Austin Hatch looks back on his childhood fondly, being raised by doting parents Julie and Stephen.
“My mum was incredible,” Austin, now 27, tells The Mirror.
“Life was so good, I feel like I had the childhood most kids dream of. I had two loving parents - dad was a doctor and mum stayed home with the kids, which was a full-time job.”
Describing his mum as “everybody’s best friend,” he says: “Everyone loved her. She was the kind of lady who lit up every room she was in.”
Raised alongside his older sister Lindsay, who wanted to be a ballerina, and younger brother Ian, who was nicknamed ‘Mr Big,’ Austin wanted for nothing.
But when he was just eight years old, Austin’s picture-perfect life was shattered by a horrific tragedy when the family was involved in a crash on a small family plane.
“We were flying back from North Michigan to Indiana, where we lived. We’d been to visit my grandparents,” Austin recalls.
For more of the news you care about straight to your inbox, sign up for one of our daily newsletters here
But as the plane prepared to land, it tragically crashed - claiming the lives of Austin’s mum, brother and sister.
Julie was 38 years old, Lindsay was 11 and little Ian was just five.
“By the grace of God, my dad and I survived,” Austin says, adding they miraculously escaped the wreckage with minor injuries.
But despite only having a few cuts and scrapes, Austin and his father were broken by the loss of their beloved family and had to learn how to carry on without them.
“The emotional pain was severe at losing my mum and siblings so young. I was blessed not to be physically injured too badly, but it was hard,” Austin says.
“Your mind isn’t mature enough to understand that kind of stuff, but I don’t know how my dad coped after losing his wife of 17 years who he had three kids with.
“I think he kept living his life for me, to show me we could still keep living in the midst of the pain.”
As Austin and Stephen muddled through life without Julie, Lindsay and Ian, they kept the memories of their loved ones alive.
“We looked at pictures all the time, and scrapbooks mum had made of family trips,” he recalls.
And as the pair developed an unbreakable bond, Stephen supported his son in his dream to become a top basketball player, having played himself when he was younger.
"He was so supportive. He equipped me with all the tools I needed to get better. He didn’t coach me, but he was my best friend,” Austin says.
Meanwhile, Stephen found love again a year after the crash, with a woman called Kimberley who had three children of her own - another Austin, Britnee and Maria.
Although Austin was still grieving for his mum and siblings, he adored his new family and was relieved to have kids around again.
He recalls: “It was obviously a tough situation. I can’t imagine how tough it was for my mum Kim to join a family where we’d already lost a wife and children.
“She did the best she could and loved me like I was her own.
“She was a great woman. Although it was awful that I’d lost my mum Julie, I’m very grateful for Kim.”
Despite the heartbreak he’d lived through, Austin believes finding a second family through Kimberley and his new siblings was "the best possible outcome” of the tragedy.
“They were so open and I got close with them pretty quickly,” he says.
Austin’s second family supported him through school as he continued to follow his basketball dream.
On 15 June 2011, his dream was finally realised when he was offered a scholarship to play basketball and study at the University of Michigan - where his mum Julie had studied.
But Austin’s joy was short-lived as tragedy struck again nine days later in a cruel twist of fate.
Austin, his dad Stephen and mum Kim were in a second devastating plane crash, leaving the would-be basketball star in critical condition. Stephen and Kim didn’t survive.
“I don’t remember much detail about it. I had a really bad brain injury and lost a lot of my memory from that time,” Austin says.
“We were flying to North Michigan this time and the aeroplane crashed. My dad and second mum were killed on impact, and I survived again by the grace of God.”
Austin was recovered from the wreckage and rushed to hospital with a broken collarbone, several broken ribs, a fractured femur and a brain injury.
He was put into an induced coma for a few days to recover, but after doctors tried to bring him out of it, he remained unconscious for another six weeks.
“Even the waking up process took a few months,” Austin explains. “It was like the lights were on but nobody was home. I was there but I didn’t really understand what was going on and I couldn’t talk.”
After regaining consciousness, Austin had to learn how to walk and talk again - and after learning his dad and second mum had died, he was in unimaginable emotional distress.
“I was in the darkest time of my life,” he recalls. “But the support system around me was incredible. The doctors, therapists, family members and friends who became like family were amazing.
“People supported me out of the goodness of their hearts and I’m grateful I had such a great support system.”
After more than a year of rehab and physiotherapy, meaning he had to spend an extra year in high school, he was finally able to graduate and attend the University of Michigan - where his basketball scholarship was still honoured.
While he couldn’t play to the standard he’d reached before, Austin still joined the basketball team and is proud of what he achieved while at uni.
And he found love in Michigan too, meeting his now wife Abby - who was on the volleyball team - during his first year.
The night before she graduated, Austin popped the question, and the pair married a few years later.
“It’s amazing. It’s been an incredible blessing,” smitten Austin says.
After graduating, he landed a job in the corporate office at Dominos pizza - where he had the idea to use his remarkable survival story to inspire others.
He developed the Grit framework, a programme to inspire others to overcome tragedies and adversity they’ve suffered.
“My hope is that I can provide a little perspective and encouragement and touch people’s lives,” he explains.
Drawing on a speech he’d given in his first year of uni, Austin began delivering motivational talks to businesses around the US, using his own story about how he found hope amid tragedy to help others.
He says: “If my life was spared, I need to do something different and use it to help other people.”
In November 2019, Austin left Dominos on good terms to pursue the Grit framework full time. And despite not being able to travel during the pandemic, he has now hosted more than 100 virtual events with companies around the US.
He says: “The things I lost are awful but I’m grateful for my wife, my career, and I’m going the best I can to be a good husband and a good businessman.
“Gratitude is so important.”
Since travel restrictions have eased, Austin has been able to deliver more talks in person - and he happily flies across the country to reach his destinations.
“I have to fly all the time, I don’t fear it at all,” he says, joking it would take far too long to drive from Michigan to LA or Seattle on the other side of the country.
In future, he hopes to partner with companies all around the world to share his story - which he credits for giving him a lust for life.
He says: “People talk about resilience as getting back to how you were before you faced adversity, but I don’t think that’s true.
Do you have a remarkable survival story? Email jessica.taylor@reachplc.com
“Resilience is about finding a different way to win. We all have a game plan of how we think life’s going to but when things happen that we don’t see coming, we have to adjust and make the best of it.”
Austin documents his incredible journey on Twitter and LinkedIn
