This is what happened to Samuel Koch ten years after the “Wetten, dass ..?”

The desire to be the king of betting in «Wetten, dass ..? it almost cost him his life. Ten years ago, Samuel Koch was seriously injured in a somersault on a moving car. He has been in a wheelchair ever since and still leads an active life.

Russia, Israel, Palestine, India, Canada, South Africa, Hawaii – such a list of future holiday destinations is ambitious even for people without handicaps. For Samuel Koch – from his accident ten years ago on the TV show “Wetten, dass ..?” paralyzed from the neck down – nothing seems impossible.

The 33-year-old lists the places he and his wife Sarah Elena Timpe want to know. “We have shared passions that unite us, including travel,” says Koch, who has made a career as an actor and author of books. The “Samuel Koch und Freunde” association he founded supports people who are committed to helping others. No trace of resentment, self-pity or withdrawal, instead a desire for life, curiosity and enthusiasm for action.

Originally, he just wanted to skip a Smart

Let’s remember the fateful day: On December 4, 2010, Koch appeared in the popular ZDF entertainment program “Wetten, dass ..?” above. His bet: using the spring-loaded stilts to jump at least three out of five cars and approach him with somersaults in four minutes. His original idea was much smaller than the variant for the Düsseldorf hall. As a bigger obstacle, the blond man with the striking blue eyes initially wanted to skip a small car from the Smart brand. Eventually it became a large limo.

Is anyone to blame for the dramatic fall that millions of viewers and their families have witnessed on the spot? “Yes,” Koch says firmly, “I hold someone responsible – relatively unreservedly myself.” He does not want to assume that he is judging others. He felt well prepared: “It wasn’t risky for me, I could have done it blindfolded. It was as safe as driving a tram. “

The sports and exercise fanatic has already moved from the closet to his parents’ bed at the age of six, was accepted into an artistic gymnastics group and at the age of 13 attended an acting and acrobatics school for children. He didn’t really like acting then. “I found it much more exciting to let myself be set on fire or fall from a skyscraper onto a cushion of air.”

Ten years later, the little boy turned into a big daredevil, who proved his audacity on December 4, 2010 at “Wetten, dass ..?” I want to demonstrate. Koch and his team trained for five months with hundreds of jumps and meticulous timing. The first jump succeeds. The muscular competitive athlete comes off at number two. Easily takes the next car. The audience applauds him. With the fourth car, the unimaginable happened: of all, the lowest car, perfectly steered by his father, crashed with its head on the edge of the roof and then stood motionless on the hard floor.

The son of a computer scientist and an operating room nurse, who grew up in Efringen-Kirchen in southern Baden, sums it up as follows: “Stupidly, I fell on my head twice in a fall.” Exactly what went wrong is still a mystery to him today. Live broadcast is canceled. Thomas Gottschalk gives up moderation after more than two decades due to the accident.

The diagnosis of the Düsseldorf doctors is: two broken cervical vertebrae. A few days later, there is damage to the spinal cord due to the bleeding, which triggers the paralysis. A helmet prevented a skull fracture. After a year of treatment in a special Swiss clinic, Koch resumes his studies at the University of Music, Theater and Media in Hanover. “The fascinating thing about theater is that you can tear people out of everyday life and at the same time transport yourself to other worlds,” says Koch, who is now a permanent member of the Mannheim National Theater.

For a great TV role in the conversation

Compared to television, theater can use more abstract and creative means and offers more space for actors with disabilities, says Koch. He is involved in a production of Hermann Hesse’s “Steppenwolf” at the National Theater in Mannheim as a cerebellum in an oversized brain. Koch can also be seen in film and television films such as “Honig im Kopf” or “Sturm der Liebe”. While filming the “Storm of Love” series, chef Sarah meets Elena Timpe, an actress who is a flight attendant on a part-time job. The couple will marry in 2016. Koch is currently in discussion for a major role on TV.

What did you learn from the accident? “Today I would pay more attention to my instincts,” says Koch. He had doubts every now and then on his way to the concert. There was, for example, the fear of annoying his gym teacher or of discrediting himself for his studies. “I just didn’t want to make a monkey out of myself.”

On the other hand, there was much talk in favor of his participation at the time: with a victory like a betting king he could have financed the theatrical studies he had already started and after years of exhausting coexistence between school, training and work, he could rest. Koch decides to perform, thus also ignoring the warnings of his mother Marion, which he dismissed as “the usual maternal noise”.

Anyone who has experienced something traumatic may also ask the deeper reasons and want to know why it affected it. “Yes, I quarreled with God. However, I remain a believer and a hope.” He has the answer to humanity’s most important question: why are we in the world? – found in faith. “We are not there to fulfill ourselves, but to being there for each other and to take care of each other, “says the Christian. Intensive support from parents, three younger siblings and friends immediately after the fall was a life-saving measure.

December 4th remains a difficult day for him

Koch is convinced that his paralysis can regress. “I feel more today than in the first phase after the accident.” Neurological research is relatively young and its potential has not yet been exhausted. He hopes to get out of his electric wheelchair sooner or later. Until then, he keeps his body in shape with the help of physiotherapists and special training equipment, not just for himself and for the theater, but in preparation for possible medical advances.

December 4th will always be a difficult day for Koch. How he will spend it this year is still unclear. “Let’s go somewhere,” suggested his wife. What the two of them know exactly is that the next day they will celebrate Koch’s father’s 65th birthday.

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