Hey, I’m Derek Demyanek.

In my short 32 years of life, I have been incredibly fortunate to be able to accumulate a multitude of experiences. I have learned a ton from these experiences and from the incredible people who have journeyed through life by my side. Many of these experiences have been good; many have not been. The important thing is that I have learned valuable lessons through each one of them. I believe that the best way to make use of these experiences is to share them, and to communicate the universal lessons I have learned along the way so that, together, we can create a better world.

As I mentioned, I’m Derek, I’m 32 years old, and I am a collector of experiences. First and foremost, I consider myself a problem solver. I have a deep passion for imagining a better world and thinking of real ways to make that world a reality. The modern generation faces some serious problems; climate change, extreme poverty, wealth inequality, political division and polarization, and an assault on scientific truth, just to name a few… The list is truly endless. So what do we do about it? As I see it, we have two options: 1) we can hope other people find a solution, or 2) we can be a part of the solution. I want to be a part of the solution, and I believe the best way to learn how to solve problems is to face problems directly. Quite simply, the more problems you solve, the better problem solver you become. Life presents us with these problems plenty, but in order to solve the really big problems, I think we need more. By living deliberately, chasing and facing intense experiences head on and learning how to thrive in those spaces, I believe we can become the generation of problem solvers this world needs.

On this website, I speak from experience. I am an engineer (like I said, a problem solver), a pilot, a skydiver, a BASE jumper, a combat veteran, a writer, a musician, an artist, a traveler, a former college athlete, an ultra-marathon runner, and a complete nerd for all things space and physics. I have a degree in Astronautical Engineering from the Air Force Academy and am close to finishing a Master’s in Space Systems Engineering from Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory. I would love to get a second master’s in physics (and biology and astronomy and ocean engineering and… you get the point), but we’ll see. I am absolutely a life-long learner. Some of my proudest accomplishments include working on real, flight hardware for a satellite that is now on orbit, being a member of the youngest team to place in advanced four-way relative work at the 2013 National Skydiving Competition, and earning a Combat Air Medal for missions flown in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and other locations. More importantly, I am incredibly proud of the relationships I have made along the way. The three other members of my medal winning, record setting four-way skydiving team are still my best friends in the entire world, even though our team stopped competing almost 10 years ago. We still talk daily. My older brother, Dylan, is not only my closest and best friend, but he is my partner when it comes to Living Intense. He plays a major roll in most of the experiences I will share on this website. Him and I, together, coined the mantra of “living intense” during our high school years. He was two years ahead of me in school, and once he got his driver’s license, we took to the road every chance we got. We spent a lot of time camping and literally “living in tents”, so even though it is grammatically incorrect (it should be living intensely), we thought it was a great catch phrase. Throughout the years, the Living Intense mindset has stayed with us. Living Intense is not about posting cool selfies from amazing places (though we definitely do that), it is about authenticity. It is about getting real, sharing mistakes, and coming together to learn how to really solve problems. Plain and simple, Living Intense is about creating a better world.