About Bern

Having been disabled from birth, as a result of cerebral palsy, Bern often come across the ‘no, you can’t do that!’ attitude. Well, challenged by this Bern adopted the “I can and I will”. To date Bern has bungy jumped off Blaauwkranz bridge and even been paragliding, climbed Mt Kilimanjaro in his wheel chair twice, the first time making it to the Uhuru summit and second time to Gillmans. A challenge that has captured his imagination for years.

He wasn’t always able to, or for that matter willing to follow his dreams. It took 16 years for him to come to terms with the limits of his disability and to formulate the desire to overcome them. It was a mental attitude that needed to change. At 16 years of age, he learnt to sit independently, before this he didn’t do much for himself, and this is when he realized that he would be able to achieve most things that he set his mind on. He became someone with aspirations and the abilities to fulfill his potential.

After achieving his Matric exemption and he is proud to have been South Africa’s first wheelchair bound exchange student. Bern was fortunate to spend his exchange year in New York and spent some time traveling America giving motivational talks.

Bern qualified with a B.Compt in Accounting in 1999 but after working in the accounting environment as a tax consultant and financial consultant. Bern realized the incredible message he could share with others and his passion for talking has led him towards motivating others. Hence Get Motivated was born.

The doctors always told his mother that he would be reliant on her all of his life. Well, he has certainly proved them wrong. On returning from America he passed his drivers license, bought a car, lived on his own and has achieved about as much independence as any able bodied person.

Bern has had the need to explore the adventurous side of life! Extreme sports are not for the faint hearted and most people believe are only for able bodied people too, well, that’s not true. Quad biking, driving snowmobiles, micro-lighting and even abseiling, he’s done and enjoyed it all. He went on to embark on his most demanding venture first in 2003 and again in 2005. Mountaineering may not seem like an extreme sport for able-bodied people, but from a wheel chair, climbing Mt Kilimanjaro was an immense challenge.

A venture of this immensity took incredible commitment and support. As a disabled person, he had to learn that no matter what he does, he will always require an effective “team” around him.

He believes that his triumphs like this will serve as an inspiration to other people, disabled and able bodies alike, to chase their dreams and enjoy a vibrant, successful and full life.

Bern’s biggest mission in life is to encourage others to conquer their limits and live their dreams. The sense of achievement that he has felt cannot be expressed in words, only into the action of motivating others to achieve, so they can feel the sense themselves.