A Soul Swap – Victor’s Story of Hope
Victor Assaf can tell you about the accident which led to the loss of his right arm in more vivid detail than most people can recount their daily routine. He can tell you exactly the thoughts that passed through his mind as his motorcycle lost control on a bridge, how he planned to correct course, what he thought when he looked up to see the pole and how he ducked his head and tried to jump out of the path of impact. There’s not a single moment of the event that he doesn’t remember in slow-motion and with total clarity – that’s a rare experience for those with traumatic events such as his.
But it’s the five days he spent in an induced coma that he has absolutely no memory of, yet that changed him completely.
“I woke up a totally different person,” says Victor. “It was like a soul swap and I felt so vulnerable. My eyes were different.”
It makes you wonder the ways that God works in between the lines of our consciousness.
Victor admits that he was selfish and narcissistic prior to his accident – his priorities were centered on himself. If you meet him today, you’ll know a very different person with a deep care to help and encourage others. He gives big, real hugs and cheers loudest for the success of people around him. He looks for meaningful conversation and has an eye for those needing friendship or compassion.
It’s that quality about Victor that makes him a friend to many, including the Newmans, that brought him to our community for our 2022 retreats.
Dave and Sue Newman have been friends of the Beautifully Flawed Foundation since 2017. Founders and owners of RX Smart Gear, a popular jump rope brand and well known name in the competitive CrossFit scene, what makes their brand stand out is Dave’s reputation for innovation. An inventor at heart, Dave has produced a number of adaptive jump ropes that have made it possible for greater inclusion in the sport of fitness. His care and attention to detail have given athletes like Victor the chance to diversify their adapted skills and expanded the idea of what is possible for those missing limbs. What Dave has been able to offer is a real sense of freedom and the promise that more is always possible.
“Between each other, we’ve never asked for anything more than trying to do better, together,” says Victor of the Newmans.
So when Dave contacted us about Victor just weeks before the retreat, we made space.
“Originally I wanted to bring him out as a mentor since he’s dealt with his limb loss for such a long time and has made it such a personal strength,” said Dave. “But to see him assimilate as an attendee and integrate himself into the group while stepping up when he was called upon to be a leader so seamlessly, it was neat to see that dynamic.”
In many ways, Victor really did ride a unique line.
As a CrossFit coach and internationally recognized competitive athlete, Victor’s natural gifts are to lead. While in many ways he participated in group activities and sessions just as any attendee, we also asked him to step into leadership roles, in particular for both Gym Day’s for the men and women. He humbly handled both with reception and giving, equally held.
“Hearing and listening to the stories from the other guys, it resonated with me and was eye opening that God is talking to me,” said Victor. “Like, hey you’re not alone and you can approach me a little more than what you’re used to. That’s what I’m working on. I can see that things happen to us for a reason and the only reason is because He loves us.”
All these things to be said about his character, Victor is no soft figure – he’s an outstanding athlete and we got to witness that, too. Victor placed 4th in the 2021 NoBull CrossFit Games in his adaptive division and has big aspirations for the podium. He qualified for both the individual and team divisions of a “fitness festival” in Miami at the beginning of 2023. Most recently, he took first place at the WheelWOD Games, the “pinnacle event for adaptive fitness… to battle for the title of fittest adaptive athlete in the world.”
A proud representative of his home country, Ecuador, he’s had the opportunity to speak to the nation’s president and was honored as a motivation image for the country for his successes. He surfs, skates and pretty much anything else he can figure out how to do with one arm.
Today, Victor lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, training and coaching full time. He has opportunities to travel the country to teach and inspire others. He works privately with athletes on a platform called Wheel WOD for adaptive individuals and in many senses, it seems that he’s just getting started.
“I can’t imagine being the person I was before [the accident] ever again,” says Victor. “It made me a better person and made me have more connections to people close to me. The fact that I’m able to hold more people with one arm than I was able to with two… that’s power.”
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