Travis Flores

Travis Michael Flores (April 7, 1991–May 23, 2024) was an American writer, activist, philanthropist, and motivational speaker. He was a published children's book author and has written for several magazines and publications, including OUT, UpWorthy, and DoSomething. He has been featured in works such as Chicken Soup for the Soul, Reader's Digest: Selections, Charlie's Cancer Rescue and The Lemonade Stand. Flores had cystic fibrosis and had spoken very openly about it, having served as a spokesperson for various cystic fibrosis related organizations and fundraisers. He started his charitable work with both the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and had donated a large percentage of his children's book proceeds to the two organizations. Throughout his life and career, he had raised money for Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Make-A-Wish, among other charities including the Christina Grimmie Foundation, Global Genes, etc. Flores also established his own 501(c)(3) organization in 2005, which provides laptops to chronically ill youth in hospitals.

Biography
He was born in Glendale, Calif., April 7, 1991. When he 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. In the same year, June 18 was proclaimed by Mayor Michael Mullen as Travis Flores Day in Marietta, Ohio, a city near his hometown Newport, Ohio. 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. 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 at the age of twenty. In 2010, during his work as an undergraduate student, he worked 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. While working in New York City, he attended New York University and graduated in the spring of 2013 with a master's degree in Fundraising.

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 January 2019, his second transplant was rejected by his body. For more than a year, he advocated for himself, with his team at UCLA, to be approved by his insurance for a third double-lung transplant. On May 5, 2020, Flores received his third bilateral lung transplant, making him 1 of approximately 30 worldwide to have ever undergone 3 double-lung transplants.

Personal life
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.

Flores resided in Los Angeles, California with his partner, Clément Souyri before his death. His parents, Timothy and Teresa Flores, as well as his two siblings, Justin and Brandon Flores, live in Ohio.

Illness and death
Flores was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at four months old, a genetic disorder that affects mucus production in the body. His first transplant took place in March 2015, followed by a second in October 2017 after his initial transplanted lungs began to collapse.

He faced substantial obstacles when his lungs failed again in May 2020. Although initially told that a third transplant was unlikely, he was ultimately approved for a third surgery, becoming the 16th person in the United States to receive a third lung transplant.

Flores passed away on May 23, 2024, in Los Angeles, California, On May 21, 2024, Flores aspirated, leading to sepsis. He was admitted to the hospital by his husband, Clément Souyri, but he succumbed to his illness two days later.