Olympic Skier Colby Stevenson Celebrates 10-Year 'Rebirth' After He 'Shattered Skull' in Near-Death Accident

The pro skier suffered a traumatic brain injury after a near-fatal car crash in 2016

NEED TO KNOW

• Colby Stevenson reflected on his “rebirth” 10 years after he suffered a shattered skull and traumatic brain injury in a car crash
• The Olympic skier shared photos from the scene paired with the remarkable feats he’s been able to achieve since the accident
• Stevenson won silver for Team USA at the 2022 Beijing Olympics

Colby Stevenson is unstoppable.

Ten years after the Olympic silver medalist skier, 28, suffered a shattered skull and traumatic brain injury from a car accident that placed him in medically induced coma, he's reflecting on the near-death experience and celebrating his life today.

"10 years since my shattered skull and TBI — my rebirth day," he wrote on Instagram on Friday, May 8, alongside a slideshow of images showing the crash, his injuries, his recovery process and his achievements in the years since.

"I haven’t taken a moment for granted since," he wrote. "Life is a spiritual journey with highs and lows, but your attitude shapes the outcome. Follow your intuition, surround yourself with people who inspire you, and chase your dreams with reckless optimism. That’s how I live."

Stevenson, who returned to skiing five months after the accident and later won silver for Team USA in the debut of the Men's Freeski Big Air event at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, said that the accident "could have broken" him, but instead became his "superpower."

"I learned that life is a gift — fragile, unpredictable, and never promised," he continued. "Lead with love. Say yes to adventure. Fuel your body well, and it will reward you with energy. The mind is more powerful than most realize—manifest the life you want with complete conviction."

The pro skier emphasized, "Don’t let your past limit what’s possible in the present. Stay in the moment. Push your limits. Tell your people what they mean to you. Can’t believe how lucky I am to live this life with family and friends who truly GET IT!! Now, more life to all of you. Sorry for the gore."

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One decade ago, Stevenson found himself driving nearly 500 miles from a freeski event at Mount Hood in Oregon, where he'd won best truck and was named the week's best skier, when his eyes grew heavy at the wheel.

Stevenson was driving his friend John Michael Fabrizi, who had broken his leg at the event, back home to Utah when he crashed.

"I didn’t know what happened," Stevenson recalled in an interview with Olympics.com. "All of a sudden, boom," he said of the moment, adding, "I woke up in a hospital bed with my loved ones around me."

Fabrizi was miraculously left unharmed, while Stevenson was hanging on for his life. The truck flipped over multiple times, the roof collapsed, he had 30-plus fractures in his skull and he had swelling in his brain that left doctors unsure if he would make a complete recovery.

Stevenson, who was put in three-days of medically-induced coma, eventually returned home with his mom to recover. He thought his skiing career was over, but Stevenson "didn’t have a back-up plan," and was hellbent on returning to the sport he loved.

Five months later, he did against unfavorable odds. In January 2017, he won his first World Cup victory in slopestyle in Seiser Alm, Italy.

"Eight months after my car accident, and I was coming back into skiing and just didn't have many expectations," he recalled to PEOPLE exclusively of the milestone win. "I was just feeling lucky to be alive still and have the chance to ski at that level."

"I've just taken that lesson and tried to put it into every part of my life and not take a moment for granted," he said. "Nothing can really throw me off my rocker now as long as I'm alive. It's like you heal from injuries, I've had numerous injuries since then, and think everything happens for a reason."

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