Author: NY Weekly Staff

Joseph Kim—or “Joe” as he prefers; (“just don’t call me Brian”)—is the epitome of a survivor. Being synonymous with the infamy that he avoided seven—YES, SEVEN—near-death experiences, the Business Storyteller is now helping others share their stories to the right audience.   

I caught up with Joe a mere five days after he arm-wrestled legendary former-WCW wrestler “Buff” Bagwell inside of Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, which almost ended in both “Buff the Stuff” – and Kim being issued a citation for disturbing the peace. 

“He (Bagwell) was actually in tears after I was done speaking to him,” he says about the former five-time World Tag Team Champion. “He said ‘I never had anybody speak to me like that and not judge me for what I did in the past.’ To which I replied that we all deserve a second chance.” 

Kim’s account of his chance encounter with “Buff,” real name Marcus Alexander Bagwell, is just the beginning of him taking me on his journey back to 1990, and how my choice of attire for this interview brought back disturbing childhood memories. “It’s glaringly scary what you have on – it’s so ironic.” 

This is the story of Joseph Kim; survivor, thriving in a world that dealt him repeated cruel hands. 

Sarshar: Your background is Korean, right? 

Joseph: Yes by blood, but I have no trace of the accent being born in the United States.  Just in the blood. (Pause) I don’t know if my parents were scared {after being shot} because the neighbourhood we lived in didn’t view us as an accepted ethnicity. It was a predominantly white neighbourhood, and they wondered how an Asian family – like ours, found a home in this affluent neighbourhood. 

Sarshar: So that’s why you didn’t take legal action against the man who shot you, then? 

Joseph: That, being too young, and I was actually trespassing on private property (certain states permit shooting home intruders in the United States). My parents are about respecting laws. It didn’t help that I got whooped by them too!

Kim was shot at, and “got nicked” in the ear after he – and five friends trespassed an elderly man’s property when Kim was only six years old. This was the first of seven instances where Kim narrowly avoided death – permanent death anyways, as we’ll go on to find out; he was pronounced clinically dead one day to the year this interview took place. 

Joseph: He (the man who shot Kim) wore the exact same flannel you’re wearing. Keep it on, keep it on (laughs). 

Kim would “drown” two times following the shooting; first, in 1992 at age 8, and again a year later. 

Joseph: The first time I was swimming in Clarks Hill Lake in Augusta, Georgia – where I’m originally from. My feet caught on a snag that was attached to the boundaries of the lake to prevent speeding within the zones. I swam past it both times and my ankle wrapped around this rope. I had to be resuscitated twice in two years. 

(Cont.d) Then there were two car accidents – in Freshman year, and Sophomore year of college. One where I fell asleep at the wheel and a pole from the temporary fences went through the car, but just missed me by inches. The other I ended-up being flung out of the car at about 40 miles an hour. 

The sixth accident occured when I was hiking Superstition Mountain, which is 20 minutes east of Phoenix, back in 2012. I was wrapping up work as a mechanic, and bouldering the mountain – my theory was that my hands were tougher than the terrain, and that the rocks were softer than my hands. I fell 20 to 50 feet, and hit a jagged edge on the way down – face-planting and being rendered unconscious for three hours. 

Kim suffered a broken shoulder, broken ribs, broken nose, and major concussion. He lost his memory for a period of time and took time to walk and talk again. His seventh accident involved a prop he uses to signify his desire to live an optimal life, and one that is heavily featured on his Instagram account. 

Joseph: I ran away to discover my own masculinity in 2017; a pivotal moment in my life. After one night of having my best friend telling me our friendship was done, because of my affliction to being a superhero to too many people, I went on a self-discovery quest across 44 states where I discovered I wasn’t allowing people not to fail, I wasn’t allowing people to be themselves. I wasn’t allowing them to be who they needed to be. If I walked 10 steps ahead of my clients, and guided them to their path, it would still serve them well, but it enabled people and enabling is never a good thing. I had to find a way to reset. 

One night, in the homeless district in Seattle, Washington I had a man follow me and repeatedly bump into me. He eventually picked me up and told me to take charge of my life – in no uncertain terms. He told me if I didn’t eliminate self-defeating thoughts then I’d end-up just like him. That was one of the pivotal incidents. 

Sarshar: How does this translate over to your work with your clients? 

