Meet Mike Cohen | Endurance Athlete & Advocate

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mike Cohen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mike, do you disagree with some advice that is more or less universally accepted?
Don’t live in your past.

You are who you are because of your past. Good or bad, it’s important to learn from your past mistakes, in your current and your future life. For the last twenty years after my cancer diagnosis, and most recently since receiving my heart transplant, I’ve learned how important it is to honor your past. Honor each and every right and wrong turn, that got you to exactly where you are right now.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
There are millions of people like myself who are eighteen to thirty-two years old, have their own incredibly inspiring stories. Unfortunately and fortunately, some have luck and support in areas that others do not. 
Some patients cannot afford heart transplants or necessary cancer treatments and procedures.
Wages and opportunities lost from being permanently disabled as a heart transplant recipient or cancer survivor are impossible to fairly and accurately estimate.
How will they afford their life expenses because they get fired or their job doesn’t have a remote option or flexibility to align with as a permanently immunocompromised citizen in a world where Coronavirus and other deadly infections exist?
Not to worry about how their bills are going to be paid.
I want to help them. I know what I feels like to be in that position.
I want to do something about it. 
These patients get to focus solely on their treatments and their recovery. 

From each item sold on my website, Flnt will donate a portion of the sales to random, active GoFundMe campaigns for cancer and heart patients from 18 – 32

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
After dropping their bags at their hotel, we take as much of the coast as possible going through Point Loma, into Ocean Beach, then through Mission Beach into Pacific Beach, to North Pacific Beach, and get some breakfast at Leilani’s Cafe.

For lunch one day we’d head up North, via La Jolla Blvd and taking the coast along Torrey Pines onto the 101, for some brunch and a walk.

Camp and bon fire at night at San Elijo campground for an evening

Go for a bike ride along the coast from Oceanside to Del Mar and back (take train if tired)

I’m more of a bbq and hang among my friends and pups-kind of guy.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My shoutout is to all of the cancer survivors out there. All of the people who didn’t think they would make it. When I was diagnosed in 2004 with cancer, it was very difficult to find a community. While hospitals offered support groups, connecting and networking with others was more of a hassle than a place to find people experiencing something like I was.
Currently, being able to find multiple ways of supporting and building community among fellow cancer survivors, is easy with the various social platforms. I love hearing and seeing stories of so many random people from different regions of the world, overcoming their diagnosis and providing inspiration for so many of us.

Website: https://www.mrmikecohen.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrmikecoh/

Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/mrmikecohen

Image Credits
Freddie Jiminez