I SURVIVED...

They faced the unthinkable, but these men didn't simply just survive to tell the tale. They came back sharper, stronger and more determined than ever. These are the guys who turned their worst moments into fuel for their lives' biggest highlights, from breaking records to inspiring change to facing fears. This isn't a story about survival—it's about grit, growth and thriving against the odds.

- KIERAN LEGG

“That was the worst day of my life. It was worse than the attack. It hit me really hard.”

“I can’t sit here and just hold grudges,” says Mhlengi Gwala. “I felt like I had no other choice. It was either dwell on what happened or find a way to keep pushing forward.” Gwala isn’t talking about a minor setback. He's referring to a moment back in 2018 in which his life changed forever—the moment three attackers ripped him from his bicycle and mutilated his legs with a chainsaw. Gwala had been out on an early morning ride, training for a triathlon when the attack happened. The assailants had dragged him off his bike into some nearby bushes, one brandishing a gun and another carrying the weapon intended to sever his limbs. While he begged for his life, they set the blades of the chainsaw into his right leg. Unbearable pain? Gwala can barely recall. The memory is a surreal collection of slides stitched together haphazardly by the adrenaline coursing through his body. The chainsaw’s guttural growl became muffled as it tore through skin and muscle. “Then it got stuck,” he says. Out came the chainsaw, the muted machinery roaring back into life, now being guided towards his other leg. But before they could repeat their butchery on his second limb, they suddenly bolted. Gwala managed to crawl back into the street and call for help.

ROAD TO REDEMPTION