Training for the 2010 Winter Olympics found Kevin Pearce riding on the edge of death. That year, a traumatic brain injury tore him from his winning podium.

Following a showing of his 2013 documentary “The Crash Reel” in the CUB Auditorium Monday, Pearce will recount his experience in the same room tonight at 7 p.m.

A snowboarder from the age of 7 from Hartland, Vt., Pearce became the proud owner of the first ever child’s snowboard prototype crafted for him by family friend Jake Burton.

Pearce is now 26 years old and has been defining the sport ever since.

Over the years, Peace brought home trophies and medals from multiple competitions. He was the first person to ever compete in three-consecutive events in one day at the 2008 X Games, bringing home two silver medals and one bronze.

Tommy Barnett, assistant agent and close friend of Pearce, said Pearce was a gold medal hopeful for the 2010 Winter Olympics by the age of 22.

“Kevin was the next star, the next big snowboarder, the next Shaun White,” Barnett said.

But the momentum of his career would be brought to an abrupt halt on New Year’s Eve 2009, weeks before departing for Vancouver, B.C.

A trick attempt on a half-pipe sent Pearce into a coma for a week and kept him in critical care for nearly a month with a traumatic brain injury.

“It resulted in me having to re-learn how to do the most normal, simple things. Learning to walk, and talk, and swallow, competition was no longer a reality for me,” Pearce said in his movie. “I needed to find a new identity and a new path.”

While in recovery, Pearce signed with the Creative Artists Agency, a sport promotional company that only employs the best of the best, despite the possibility that Pearce may not even live.

“We didn’t know what to expect. We had no idea how he would recover,” Barnett said. “It has been an awesome, wonderful, incredible experience, and we have been very lucky. Kevin is one of the toughest people I know.”

Together with the agency and the support of his family, Pearce resolved to spread awareness of traumatic brain injuries and promote his “Love Your Brain” campaign. He has since started the Kevin Pearce Fund that supports organizations that help families living with loved ones who have suffered brain injuries.

He also became a sports ambassador for the National Down Syndrome Society in support of his brother who quit his job to help Pearce through the first ten months of rehabilitation.

Since then he has been traveling around the country to schools of all levels telling his story to encourage both students and adults alike to recognize the importance of living a healthy and safe life style.

Pearce said he credits his life to the helmet he was wearing during the accident. Part of his mission is to encourage those who do extreme sports to wear a helmet even if it’s not “cool” to do so.

The thick chunk of plastic strapped to his head allowed him to not only survive but to make a recovery that landed him back on the mountain doing what he loves most.

Pearce’s story is portrayed in his documentary, “The Crash Reel” directed by Oscar-winner Lucy Walker.

WSU student Molly Maddock saw the film Monday and said she recommends it to everyone.

“A lot of people can get the same message out of it, but I think more college kids than anybody,” she said. “It’s interesting to see how someone’s passion can change so fast.”

The movie premiered on HBO in 2013 and made its debut in Pullman after Leadership Coordinator for Student Involvement Tamara Crooks decided it would be an ideal way to kick off Pearce’s appearance as a keynote speaker tonight in the CUB auditorium. Pearce is the second of a two part series put on by Crooks.

“We are looking at people that are passionately living their lives with an educational component and a dynamic story to share,” Crooks said.

Crooks has had a personal experience with a friend who came home as a Marine with a severe brain injury and said she can relate with the everyday struggles Pearce was forced to face even after he left the hospital.

“(He) has his own company and is trying to change the world,” she said. “I liked his story of perseverance and determination.”

Even today, Pearce suffers memory loss and eye sensitivity but still enjoys living life as a 26-year-old, partying, hanging out with friends, and of course snowboarding whenever he can.

Pearce will tell the details of this story tonight and help teach the audience how to keep from becoming one of the 1.7 million who suffer from traumatic brain injuries every year.

The event is free and if time permits there will be a short meet and greet with Kevin after the Q and A section at the end of his speech.

For more information visit KevinPearce.com.