Reinventing himself (again), Dave Davlin is helping his Kissing Tree neighbors to share their stories

Kissing Tree residents have incredible stories, and Dave Davlin’s Stories That Shape Us channel on YouTube is preserving and sharing them.

From basketball entertainer to author to public speaker, Kissing Tree resident Dave Davlin has successfully reinvented himself several times throughout his career.

Now 62, Dave is reinventing himself for what he thinks will be the last time. With his Stories That Shape Us channel on YouTube, he’s helping people relive their memories and share their stories in video.

“Life is all about the person you become, the memories you create, and the difference you make,” says Dave, who moved to Kissing Tree in 2020 with his wife, Traci. “As we get older, we want to live beyond our so-called expiration date with passion and meaning. I want this not just for myself, but for everyone.”

One of Dave’s first videos was It Was Never About the Car, featuring Kissing Tree residents Jodie, Robbie and Debbie talking about their first cars – a blue 1950 Packard, a teal 1969 AMC Rambler and a red 1970 Plymouth Duster.

“It was three people talking about three different cars, yet they all ended up telling the same story, about family, friendships and the people they still miss today.” Dave says. “The more they talked about the cars, the less it became about the cars.”

Another story is about a man who isolated himself for two years after his wife died, then found new purpose and a strong group of friends at Kissing Tree.

Other interviews are with a cancer survivor who decided to say “yes” to life, a veteran who led one of the biggest air missions over Hanoi during the Vietnam War, and a man in his 60s who has been blind for half of his life.

Dave’s own story also offers life lessons, especially when it comes to intentionally planning your next act.

After more than a decade as a sought-after public speaker, delivering inspirational opening and closing talks for corporate and institutional clients, he started thinking about what he wanted the next chapter of his life to look like.

“I’m still speaking, but I decided to slow down, to do some soul searching about what I want the last part of my life to be about,” he says. “It didn’t take long to figure out that I want to encourage people to share their stories, to preserve valuable memories about what matters most.”

Starting with no experience, Dave taught himself to become a one-man production company, learning how to shoot, edit, post and promote videos on his new YouTube channel.

He doesn’t intend for Stories That Shape Us to be only about Kissing Tree residents, but you can’t blame him for not wanting to stray too far from the community he loves.

“We started looking for a new home because we felt like our corner of San Antonio was getting crowded. We looked at new communities that were very nice, but didn’t feel right,” Dave says. “After 30 minutes at Kissing Tree, we had that ‘this is it’ feeling.”

There may have been only one slight downside to living at Kissing Tree.

“I would joke that living here was hurting my speaking career, because I never wanted to take out-of-state business. I’d feel sad just driving to the airport,” he laughs.

As Dave’s career has evolved, so have his recreational pursuits at Kissing Tree.

“We came here for the golf, but pickleball has taken over my life. It’s a lot more social, and you can be as competitive as you want to be,” says Dave, who plays with friends at The Mix and in tournaments at the 4-5 skill level.

If you’d like to read some of Dave’s life lessons, you can find his book, “Outlasting the Warranty: Living a Life That Outlives You,” on Amazon. He recommends the audiobook version, which he narrates.