Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies
Danielle Cobo: What would you do if life served you an unimaginable curveball? Waking up in a hospital bed, realizing one of your legs has been amputated in this deeply moving episode of the unstoppable grit podcast. We bring you a spirit and story of Felix Bertram born and raised in Germany with dreams of gracing the silver screen.
Felix life took a tragic detour at 19 after a devastating motorcycle accident left him in a coma, but that was merely a chapter, not the entire. story. Felix defied the odds, not just waking up, but catapulting into a life marked by stunning achievements. Today, he is a, not just a board certified dermatologist with five clinics and over a hundred employees.
He is the mastermind behind a skincare line. And a shark on Shark Tank, Switzerland. His passion for fine dining has even led him to become the owner of not one, but two Michelin star restaurants. And if you've ever doubted the power of resilience, his TED Talk Has over 2. 5 million views. and did I mention that Felix is also the father to 13?
I just want to say that again, 13 rescued dogs. Thanks so much for joining.
Felix Bertram: Good to have you see you. Thank you, Danielle,
Danielle Cobo: Well, can't even imagine what it must've been like. So I. used to own and ride a motorcycle. I had a Harley Davidson, and that was always somewhat of my greatest fears was this exhilarating ride and passion for riding a motorcycle.
And at the same time, hearing these stories of people who have either been tragically killed or, have been hurt in particular situations. can't even imagine what was it like to wake up and have your dream of riding a motorcycle all of a sudden you are found in a hospital bed. waking up with one of your legs amputated?
Felix Bertram: well, first of all, the problem with the motorcycle is you have no buffer zone, right? If I would sit in the car and it would be probably damaged left light or something like that. I remember when I woke up, my leg wasn't really amputated, but I remember that my foot was very black and I remember the leading doctor standing in front of me and telling me that they have to do it.
And they have amputate the leg. And well, that was the only choice. my foot was clearly gone. could see that, but then, they tried to do their best and only took off the foot first. the time in the hospital was so impressive that I decided to study medicine, but I barely couldn't walk on this, Left pieces of bone, covered by just skin. And I had so much pain and I was on morphine and I was only like, 60 kilos, very, very thin and like a drug addict. So two years later I went for a second amputation. So, consulted many hospitals. Because usually it's not, allowed to take off healthy tissue or healthy leg or arm.
But I had so much pain that I pleased some surgeons to do that. And one did it. And that was so much relief since then I have a artificial leg and that's so much of help and, pain is much less than back then.
Danielle Cobo: I would imagine. Going into that situation. Was there a particular mindset shift that you went through to basically say, okay, this was my life and how I imagined it.
I wanted to be an actor. I wanted to ride motorcycles and have two legs. And now I'm in a situation where I am going to be not only shifting physicals of what it's going to be like to day to day challenges, but also I'm going to completely radically change my life and the trajectory of what my professional life is going to look like.
Felix Bertram: from today's perspective, I can't really, remember how I felt the first few weeks. What I remember was I was really down and exhausted and devastated. And my biggest fear was not finding a girlfriend at the age of 19 because I was Somehow disabled or, yeah, I was a sporty guy before that.
And I knew this, will be a problem, but I have the ability to very quickly focus And since then it's happened all the time. When I had any life crisis, I'm focusing on new things. So I was focusing on, my medical school. And another thing which helped me a lot is putting things into perspective.
I traveled Africa and saw all these people without legs, creeping on the floor or walking on these weird sticks. And I always thought, okay, what a lucky guy I am. I'm living in Germany and I just get two artificial legs and I can do almost everything. And I'm not in a wheelchair.
I not lost my. arm or my brain or whatever. So I have this ability to put things into perspective and see the positive side of it.
Danielle Cobo: what I'm hearing you say is looking at this and saying, I can either be powerless and say, look what's happening to me, or I can step into the power and being grateful for everything that we do have.
I think sometimes we can get very short sighted and go, Oh, what is me? Why is this happening to me? I can't believe this is going on. A lot of times, sometimes it's harsh to say, but I say, this is a first world problem. A lot of the problems that we say are our problems, our first world problems. I, we, at the end of the day, No matter what challenges are going on in a majority of our lives, we still have running water, a place to put our head at night, a warm home to be in, food in the table, still so much more than how much.
