Travis Flores

Travis Michael Flores (born April 7, 1991) is an American activist, philanthropist, motivational speaker, actor and children's book author.[1][2] He has been featured in works such as Chicken Soup for the Soul, Readers Digest: Selections, Charlie's Cancer Rescue and The Lemonade Stand.[3][4] Flores has cystic fibrosis and has spoken very openly about it, having served as a spokesperson for various cystic fibrosis related fundraisers.[5][6][7][8] He is best known for his charitable work with both the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and has donated a majority of his book's proceeds to the two organizations. To date, he has helped to raise over half a million dollars for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.[9] Flores also established his own 501(c)(3) organization in 2005, which provides laptops to chronically ill youth in hospitals.[10][11]

Travis Flores
Flores in 2012
Born	Travis Michael Flores (1991-04-07) April 7, 1991 Glendale, California, U.S.
Alma mater	Marymount Manhattan College New York University
Occupation	Motivational speaker, author, actor
Years active	2004–present

When Flores was twelve years old, he began work with illustrator Michelle Ciappa to prepare his children's book, "The Spider Who Never Gave Up'', for publishing. In 2004, after the book was published when Flores was thirteen, he began a motivational speaking and book tour.[12] In the same year, June 18 was proclaimed by Mayor Michael Mullen as "Travis Flores Day" in Marietta, Ohio; a city near his hometown of Newport, Ohio.[13] A year later, Flores partnered with Disney to print an edition of his book for a Make-A-Wish Foundation event, in which two million dollars was donated to the charity.[14][15][16] The media attention and success of the event enabled Flores to extend his tour another two years.

Flores started college when he was sixteen years old and received his bachelor's degree in Acting from Marymount Manhattan College by the age of twenty. In 2010, during his work as an undergraduate student, he had the opportunity to work with Susan Batson on the Broadway workshops of the Tennessee Williams play, In Masks Outrageous and Austere. In 2012, the play opened at Culture Project theater in New York City, but Flores was no longer affiliated with the project.[17][18][19] While working in New York City, he attended New York University and graduated in Spring of 2013 with a master's degree in Fundraising.[20]

On March 3, 2015, Flores successfully received a double-lung transplant at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. Following the operation, he continued his work in entertainment and later underwent a second double-lung transplant on October 3, 2017, at the same medical facility.

In May 2019, Flores came out as gay on the CW series MyLastDays, making him the first person to ever come out on the network. [21]

Flores currently resides in Los Angeles, California with his partner. He continues to pursue his philanthropic outreaches, acting, and writing. His parents, Timothy and Teresa Flores, as well as his two siblings, Justin and Brandon Flores, live in Ohio.[22]