Meet Kevin Kyes | Owner

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

Hi Kevin, how do you think about risk?
Risk-taking is part of life. Every day we get out of bed, we’re accepting some level of risk — and we do it with the belief that our steps will lead us safely back home at the end of the day. That same mindset has carried over into my life and career.

We all take risks, but only a few choose to take the big ones — the ones that can change everything. One quote that’s stuck with me since I walked out of the Denver Rescue Mission 12 years ago is by Les Brown: “If you think trying is risky, wait until they hand you the bill for not trying.” That hit me deeply, and it’s guided how I approach everything.

Taking risks has played a massive role in our journey — from rebuilding my life, to starting a business, to stepping into leadership. If we avoid the thing that scares us, that risk, we silence our ability to grow. Without growth we have no progress and without progress we cannot be truly happy.

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.
Honestly, what I’m most proud of is that we took the first step—the biggest and hardest one. I’m not where I want to be yet, personally or professionally, but this is a never-ending pursuit: trying to be better than we were yesterday. AKA the infinite game.

We got here through relentless persistence. The word “quit” has no definition in our minds. None of this has been easy—but someone once said, “If you do what is easy, your life will be hard. But if you do what is hard, your life will be easy.”

We face our challenges head-on. Like Marcus Aurelius said:
“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”

I’ve learned that someone else’s opinion of you doesn’t have to become your reality. I’ve learned that if you don’t write the next chapter of your story, someone else will write it for you. And what a joy it is—to be exhausted in pursuit of a challenge you chose for yourself.

To Denver—and to anyone watching—know this: our story is your story. And whether you’ve just joined us or been here since the beginning, thank you for being part of the ride.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Ok, everyone has to try the world famous Casa Bonita of course. Then we obviously have to head downtown starting at the Platte River swim hole up the 16th street mall and stop at the beautiful capital building and then stop by Illegal Petes for a good Denver hometown burrito. Then for the weekend we have to go to Red Rocks to run the stairs or watch our favorite person sprinting them in some funny outfit. Then for the last day what is CO if you’re not hiking a 14er or hiking at all. So, we will finish up hiking the mountains and getting that needed CO blister and then head to Blackhawk to hit the slots for the rest of the night!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I love this question because the truth is, there’s not enough time or space to thank everyone who has helped me — or us — along the way. But if I could give one major shout-out, it would be to the Denver Rescue Mission.

To make a long but beautiful story short: the Denver Rescue Mission — and the city of Denver itself — helped save my life 12 years ago. Back then, I was a lost, scared, and confused kid. I was homeless, carrying nothing but a backpack. I had lost my family, my son — everything. And then the Denver Rescue Mission found me.

I enrolled in their life-changing New Life Program and graduated in 2013. That experience gave me the foundation to rebuild everything I had lost — and more.

So my deepest thanks go to them — to the Denver Rescue Mission, and to the city of Denver. I may have been born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but Denver is where I was truly born.

Thank you, Denver. I love you.

Website: https://nationscrest.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nc.exteriors/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61575178447639

Image Credits
Jason Espinoza Photography