Felix Bertram: And a few dogs,Yeah. And a few dogs.
Danielle Cobo: Yeah. And a few dogs.
Felix Bertram: Yes. You're so right. And, and since then that helps me, I mean, still today I have a lot of problems and a lot of challenges and struggles on a totally different level, of course. And as you said, first world problems, but I tendto be sad about it or angry or, divested, whatever my feeling is at that moment, but then I'm very quickly back to work And move ahead and find solutions. think you're totally right. Don't fall into the position of a victim. Find solutions. go ahead. And from today's perspective, almost everything worked out fine. And the most important thing you have is your health. And I think that's the only thing you really have to care about.
So,
Danielle Cobo: gratitude for what we have. And when setbacks or challenges or trials and tribulations occur, it's an opportunity to take a step back and go, okay, what solutions, what are the resources that are available? What solutions can I look into and possibly explore to get me past this
Felix Bertram: challenge?
Absolutely. And, always think of is this problem of importance for me in a few weeks or in a few months or in a year time. And when I look back on all my big challenges in life, most of them turned out to be a success in the end. I can give you an example. we supposed to open the restaurant last year in January, and then Bad news kicked in because the construction was delayed and the budget went 2 million above budget.
And we were close to broke. And, I was sitting in the kitchen and crying and I had no idea where to move on. And there was no silver lining, at the horizon. And then four months later, we were awarded with two Michelin stars from zero, which is unique in the world. and this, got the attention of the shark tank production company and they came in for dinner and they met me and that was the reason I came on shark tank.
So a very bad situation moved in a super success. And I can give you many of these examples because one door closes, but another one opens usually. That's my experience.
Danielle Cobo: I like how, what you said is, how is this going to affect me? Within the next week, within the next couple of months, within the next couple of years.
And how can we look at these situations, say, is it a door closing or are we being directed towards something different? Is there another door opening? And in your situation, you're in the kitchen, you're sitting down on the ground. You feel like you've just failed. I would imagine saying you've lost all this money.
We're not going to be able to open to then turn that around get the two Michelin stars, which I understand is a foodie. that is a worldwide global big accomplishment. We finally just got a Michelin star restaurant where I live and I'm very excited to eat at it soon. So to go from there and then all of a sudden new doors that I would imagine you probably didn't even anticipate opening started to open.
Felix Bertram: That happens all the time. And currently in the same, in a similar situation, uh, to be very honest, during COVID, beauty treatments were booming. And since COVID or all the restrictions stops and inflation raised up and interest rates, went up, we are struggling with selling all these.
beauty treatments, right? And we have a bunch of employees, but all of a sudden a new door opens. Now we're collaborating with a local hospital and they renting into our operation rooms. And now they found out that our billing system is much better. So we made a new agreement on taking over all the billing.
So, everything leads into a new branch or a new. street or however name it. But that's the interesting part of life. If you curious, if you're moving forward, there always will be a door opening for you that.
Danielle Cobo: That moment, if you're saying that you all of a sudden, I came from the beauty industry, I came from the medical aesthetic industry.
So you and I share that similar background in different capacities. And yeah, that the aesthetic industry was booming during the pandemic. We were all on zoom all of a sudden, we're all looking at each other in this. screen and going, Hmm, there's things in there. I didn't notice before.
So yeah, it was, up, but to then go through that decline with any, as a business owner, our businesses go up and down and up and down and up and down. It's very rare. Do you see a business be completely steady or, progressively growing up going up in revenue, but to then look at it and say, okay, there's some shifts in the industry.
How can I be creative? And look for a way to subsidize or look for a different avenue to get the business back on track. And I believe that there's a lot of people out there and some of the reasons why businesses fail or is because we get caught in that. Well, this isn't working. I'm going to shut my doors or I just put my hands up instead of saying.
I'm experiencing a challenge in life. And what are some possible solutions? Can I look to change the outcome? I'm experiencing a challenge in my business. Where are possible creative ways to add new revenue streams with the business, but whatever it is, this resounding approach that you have, which is.