Joseph: I realized that adversity does connect with people in general – my journey has been nothing short of a miracle. Now, I walk my clients through their journey to show them how easy it can be for them. I help them find their solution. 

Kim was working as a General Contractor in the Engineering field between 2009-2019. At the height of COVID-19, Kim ran a research company, assisting in the formation of a COVID vaccine in collaboration with IMPACT Health. From May 2021 – until October, he returned to general contracting, for projects such as tiny homes, and custom-build outs for various events. It was his 7th near-death experience in February, 2021 that propelled him to starting JK International as a platform that provides businesses the necessary tools to share their stories, thus moulding their personal brand. 

Joseph: I wanted to branch out as a consultant, because I realized that the clients I serve fail to tell compelling stories to capture their audience. So I help change the platform they speak on in order to tell that message. As you see, I’ve always enjoyed telling stories. 

In February 2021, while in Charleston, South Carolina, Kim crashed his one-wheeler skateboard outside a church parking lot. He suffered a severely cracked skull, as well as broken nose, broken fingers, and cracked eye socket. What’s more astounding is that Kim was actually pronounced dead for three minutes.

Joseph: I got rushed to East Cooper Medical Hospital in Mount Pleasant. Somehow I’m still a little spooked by this but I discharged myself from the hospital, after passing the battery tests. I was in the hospital for about three and a half hours. The first two hours, doctors worked to resuscitate me – and, despite this I felt healthy enough to order myself an Uber. It wasn’t until the Uber driver told me how messed up I was, that I returned to the hospital to seek further evaluation. 

(Cont.d) What’s funny is the Uber driver said I gave him good advice. Apparently, we had a great conversation. It was odd because I was still blacked out. 

These days, Kim is living life on the edge of his comfort zone; soaring high while guiding others to flourish in their lives. On the edge seems like a comfortable place for Kim; after all, he still has two lives left. 

Joseph Kim is the founder of JK International; a self-help business model that provides its clients the tools necessary to curate their own powerful, personal brand – while unmuting themselves so they can share their story in the best way possible. 

You can find him at the following cyberspaces; IG: @thejkeffect / jkthebrand.com. 

Media Contact:

Sarshar Hosseinnia, Editor-in-Chief

sarshar@mindfulmediapr.com 

www.mindfulmediapr.com

 

Most of us are familiar with the statistics regarding the safety of flying. The annual risk of being killed in a plane crash for the average American is about one in 11 million. Compared to the annual risk of being killed in a motor vehicle crash for the average American, which is about one in 5,000, flying seems far safer.

Dave Moore has beaten the odds. Most of us would feel lucky to escape a plane crash with our lives intact — Dave has survived four.

As a teenager, Dave’s dream was to become a professional pilot. He worked hard for his passion and engulfed his life in everything aviation, eventually becoming a Coast Guard Search and Rescue Pilot and an Air Force combat pilot.

At 23, Dave experienced the first plane crash that nearly took his life. He became terrified of flying an aircraft, or even boarding a commercial airliner without becoming intoxicated. Stifled by fear, Dave decided his aviation career was over.

Years after Dave taking an outside sales job, he revisited his passion for aviation. He knew it was time to face his fear, and developed a personal system that allowed him to overcome this obstacle.

Today, Dave works as a motivational speaker, inspiring change one step at a time. He shares with his audience how he overcame the most significant crashes life has thrown at him and converted setbacks into inner personal strength by combating obstacles.

Sharing the Crashes of Life

Dave is eager to share the difficulties of his journey because of the realization of how paper-thin the margins are for each decision we make in life. “Looking back, had I been too afraid to get back into the fight,” he explains. “I would have missed out on some great adventures that created personal and professional success and growth. I need to remind people we are fighters, and the crashes of life will come daily. These crashes are not always life or death. They can be big or small, physical or mental. I need to remind others how we only have two options in life: to lie in our self-pity and wallow in the misery, or find a way to fight back and discover the personal and professional success we yearn for in life.”

Dave says that having faced death at such a young age has brought a new realization to life, valuing and appreciating each moment.

“Though I faced positive and negative circumstances, I was strengthened and empowered to fight and became stronger each time I faced a new unforeseen challenge. Eventually, I came to terms with my mortality and realized I wanted the most out of life for myself, and those I surrounded myself with. This is when real growth begins, in finding the courage to combat fears that seem insurmountable until we find that first step.”

