D. Keith Kleven was born in Salt Lake City to Norwegian parents, and is one of four children. His father was a lumber carpenter/salesman
and his mother was an executive secretary in the banking business in her later years.
Keith was a very active child and worked several jobs starting at age 12. These jobs included caddying at the Salt Lake City Country Club,
selling shoes, and working construction during his junior and senior years in high school. At age 16 he was a member of the Junior/Senior
Ski Patrols. He volunteered with the Junior Red Cross, was a counselor at the Red Cross, camps at Utah State University for two summers and
represented the State of Utah at National Conferences. Keith was also a finalist in the Utah Junior Golf Open.
Keith received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Brigham Young University, was a walk-on wrestler at BYU and obtained a wrestling
scholarship, and completed his pre-med program in three years. He was then admitted to optometry school at the LA College of Optometry,
but changed his major to physical therapy, attended Children’s Hospital, School of Physical Therapy in Los Angeles and completed a one year
residency program at the University of Southern California. He worked as a graduate teaching assistant during his masters program and
graduated with a 4.0 GPA.
Following graduation, he was one of eight students selected for a special one-year internship offered through the University of Southern
California Medical School Research & Training Center. This program emphasized teaching, research and advanced clinical skills. Keith did
research, completing a second Masters thesis project and spent a year between Orthopaedic Hospital, L.A. County Medical Center, UCLA Medical
Center and Rancho Los Amigo Rehabilitation Institute. After completion of this program, Keith worked as a staff therapist at Burbank
Medical Plaza, prior to moving to Washington.
At age 27, Keith was appointed as an assistant professor and program director for the then new physical therapy program at Eastern
Washington State University. He served in a supervisory capacity over the athletic/sports medicine department, maintained a private
practice at the Medical Center/Student Health Center in Cheney, Washington, and also taught full-time. He was a consultant for three years
at Medical Lake Hospital and taught numerous courses, as well as developed a curriculum for the new school.
Keith resigned from the university in the fall of 1973 and entered into private practice with an associate at Desert Springs Hospital in
Las Vegas, Nevada. In 1983 they moved into a private clinic, and in 1993 Keith formed his own practice in Las Vegas. He has initiated
several programs in the Las Vegas community and taught evening courses at the University of Nevada Las Vegas for 18 years.
Keith is a founding member of the American Hand Society and the Sports/Physical Therapy section of the American Physical Therapy
Association (APTA). He has also enjoyed being an officer in several sections of the National APTA, as well as the Nevada chapter of APTA,
and received the prestigious Ron Peyton Award, Sports Section of the APTA. He served as program director and consultant for numerous
programs in the states of Nevada and Washington, consultant to the Hilton Corporation, Eastern Airlines, Southern California Edison and
Trans World Airlines and has been on the editorial board for several professional journals.
In addition to being a physical therapist, Keith is also a certified athletic trainer. His education and background has led him to working
with world-class athletes, dancers and performers, both at the local and national level. He was trainer/therapist for the United States
Gymnastics, junior and senior national teams, 1984 Olympic Games, World Championships junior and senior, and United States Boxing team,
taking him to four different continents in the world. He was also Mike Tyson’s and Larry Holmes’ therapist/trainer for 8 years and
continues to work with athletes such as Greg Maddux, Mark O’Meara, Jonathan Byrd, Tiger Woods and numerous other professional and amateur
athletes in and out-of-state. However, one of Keith’s greatest joys is working with the UNLV golf team for the past 15+ years.
In 2005, Keith was inducted into the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame. He continues to work full time in his private practice in Las
Vegas, as well as traveling with professional athletes around the world.
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