Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/486631
Simon Keith competing with the UNLV Rebels, his team from 1987 to 1989. Keith coaches a youth soccer team after his surgery. Keith poses on the field in his days as a pro. Major Indoor Soccer League and went on to play for the Cleveland Crunch and teams in the Canadian Soccer League. Keith retired from soccer in 1992 and finished his degree in education and sports management at UNLV. "My instincts told me I needed to be in Las Vegas," he says. "It's really a place where opportunity abounds." A born entrepreneur, he began launching and selling companies—financial and sports management, staffing, promotional products, and more—in quick succession. At first he kept his transplant story private. But he came to realize that if he opened up about his surgery, he could help other transplant recipients and patients waiting for donor organs. Keith now focuses on "bringing the entrepreneurial spirit into the organ donation space," he says. In 2011 he established the Simon Keith Foundation, which aims to increase awareness about organ donation and help transplant recipients and their families. He also became the COO of the Nevada Donor Network, an organ procurement organization. As a motiva- tional speaker, he addresses corporate and medical groups about being prepared for success and uses the proceeds to provide athletic training to transplant recipients who want to return to an active lifestyle. Revenue from sales of Keith's 2012 book, Heart for the Game, also goes to the foundation. It was the book's coauthor Jason Cole who encouraged him to close the loop on his story by learning about his heart donor. In 2011, Keith traveled to the UK with his wife, Kelly; their two daughters; and their son. "Meeting [the donor's father] Roger was an overwhelming experience," Keith says. "Think of it: Twenty- five years later, his son's heart is beating inside my body." As one of the world's longest-living heart transplant recipi- ents, Keith has plenty to celebrate on his 50th birthday in May. "I live life to the fullest," he says, which means not denying himself the occasional heart-unfriendly indulgence. "I stay fit—but not because of the transplant. It's just who I am." Asked about pro soccer's future, Keith says he's "bullish," adding, "I believe I'll see the US take the World Cup in my lifetime." A bold prediction for a team that's never finished better than third, but Simon Keith knows all about exceed- ing expectations. thesimonkeithfoundation.com V View From the top Favorite place to hike: "I love Red Rock, but even better is the area behind my house in Southern Highlands, with 20 miles of uninterrupted trails." Favorite way to relax: "I do love to play golf with a beer in one hand and a cigar in the other. For years I kept it a dirty secret. Then I fgured, why hide it?" las vegas haunts: "My favorite restaurant is Triple George Grill, an old-school steakhouse downtown. Their porcini-crusted rib eye is unbelievable. But my all-time favorite meal is steak and eggs at the Peppermill at 3 am. As for bars, it's the FireSide Restaurant & Tavern on East Cactus Avenue—a clunky little spot that only locals go to." the one attraction that visitors shouldn't miss? "I recommend seeing a world heavyweight boxing match. I don't even follow the sport, but seeing a fght in Vegas is just electric." how oFten do you get to a rebels game? "Not as much as I'd like. But as the saying goes, 'Once a Rebel, always a Rebel.'" "MEETING ROGER wAS AN OVERwHElMING ExPERIENCE. THINk OF IT: TwENTy-FIVE yEARS lATER, HIS SON'S HEART IS BEATING INSIdE My BOdy." —simon keith vegasmagazine.com 49