I'm going to recognize it and I'm going to explore it. I'm going to look for solutions. I'm going to look for ways to move forward. I am not going to be powerless. I'm going to be powerful. I'm going to have that grit and resilience to keep going after what you want and what you're interested in and passionate about.
Felix Bertram: I think that's entrepreneurship. And, I don't know if you realized that we had this event called inner circle with 50 attendees from all over the world. it's not a typical, injection, masterclass or so it's like four days coming together here in Switzerland, talking about struggles and how to overcome them and how to be creative and.
I have this one presentation where I'm only talking about options they all have who is speaking about longevity You could be a coach in time management. There's so many options for all these injectors out there social media coach I have seen so many med spas with lovely interior design Well make a concept out of it and sell it, you know that I would've had many ideas for these people out there.
And, but I think you have to have this mindset. You have to be open, and stop thinking only from A to B because that's only a one way street. be curious in life. And then you will see how many lovely opportunities will pop
Danielle Cobo: up. Life is not linear. Our careers are not linear.
Business is not linear. A lot of the times there's zigzags and sometimes life career and business. A lot of times it has these zigzags. We're going right. We're going left. We're sometimes going in roundabouts along the way, but ultimately, I don't know about you, but when I look back at all the trials and tribulations that I've gone through, the challenges through my life, I look back and go.
Every single challenge has shaped me into the person I am. Every single challenge has helped me prepare for this next step. I wouldn't be where I'm at today if it wasn't through the experiences that I went through in the past. Can you relate to
Felix Bertram: that? Absolutely. And I think all these experiences. Yeah.
Are really a powerful tool and skillset you have, right? and think that's the fun part of life. I started as an actor, then I studied medicine, then I was a dermatologist. Then I became more or less an entrepreneur. I'm still working as a dermatologist once a week, but mainly an entrepreneur. Then I opened the restaurant, had to work myself into this kind of industry.
And I love it. because it's always tasty and now I'm a shark tank and starting doing investments and that's fun for me as well. So I had many jobs in life and my life is constantly changing. And I think that's the interesting part, as you said, all the skill sets I. Put on myself and discover it over life by helping me today to understand to understand businesses, to understand life, to know you can be calm when a crisis arises because it will disappear if you do the right steps, if you wait for the right opportunity.
So I agree. Absolutely. I'm relating to that. Absolutely. Yeah.
Danielle Cobo: Well, before we wrap up our episode, what is one word of advice or some advice that you would share with our listeners? They're sitting in, they're listening to this episode and they're going, wow, this, Felix has gone through so much throughout his life and has turned these situations into these triumphs in so many different avenues of business, your career and life.
what word of wisdom would you share with them?
Felix Bertram: Invest in memories.
Danielle Cobo: Hmm. Elaborate on this one a little.
Felix Bertram: Yeah. Invest in memories. I didn't like this wording, work-life balance because work and life is for me the same. I'm one of these lucky guys who love being with my dogs, but who loves doing business.
Although I have hard days and struggling days and days, I'm crying. it's all there, but. In the end, it's all investing in memories. And once I will come to the end of my life, I will look back on a rich life of many, many experience having a talk, or giving a TED talk, being on stage somewhere, giving masterclasses running business, opening a restaurant, traveling the world.
I love this and this makes me a rich person. I
Danielle Cobo: love that investing in memories. Yes. Well,Well, where can our listeners find your TED talk? They can follow you on social media, share with us where they can find you.
Felix Bertram: Thank you so much. Yes. My TED talk is on YouTube. It's called the ugly face of beauty. You could find me on Instagram.
Dr. Felix Bertram, D. R. Felix Bertram, something like that. If I find that out, we put it in the captions. And, I have a podcast as well called Aesthetics Biz. I hope I can have you there as well one day.
Danielle Cobo: Oh, I would be honored to be a guest. Absolutely.
Yeah, absolutely. So for those listening, I will include these links into the show notes. You'll be able to connect with Felix on Instagram and you'll be able to see his TEDx, which I, definitely invite you to tune in. It definitely changes the perspective on beauty. So it's really what sparked my interest in reaching out to Felix and having him as a guest on the podcast.
So thank you for tuning in. If this episode resonated with you and you believe that it could resonate with somebody else, I invite you to share this episode with your friends, your colleagues, your family, and continue to be unstoppable.