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[Opening clip: TV show Sons of Anarchy]
>> Kaj Goldberg: You might recognize this bad boy from TV's Sons of Anarchy series.
He's former Pro BMX rider turn actor Kurt Yaeger.
But his success didn't come easy. He had to overcome adversity
after he lost part of his leg in a motorcycle accident.
Now he's sharing his amazing story of recovery
with us right here on KCAL 9. Welcome, Kurt. Good to see you. >>Kurt Yaeger: Thank you!
Thanks for having me. >>Goldberg: It's good to have you. I know you've been through a lot.
We'll get into that the second. But I want to congratulate you as well on all
of your success as an actor. >>Yaeger: Thank you. I'm blown away by it myself. [laughter]
>>Goldberg: Well, you shouldn't be. You're very talented.
You started off in the Tenderloin (movie), you were BMX riding and that's pretty much
you know, a long time ago but that's what lead to your injury.
Besides being an actor, what happened that day?
And how have you come forward since then?
>>Yaeger: Yeah. It was in 2006. I was involved in a motorcycle accident and a car ran me over
doing about 100 miles an hour
threw me into a guardrail, I hit a pole. Fell down a forty foot cliff.
I tore my left leg off, broke my pelvis in half, tore my bladder in half, broke seven vertebrae
collapsed my lungs, broke my right ribs, concussion and a couple other
nicks and bruises. But, spent a lot of time in the hospital
and laying in bed. I was surprised.
I watched my family and friends rally around me. And that's what really gave me
the support to
become anything after the accident. >>Goldberg: And you did just that.
And you say it so, almost nonchalantly. But that is a whole lot for someone to go through.
>>Yaeger: Yeah, it's a bit. [laughter]
It's a bit for sure.
I mean we're all dealt...you know...a hand in life sometimes.
You just play what cards you have.
So for me this was maybe the pinnacle? Maybe it was just the beginning of
the saga of whatever is coming. Um, I don't know.
But, it's the cards I was dealt. So I'm just playing the hand. >>Goldberg: Great.
Well you've turned it into a great role in Sons of Anarchy, Greg the Peg. >>Yaeger: Yeah.
>>Goldberg: I love that character. It was killed off. >>Yaeger: Yeah. [Background: Sons of Anarchy clip]
>>Goldberg: But you had a good time...there's some video of you there.
>>Yaeger: Yeah. >>Goldberg: Was it fun? Was this a really
fun transition for you? >>Yaeger: This is absolutely fantastic
because, you know I ride motorcycles in real life. >>Goldberg: Yeah. >>Yaeger: So it was nice to ride to set on a motorcycle.
Change into wardrobe, which was just jeans and a t-shirt. [laughter]
To ride another motorcycle.
I mean there is nothing better than that. >>Goldberg: Nothing. And look at the talented actors your with
Ron Perlman right there.
>>Yaeger: Funniest guy I think I've ever met. >>Goldberg: [laughter] >>Yaeger: He's hands down...he's cracking up for a second there...like
Okay we need you, Ron. Boom.
Into character. Back into scary. >>Goldberg: Wow. >>Yaeger: Oh, it's so good to watch him act.
>>Goldberg: That's great. Speaking of motorcycles, you did something amazing.
You were in Africa, you just returned... >>Yaeger: Yeah.
and you toured basically. Yourself and a professional photographer. >>Yaeger: Yeah.
What was your experience like? How did you find the culture?
I was blown away by everybody. [Background: rushing waterfall] Specially the kids.
They were such amazing little guys.
I would get to spend time with them
in each village that we went to. I was blown away by their character,
their kindness, their sweetness, their eagerness to just wanna talk to you hang out.
I would tell anyone to go visit.
It blew me away. Absolutely. >>Goldberg: And you showed them your prosthetic?
>>Yeager: Yeah. I showed them. >>Goldberg: You were with them.
What did they think about that? >>Yaeger: Well, they were blown away by this...
This is the Veri-flex XE Rotate, by Ossur.
Here, you can check this out. >>Goldberg: Yeah. >>Yaeger: I actually showed this to them while I was in Africa.
The little kids we're just looking at it. Just amazed. Like...I can't even believe your
able to walk. Let alone ride a motorcycle.
This one kid in the background goes, "leg of metal". >>Goldberg: Oh wow. >>Yaeger: I said "Yes, it's a leg of metal".
They were fascinated. I was fascinated with them.
It was a two way street. >>Goldberg: And you talked about the respect, the culture, you had
thousands of dollars worth of equipment on your trip. >>Yaeger: Yeah. >>Goldberg: That's Great. You just parked the motorcycles...
>>Yaeger: Yeah. Goldberg: Left the keys in the ignition and went on.
>>Yaeger: Yeah. We just parked motorcycles, dropped loads and left it as is. And nobody touched anything.
And that, I couldn't even do that in my own garage here.
>>Goldberg: [laughter] >>Yaeger: You know, I'm worried about it at night. >>Goldberg: [laughter]
We left the keys in the ignition, our helmets, everything everywhere.
Nothing was touched anywhere, ever. >>Goldberg: That's amazing. >>Yaeger: Absolutely amazing. >>Goldberg: Well Kurt, you are an inspiration to all of us.
>>Yaeger: Thank you. >>Goldberg: We appreciate all you do. And again those travels, amazing.
I'm sure you've got a lot of wonderful things ahead of you my friend.
>>Yaeger: Yeah. Thank you very much. I hope so. [laughter]
>>Goldberg: You do. [laughter] You do. And for more information on Kurt and his movies just had to our website
kcal9.com and click "Seen on TV".