Courage Talks S15E2 Luke Mathews

𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸𝘀 𝗦𝟭𝟱𝗘𝟮 | 𝗟𝘂𝗸𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲

Luke Mathews was once called the “Boy Wonder” of triathlon. Humble, positive, ridiculously fast. Multiple Kona qualifications. Podiums. The kind of athlete who made the hard look easy.

Then in 2017, on a flight back from visiting family in Zambia, everything changed.

𝘈 𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦-𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘶𝘭𝘶𝘴.

  • Three major surgeries in Nairobi.

  • Half his large intestine was removed.

  • His spleen was removed.

  • His body weight dropped from 75 kg to 64 kg.

Doctors later told him that without his fitness level, he would have come back in a coffin.

In this episode of Courage Talks, Luke takes us into those terrifying first days in a Nairobi hospital, the long road of recovery, and the quiet courage it took to start believing he could get strong again.

We talk about the friends who showed up when he was at his weakest, the decision to co-found ikonix Coaching and help other athletes rebuild after setbacks, and what courage looks like for him now, on the race course, in the coaching studio, and in everyday life with Nicola in Dubai.

𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮.

It’s a story about what remains when the body breaks, and how a near-death experience became the foundation for helping others rise.

Listen now.