Entertaining real-life stories with valuable lessons on how to succeed in business and in life
Entertaining and compelling real-life stories. The author is successful business, real estate, and media entrepreneur Dick Kazan.
Published on April 30th 2019
Sam Matagi: A man with no hands who rock climbs, drives a car, ties a necktie and who teaches other handless people how to do so

Sam Matagi
Sam Matagi
Photo: washingtonpost.com
On YouTube, Sam is famous for teaching handless people across the world how to do these and many other tasks.

This is his remarkable story.

(Story continues from "Read More")

Sam, 42, is a teacher’s aide for special-needs students at a grade school near Salt Lake City.

But in 2010, he was a lineman in a cherry picker doing maintenance on an electrical transformer when 15,000-volts suddenly surged through his hands.

After his rescue, doctors tried desperately to save the hands, but the damage was too severe and without amputation, gangrene would have killed him.

“It was tough to hear that, but I wanted to live,” Sam told The Washington Post. “So, I told them to take off my hands.”

Sam’s younger brother Fatu, now 38 knew the pain and anguish he would endure because he too is an amputee.

Fatu, a school teacher and father of three, was a lineman in 2008 when an accident took his right arm.

Fatu and Sam Matagi
Fatu and Sam Matagi
Photo: sltrib.com

To cope, the brothers use humor, calling themselves Sam “The No-Handed Bandit” and Fatu “The One-Armed Dude.”

And on Social Media, Sam found a community of double amputees who showed him ways to overcome his shortcomings.

In response, Sam will try almost anything such as buttoning a shirt, dribbling a basketball or snowboarding. As he has mastered each task, he shows others how they can too.

“I remember that feeling of helplessness and hopelessness,” said Sam. “Helping somebody else is good for my soul. It’s what keeps me going.”

Editor's Note: To learn more, click here. To visit Sam’s Facebook Page, click here.

In the next KazanToday: A mother who packs two lunches a day, one for her son, and one for his friend who can’t afford lunch.


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