Growing up in McKees Rocks, Damar Hamlin’s dream was to play in the NFL. Today, he has a new passion.
“I like to call it a superpower, to know CPR and how to do it. CPR saved my life. I want to pay it forward,” the Buffalo Bills safety said in a recent interview.
The former University of Pittsburgh and Central Catholic High School football star collapsed and suffered a cardiac arrest while playing against the Bengals in Cincinnati on Jan. 2, 2023.
Now recovered, Hamlin, 26, and his Chasing M’s Foundation returned to Pittsburgh June 7-9 for a series of events to inspire youth and raise awareness of the importance of cardiopulmonary resuscitation education and training.
But first, he spent time with his parents, Nina and Mario, and his 9-year-old brother, Damir.
“Anytime I come home, I reconnect with my family,” he said. “They made me who I am. … I’m always connected to my roots.”
good foundation
His father is the executive director of the Chasing M’s Foundation, which began in 2020 as a GoFundMe page for an annual toy drive at his mother’s day care center.
The centerpiece of Hamlin’s hometown visit was 3 1/2 hours of no-cost, hands-on CPR training provided by the American Heart Association at Mellon Park in the East End. Hundreds of people were trained at the event, which was similar to one held last July at PNC Park (both in partnership with Highmark and Allegheny Health Network).
The CPR Tour also has stopped in Buffalo; Cincinnati; London, England; and in Las Vegas for the Super Bowl and Detroit for the NFL Draft. Hamlin’s foundation also gives automated external defibrillators — the device that helped save his life — to under-resourced schools, youth groups and community organizations around the country.
Youth sports are close to his heart, and not just because he played in various leagues while growing up.
His brother plays youth football in McKees Rocks, and his father, Mario, is the team’s coach. The youth team’s playoff run was the only time his parents couldn’t attend Bills’ games.
On the Chasing M’s website, Hamlin boasts that all five Sto-Rox Little Vikings football teams reached the Pittsburgh City League WPYAA Championship this year.
On June 7, Hamlin held his annual youth football camp for ages 5-12 at Sto-Rox High School. Last year, he held it at George K. Cupples Stadium on the South Side.
“He’s right out there on the field with the kids,” said Kelley Denny, the foundation’s communications director. “That’s really what he loves, mentoring.”
Hamlin fondly remembers attending camps as a young player and being starstruck to meet Steelers such as Troy Polamalu, James Harrison and Ben Roethlisberger.
“I still have a picture of me and Troy doing a drill,” he said, noting that he got to meet the Hall of Famer again as an NFL player himself.
“I was excited to let him know how much that meant to me.”
As a Pitt player, Hamlin sometimes watched the Steelers practice at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side, a facility the two teams share. He found another mentor in Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin.
“He has always been in tune with young athletes in Pittsburgh,” Hamlin said. “He never held back from a kid from Pittsburgh who was chasing his dream.”
