Munchoff inspires others

If you ever meet Colt Munchoff, consider yourself lucky.

He has a perspective on life that is truly refreshing. Twenty three years ago his life changed forever after a traumatic car accident. But ever since, his desire to help others intensified.

Sometimes dreams don’t turn out the way we want them to be. Munchoff, a Newport Beach resident, has been OK with that. Before the car accident that left him with limited use on his left side and impaired his speech, he had wanted to play professionally as a beach volleyball player.

He fell in love with volleyball while he lived in Laguna Beach and then played club volleyball as a 6-foot-5 outside hitter before it became an NCAA Division I sport at the University of Arizona.

He has always loved sports. He likes to wear his Indianapolis Colts ball cap simply because he can connect with being a Colt.

As he drove on the freeway near San Diego on Nov. 14, 1993, he said his car was rear-ended and a childhood trophy, a punt, pass, kick award, hammered the back of his head.

Afterward, in the hospital, he lay in a coma for 12 days. When he came to, it was as if he was a baby again. He couldn’t walk, talk, eat or drink. He worked in rehabilitating his strength for 18 months.

Now he uses his comeback story to help others. His life had not always been about sports. Munchoff also has a passion for food. For the past 21 years, he has been in charge of the Munchoff Foundation (https://blinkonce4yes.org), which conducts adaptive cooking for those challenged with disabilities.

This Saturday, he and a staff of volunteers will work with those willing to learn in the first of a six-week class at the B.R.A.I.N. headquarters in Cypress. B.R.A.I.N. stands for Brain Rehabilitation and Injury Network (www.thebrainsite.org).

“I’m lucky to be alive,” Munchoff said. “I’m blessed. I am very blessed. No doubt.”

He says he feels fortunate to be a person who can speak and teach with meaning and relevance after experiencing his trauma and rehabilitation. He can tell others to “get up,” and “don’t feel sorry for yourself.”

He said he was able to overcome the fear of failure with, “blind faith.”

“If I could see around the corner I would have given up,” Munchoff said. “But if I can’t see around the corner, I’m going to trudge. I’m going to go, go, go.”

Munchoff has two daughters, who attend Corona del Mar High and Middle School, respectively, in Finley, 13, and Hollis, 11. They both help with the cooking classes. They are fun classes, Munchoff said, because he does his best to keep it simple and carefree. He also enjoys having photos of the experience.

His ultimate dream now is to have a facility that will help those in need of rehabilitating after a traumatic injury. He wants the new facility, which will be in Orange County, to have hyperbaric chambers, a swimming pool and a yoga class among other activities and ideas.

“We want this to be a place that will be for 100% recovery from trauma,” Munchoff said. “We are very close to making it happen.”

Just like the cooking classes, Munchoff aims for the new rehabilitation center to be free of charge. He is searching for corporate sponsors to fund the project.

Munchoff says he’s not looking to make money from all this. He just wants to help others and he wants to leave a legacy that comes from the Munchoff Foundation.