2 MINS 34 SECONDS
Christopher- Luke Peers: The Man Who Refused to Be Stopped
A sunny park in Johannesburg. Our Roving COW, Richard Laskey meets up with Christopher-Luke Peers, who is stretching after a training session. Two years ago Christopher’ s life was going places, but then out of nowhere his life took an abrupt turn that would not only derail everything but change him completely.
Born and raised in Gqeberha formerly known as Port Elizabeth, Christopher was always taught the value of things. His mother, Barbara raised him on her own and“ she taught me the meaning of strength and love.” A strong and determined woman, she made his childhood a happy one, and because of that he was able to live his best life until he hit his twenties.
Christopher studied Marketing at the AAA School of Advertising, following which he moved to Johannesburg and started making his mark in the corporate world.“ Yeah, life was on an upward swing. I even started growing my entrepreneurial ventures- AsOne was taking off! Everything seemed to be going perfectly. And then April 2023 happened.”
Christopher was hit with a severe stroke out of nowhere.“ One moment, I was living my best life, and the next, I was lying in a hospital bed, unable to move my right side or even string a sentence together. My vocabulary was suddenly reduced to just one word. Let’ s just say it wasn’ t fantastic.”
The life that Christopher had been so carefully building dissolved before his eyes. From being completely independent to being reliant on others for everything. Suddenly he saw how fragile life was, and how it could be taken away in a second. Through that, though, he discovered an immense internal strength he didn’ t know he had.
“ I had to relearn everything- walking, talking, even holding a spoon. The doctors weren’ t sure how much I’ d recover, but I was determined. I refused to let the stroke define me.” Through the challenges he faced, he learned quickly that to overcome them he needed to believe he could,
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and through that belief, he realised that anything was possible as long as he had the belief he could.
Through the process of relearning and overcoming challenge after challenge, Christopher decided he wanted something big to aim for, so he set himself a goal that many would have thought impossible, Ironman 70.3.“ I needed a goal bigger than just recovery. Something that felt impossible because if I could do that, I could do anything. And so, I set my sights on Ironman 70.3. One year later, I crossed that finish line.”
Though Christopher has recovered he will never be who he once was, and still faces a speech impediment and other difficulties. The fact that he completed a half Ironman a year after such a severe stroke was a miracle in itself, but this year he wants to go even further.
On March 30, 2025, Christopher will be taking on the Full Ironman. And just five days later, on April 4, he will be competing at the South African Championships under a Paralympic provisional license, pointing out that this is a massive challenge that not many would do. Christopher’ s answer is a true testament to the journey he has been on.
“ This journey isn’ t just about me. It’ s for anyone who’ s been knocked down, either by injury, self-doubt, or failure. I want people to see that limits only exist if we accept them.” He aims to also raise R200 000 for stroke recovery, endurance sports accessibility and the power of freedom for stroke survivors.
And with that, our roving COW rolls away, leaving behind a man who refuses to be stopped. Christopher-Luke Peers: a living testament to resilience, determination, and the power of an unbreakable mindset.
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