NASA JPL designing spacecraft. I became the most active member of the JPL Speakers Bureau giving multiple presentations a week and even taking vacation to speak more frequently about space. I ended up deciding to leave NASA and dedicate myself to educating and inspiring others in science. My vision is to inspire and educate as many people as possible about the wonders of space exploration and its importance to us here on Earth. I work endlessly to bring space down to Earth for the masses in a fun & exciting fashion. With more than 30 mission concepts under his belt, I may be the go-to guy for solar system exploration.
Lastly, I was born & raised in Kaukauna, WI. I obtained a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and a Masters in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech where I was a Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) in the Aerospace Systems Design Lab (ASDL) under Prof. Dimitri Mavris.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Number 1 for sure is putting a focus on personal development. The growth mindset that you are able to improve yourself in all areas and that there is always more to learn. It will help fortify you as a human as you navigate this adventurous world and also give you the attitude of curiosity in all situations. You’ll know there’s so much you don’t know and that’ll cause you to ask questions to learn more and understand.
The second one could be communication skills. And that’s everything from public speaking and asking interesting questions to introducing yourself to someone and discussing your ideas and passions. I was deathly afraid of any sort of public speaking or any sort of spotlight, until grad school when my advisor made me present every single week. And then I started talking about things I loved, like space. And it became easier. Practice practice practice and put yourself in situations where you’re forced to level up, to speak, to meet, to grow.
A third quality would be kindness. Being genuine and nice. “Please” and “thank you” are still magic words. Seriously. What we are told as kids holds true for adults. The words “please” and “thank you” show appreciation in our uncontrollably busy society. Saying them takes a fraction of a second but can make the world stop in an instant. “Please,” “thank you,” and I’ll add “excuse me.” Soon after I moved to Los Angeles, I went shopping in a Ralphs grocery store. I was walking around with my hand basket, picking up a few things, wandering all over the store because I had no idea where things were yet. Lines of people and their carts waiting to check out began to form. I was still wandering, so I headed back to the other end of the store, walking in the space between the aisle and the checkouts, now full of people. As I approached a line to cut through I said, “Excuse me,” and a lady stared at me like a deer in headlights. She said, “You’re not from here, are you?” I said, “No, I just moved. Why?” She responded, “Because you are polite. Never lose that, especially in this city. It’ll get you farther than anything else.”
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
Each time I’ve read Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning it has proven to be a pivotal time in my life, either reaffirming my direction or setting me on a new course. Frankl was a holocaust survivor and psychologist, the creator of logotherapy. At the time of his death in 1997, his book had sold over ten million copies and been translated into twenty-four languages.
Viktor Frankl was imprisoned at several concentration camps by Nazis, including Auschwitz. His wife and family were killed by the Nazis. His book is broken up into two parts, the first describing his time in the concentration camps and the second describing logotherapy. Viktor made it through the literal worst of humanity and then used that experience to help millions. He initially was going to publish his concentration camp stories anonymously but decided to go public and share his personal experiences with the world.
He was at the lowest of low. Death for him may have been better than what he went through. And yet, he felt a purpose behind why he had to make it through: to share his logotherapy with the world. He saw its importance firsthand in the, again, literal worst of humanity. I can’t describe it any other way. Viktor gave his suffering a meaning, and that is what part of logotherapy is about: “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how,” he wrote. This quote sums up the whole book and logotherapy (the school of psychology Frankl developed).
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way,” he wrote. And you’re going to need that mindset on your journey. That’s so critical. The journey is difficult, whether you’re launching yourself into the next level of your life or just getting through this one. Your attitude is everything. If Viktor Frankl can make it through his life experience and come out unjaded, you can do anything.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kevinjdebruin.com
www.todaremightythings.com
www.virtualspaceclass.com - Instagram: @kevinjdebruin @todaremightythings @_spaceclass
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kevinjdebruinNASA
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevindebruin2589/
- Twitter: @kevinjdebruin @daremghtythngs @_spaceclass
- Youtube: youtube.com/APlaceCalledSpace