The First Step

Dave faced post-traumatic stress at a young age and discovered that there were growth opportunities in pain. “People with trauma must tell themselves, no matter how hopeless they are feeling or how stuck they seem, no matter how unfair or what circumstances brought it about, it is an opportunity for growth. These life events we are given, no matter how large or small, are a part of strengthening ourselves to make us ‘uncrashable’ — somebody who can handle all that life brings their way.”

According to Dave, true growth begins when you recommit to yourself, identify the problem you’re facing (and the root cause of it), realize that strength and courage grows when you take steps to combat the issue, and are able to rise to the challenge to tackle it head-on.

While Dave was trying to get back to flying, he had to learn to recreate himself and the way he thought. He recommitted to his passion by first identifying the problem.

“For example, I was so focused on getting back into the cockpit, a career I knew could catapult my life from being mediocre to making a decent living. I was willing to do whatever it took. This was all taken away from me, seemingly.” This is when Dave discovered the real problem. “I was not afraid of flying; I was afraid of dying. Truly understanding the issue is the only way to start working towards viable solutions.”

How does Dave’s message apply to those who haven’t experienced great trauma?

“Everyone faces trauma in their lives,” Dave says. “Trauma doesn’t mean life or death. I have been beaten down, overlooked, lost a child, through a nasty divorce, and unfairly persecuted at times like everyone else.”

Dave’s message is not about airplanes or the military. It’s about facing the day-to-day setbacks, obstacles, and challenges we all encounter.

“A child learning to walk or run will fall and need to pick themselves up. Not to oversimplify, but as we grow older, our lives get more complicated, and we need to combat these setbacks with tools that work.”

Finding the strength to get back on the plane

Dave mentions that the strength he needed came time and time again because aviation was his passion. “The strength didn’t come easy, and at times I just wanted to give up as I found I was good at sales,” he states, “but a part of me knew that if I let this battle be lost, it would be easier and easier to lose each battle in life, until, eventually, you’re afraid to cross the street.”

For example, as devastating as it is to experience an airplane crash, Dave learned that his recovering time lessened after each crash.

Dave’s Crash-Recovery Timeline

After Daves’ first crash, it took him two years to get back in the cockpit. He admits to struggling with a lot of “what ifs.” After his second crash, Dave spent two weeks digesting what happened, and how helpless we are when circumstances are out of our control.

Dave says that, for his third crash, the recovery time was much less. “In two days, I flew the airplane out after a night of heavy drinking after roughly a decade of not drinking, and only a day to digest, work with the FAA, and then flew the next day.”

Following his fourth crash, the recovery time was even less. “Two seconds,” he remarks. “After the plane came to a stop and we exited the airplane, I realized there was no fire, and the plane was about as good as it could be for the nose wheel coming off. I immediately asked the other guy with me for a picture by the plane, busted out with laughter, and said there is no way this is even real.”

What’s next for Dave Moore?

Dave’s passion is motivating people through “Moore Motivated” events and delivering his two favorite keynotes, “Wake Up and Win: Take Your Life Off Autopilot” and “Wake Up and Win: Be the Change.” Dave is currently reworking his original book, Wake Up and Win: Three Time Crash Victim’s Journey from Surviving to Thriving.

Outside of “Moore Motivated,” Dave is involved in a few business ventures, and he has made his dreams of winning a major poker tournament a priority in his life. “I recently placed 9th in the WPT Poker Championship out of 2,010 starting players. I plan to win some major events in this world series in Las Vegas. Maybe I’ll even run for President someday.”

Surviving and Thriving

“We all face daily physical, mental, emotional, professional, and personal battles. I can show people a way to help themselves commit to leading their own lives, one battle at a time, and how to work towards living their best life.”

Dave says that if you are looking for some buzzwords from the internet, and think that you’ll experience progress, it doesn’t work that way. It is up to each individual to control their own growth.

“My mission is to help people skip the two decades of learning and development. There is so much more to the Dave Moore story than crashing a bunch of planes.”

Dave Moore, is a Navy and Air Force decorated aviator, office and the founder of Moore Motivated. He survived four plane crashes, flew through three hurricanes while performing search and rescue with the Coast Guard, and has logged 39 combat missions in the Middle East in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.