The character arc of Kevin Hines

A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record

Born on 30 August 1981 and adopted at nine months old by a family in the San Francisco area. Between then and now sit medication for epileptic seizures from the age of ten, the onset of symptoms of bipolar disorder after coming off that medication at sixteen, the death of a teacher, a note written in September 2000, a bus journey to the Golden Gate Bridge at nineteen, instant regret, a rescue by the Coast Guard, national television, thousands of talks in schools and universities, and a foundation co-founded with his wife. The line below draws the story so far, in order.

Drag along the line to move, pinch or use the buttons to look closer. Tap the line to pluck it, or any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.

Who is Kevin Hines?

He regretted it the instant he let go. That is the sentence he built a life on.

He was adopted at nine months old by a family in the San Francisco area. At ten he was put on medication to control epileptic seizures. He came off it at sixteen, and began experiencing symptoms of bipolar disorder. His drama teacher died by suicide, which the record notes upset him badly. In September 2000 he wrote a note.

On Monday 25 September 2000 he took a bus to the Golden Gate Bridge and went over the rail. He was nineteen. What he has said ever since, thousands of times, in schools and on television, is the thing that matters most about the whole story: the instant he let go, he regretted it. He turned himself around in the air to land legs first. He surfaced. He has said a sea lion kept him afloat until the Coast Guard reached him.

Fewer than two in a hundred people survive that fall. He is one of them, and he decided what to do with it almost immediately, which was to tell people. He has spoken at schools, colleges and universities across the United States, and on national television, to at risk groups, urging people to get treatment and to understand that this is not the answer. He has never dressed it up and he has never made himself the hero of it.

He co-founded the Kevin and Margaret Hines Foundation with his wife, a charity based in Atlanta that funds and provides education for suicide prevention in the United States and beyond. He is, by now, one of the most heard voices on the subject in the world, and everything he says comes from the two seconds after he let go.

The moments

Kevin Hines's timeline.

The 1980s

May 1982

Adopted at nine months

Milestone, and it changed everything. Nine months old, and a family took him in.

The 1990s

~1991

Medication at ten

Setback, and it changed his direction. Ten years old, and on daily medication for seizures.

~1998

Ill at sixteen

Setback, and it changed everything. The medication stopped, and something else started.

The 2000s

Jun 2000

His teacher dies

Setback, and it changed his direction. Somebody he looked up to, gone, in the worst year of his life.

25 Sep 2000

The Golden Gate Bridge

Setback, and it changed everything. Nineteen years old, on a bus, on the worst morning of his life.

25 Sep 2000

He regretted it instantly

Milestone, and it changed everything. The instant he let go, he wanted to live. That is the whole message.

1 Dec 2000

Say nothing, or tell everybody

Crossroads, decided.

The paths laid out: tell it, everywhere, taken, or keep it private. He has spoken in schools, colleges and universities across the country and on national television ever since.

~2001

He starts talking

Milestone, and it changed everything. He could have said nothing. He chose to tell everybody.

~2005

Schools and universities

Everyday, and it changed everything. Room after room after room, for twenty years.

The 2010s

~2010

National television

Milestone, and it changed his direction. The story on national television, told by the person it happened to.

~2013

A foundation with his wife

Milestone, and it changed everything. He and his wife built an organisation to do it properly.

He is still standing in front of rooms, twenty five years on, saying the same sentence. What he set moving cannot be counted, because it is made of people who are still here and do not know they are on his list, kept alive by a man who found out in mid air that he wanted to live.

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His turned on one instant at nineteen that he has spent a lifetime describing. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.

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Kevin Hines: frequently asked questions

What people ask about his line.

What is Kevin Hines's character arc?

A boy adopted at nine months, medicated for seizures at ten, who became ill at sixteen, survived a suicide attempt from the Golden Gate Bridge at nineteen, and has spent the twenty five years since telling people that he regretted it the instant he let go.

Did Kevin Hines survive the Golden Gate Bridge?

Yes. On 25 September 2000, at nineteen, he went over the rail, instantly regretted it, turned himself to land legs first, and surfaced. He says a sea lion kept him afloat until the Coast Guard reached him.

What does Kevin Hines say about the moment he jumped?

That the instant he let go, he regretted it. It is the thing he repeats in every talk, because it is the argument against the act, made by somebody who did it and lived to describe the two seconds afterwards.

What is the Kevin and Margaret Hines Foundation?

A charity he co-founded with his wife, based in Atlanta, Georgia, which provides funding and education for suicide prevention in the United States and elsewhere. He also speaks at schools, colleges and universities.

What happened to Kevin Hines as a teenager?

He was put on medication for epileptic seizures at ten. After coming off it at sixteen he began experiencing symptoms of bipolar disorder. His drama teacher died by suicide, which the record notes upset him, and in September 2000 he wrote a note.

Where has Kevin Hines spoken?

At schools, colleges and universities across the United States, to at risk groups, and on national television including CNN, ABC News and The Today Show. He urges people to get treatment and says plainly that suicide is not the answer.

Where does this timeline of Kevin Hines's life come from?

From the public record. Character Arc drew every moment on this line from the sources listed at the foot of the page, and the kind and weight of each moment are our editorial reading. Kevin Hines isn't a Member of Character Arc and has no connection with it, and no feeling is attributed to him.

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Sources

Kevin Hines, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
Contemporary American television and press coverage of his survival and his advocacy, as summarised there.
Kevin and Margaret Hines Foundation records.
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