Today's Featured Biography

 
David Austin

Okay, so after Piedmont, I went to Cuesta College for a couple years (played football, baseball, and tennis if you could imagine being so crazy) and then graduated from San Diego State in 1975 with degrees in both Physical Education and Psychology. A precursor to what lay ahead for me if you fast-forward about 25 years.

I married my first Kathy in 1974, and later divorced 1981, we had one son, Jason, who is now 32 and is a farrier by trade (he shoes horses for a living).

After floating around awhile, I met my second Cathy (the right one!), whom I married five years later, in 1986. We have three sons; Shane who is 20 and plays quarterback for the University of Hawaii as a red-shirt sophomore. Then six years later we had Chase, who is now 14, attends 8th grade and is writing his own book, Unleash Your Inner Super Hero, which he began when he was just 11. Then three years later we had Daniel, who is now 11 and is in 5th grade. Daniel was a miracle birth…documented in a TV special. Ask me for the details when I see you…

After graduation from college, I went on to play tennis on the Professional Tennis Tour and earned a world ranking. Okay so it was in the 300’s but heck, there were at least 1000 amazing players out there in the world…so I’m okay with that! Later on, I went back and got my #1 ranking in the senior tour!

After the tennis tour, I got to know a great casting agent, and jumped into the entertainment world by acting in movies such as the "Jagged Edge" with Jeff Bridges and Glen Close, "Uncommon Valor" with Gene Hackman and Patrick Swayze, "Life and Times of Robert Kennedy" with Brad Davis, and "The Oldest Rookie" series on NBC. I also did a bunch of national TV commercials for Diet Coke, Schick, Molson Beer, Roman Meal Bread, Chevron, Olympia Beer, and Burger King.

At the same time I also got the music bug, and began recording music as a singer and had a single that was a "pick hit" in Billboard Magazine - Pablo Cruise was my back-up band in the studio. The music side of me took over for awhile and I received the Presidential Merit award from NARAS (the organization who hosts the Grammy Awards). I also was Executive Producer of the Music & Tennis Festival, a charitable event that featured such groups as Queen, Carlos Santana, Michael McDonald, Rush, Kansas, Melissa Etheridge, and others. We also had tennis greats such as Pete Sampras, Brad Gilbert, Mats Wilander, and Stefan Edberg involved as we raised over $1 million for our charities in the 80’s and 90’s.

From there I founded several small businesses and developed personal care and nutritional products, and also became CEO of Granite Records, and independent record label distributed by Universal Music Group. Around the same time I have had three published books, two which have been bestsellers, and have two new books coming out in 2010. Are you tired already? I am…but there’s more!

I have now brought all these varied experiences together for a common purpose, and have even tied in my college studies to make sense of everything I have been doing. I am a “mental performance coach” and have been hired by such organizations as the Los Angeles Dodgers, an U.S. Olympic Field Hockey team, and numerous Major League Baseball players and football players to bring the mental side in alignment with the physical side of competition.

My coaching principles and methods have been well received and has expanded into the corporate world with my “Super Bowl Management – From the Locker Room to the Boardroom” training. Life is good, and I enjoy what I am doing. Recently my speaking engagements have brought me to international destinations, such as this past spring when I was asked to be a keynote speaker at the World Wellness Women's Congress in Chennai, India.

My biggest accomplishment since high school is being happily married for 23 years (and still going strong) and my four amazing boys.

P.S. Check out my son’s video on YouTube – it’s what all college QB’s do in their spare time – haha!




Here's another video detailing Shane's actual exploits as a college QB:

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