Samuel Koch, a 31-year-old former stuntman, was left paralyzed from the neck down in a failed attempt at jumping moving cars – live on the German TV show “Wetten dass…?”. Since the 2010 accident, Samuel has relied on assistance with practically everything. Still, he remains a highly active person – and even manages to get intense, daily exercise.
A terrible accident on live TV
Samuel was one of the candidates on Wetten, dass…?, one of Europe’s top rating TV shows at the time. The German TV format enabled viewers to make bets on different stunts, and Samuel was performing probably one of the riskier ones in the show’s history.
“I had been doing that jump so often that I almost knew it in my sleep”, writes Koch in his biography entitled Zwei Leben (Two Lives). However, millions of live viewers were unsuspecting witnesses when the stunt went terribly wrong. Wearing ‘kangaroo’ spring stilts, Samuel successfully cleared the first three cars, but got caught by the fourth and crashed to the floor.
Being fit for fight
Despite the life-changing incident, Samuel has retrieved his sense of humour and now looks at life in a positive way. He started studying acting again and is now starring in theatre productions, TV series and movies.
His work requires that he is in good shape, and being a former athlete, Samuel has experimented with a number of different therapies to find the right training device.
“I searched for many years, actually six-seven years, for something that could stimulate my cardiovascular system and make me feel exhausted after a training session”, says Samuel.
I have never used a device that provides such an intensive training of my body – I’m actually out of breath. What a feeling!
– Samuel Koch, Actor
Finding the solution
At a rehabilitation clinic in Cologne, he was introduced to the Innowalk Pro. He and his family were impressed with how its simplicity and functionality offered a highly efficient device. In cooperation with his physiotherapist, he is now exercising daily in the Innowalk at home. He can really feel the effect of being in upright standing movement.
Read more: Wenche Was Locked Inside Her Body at 39 – This Is Her Journey Towards a Better Life
“The Innowalk makes me move three-dimensionally in all directions in a way that actually leaves me short of breath. In addition to the fact that I get full weight-bearing on my bones, the ankles, knee joints and hip joints, I always feel really invigorated afterwards. Another advantage is that it is super compact compared to many other gait trainers and other assistive devices, making it ideal for home use”, he continues.
“I now combine 3-4 training devices in one, and it’s such a great feeling that I use the Innowalk between 2-6 hours a day while doing other things. I’ve found exactly what I need”, Samuel concludes with a smile.
