There are a lot of colorful characters in the hemophilia community—and competitive athletes. Put them together you have Cobus Visser.

Cobus is from South Africa, has hemophilia and has quite a story to tell. From our wonderful archivist, Richard Atwood of North Carolina, comes a review of Cobus’s new book, Walking Through Fire. Read on and get motivated!

A quick bio: Cobus was born on November 2,1982 in Vereeniging, South Africa, to Theunis and Ansie Visser. He had a Christian upbringing. His great-grandfather was Charles Robert Swart, the first state president of the Republic of South Africa (1961-1969). Bruises at three months led to a diagnosis of hemophilia A. Both Cobus and his brother, Riann, had hemophilia; Pierre, the third brother, did not. Cobus matriculated from Hoerskool Piet Potgieter in Potgietersrus, Limpopo. He earned a BBA in Marketing Management from IMM Graduate School, and is currently working on an MBA in Marketing from the University of Edinburgh. In 2005, Cobus married Mar-nelle, and the couple now have two sons: Tiann, born in 2009, and Wihan, born in 2014.

Growing up in South Africa in the 1980s wasn’t easy. Cobus attended a hemophilia clinic and had numerous hospital stays in Johannesburg due to bleeds in his ankles, knees and elbows. He did not play sports. He grew tall and became heavy, weighing over 260 pounds, and faced physical limitations. At age seven, Cobus learned how to self-infuse to treat bleeds. The product was plasma-based. A brain bleed in 1996 led to migraines and a coma, including an ICU stay, and three operations on the right side of his head. This was followed by subsequent brain bleeds in 2008 and 2015, and later an epileptic attack in 2017 that was treated with medicine.

In 2003, Cobus underwent radioactive utrum for his joints. He took Vioxx for pain and creatine for strength. The prognosis was to fuse both ankles and replace both elbows. Even with physiotherapy, Cobus relied on crutches and wheelchairs for mobility. A diagnosis of hepatitis C in 2012 led to injections of Copegus and Pegasys for 12 months. His father Theunis retired from the police force and opened a family business, called Furn4U/Modern Living, in Pretoria. Cobus’s younger brother Pierre already owned a dozen gyms. Cobus was expected to eventually run the family business, yet brother Riann would assume that role, when Cobus quit, in 2014, to be self-employed.

Starting in 2011, Cobus took courses in Mind Power, Sales Explosion, Unleash the Power, and NLP. He took the Firewalking Instructor Training (FIT) course, and by 2014 was the only Master Firewalking Instructor in Africa!

Cobus became a speaker, trainer, facilitator, life coach, mentor, author of three books, and instructor. He learned to walk on hot embers and shards of glass. In 2016, Cobus had an idea: to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania on crutches! But how to fund the $3,300 to $4,300 fee? The hemophilia clinic doctors would not sign the medical clearance certificate. Cobus, suffering from depression, planned to let the mountain take his life. After two years of preparation, eight team members, plus 31 guides and porters, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro from July 9-18, 2018. Cobus injected 6,000 IU of factor every morning. The crutches chafed his underarms. He walked on the front of his feet and toes, which led to calf cramps. Stomach cramps and diarrhea complicated matters. He could not acclimatize, and suffered altitude sickness. He hired a personal porter for an extra fee to carry his bags and day pack. Cobus reached Stella Point at 18,884 feet on crutches, though never achieving the summit on Uhuru Peak. He then descended in freezing temperatures, facing altitude sickness, joint pain, and delirium. The porters carried Cobus on a stretcher, then used a “Kili Taxi” (a wooden wheelbarrow stretcher) before a helicopter flew him to a hospital for a short stay. Cobus left the mountain with a certificate and renewed zest.

Cobus eventually expanded his business, and in 2022, rebranded himself from “Superman of Africa” to “The Viking.” Cobus climbed Mafadi (11,305 feet), the highest peak in South Africa. He had a major medical procedure in 2019, then a severe case of Covid-19 in 2021. But nothing seems to keep him down for long. Cobus is recognizable for his height, hair, persona, smile, Afrikaans accent, and three-second hugs. And don’t forget— his exceptional skill in fire walking and glass walking!

You can order Walking Through Fire in Amazon.com. You can learn more at https://cobusvisser.com

Cobus Visser, 2024, Walking Through Fire. Centurion, South Africa. 289 pages.