As a young man, confidence is everything; particularly when it comes to relationships. It was a shock then, when at the age of 18, Brian found out he had problems getting and maintaining an erection. During his 20s he tried a variety of medical treatments and was even prescribed Viagra, having been told his problem was probably psychological. It didn’t help though, and years passed before he was prompted to take action again.

On the radio, he heard an ad promoting erectile injections. It seemed to work at first, but gradually he began to react adversely, which ended up with him being hospitalized. Luckily for him, it was here that he heard about penile implants. On being properly introduced to the idea, he was told something which put his mind at ease: “I was hugely relieved to hear that my problem had a name, erectile dysfunction, and it was caused by a venous leak. All this time I’d thought it was psychological. Now I knew there was a solution.” 

This revelation was to have a major impact on Brian’s life. As he says himself, when asked what particularly changed for him: “One word: confidence. Professionally, personally, socially; that has made all the difference for me.”

What Brian has been through has made him acutely aware of the need for people to talk more about what can seem taboo subjects. And now, at 34 years old, he speaks from hard won experience. “What I want to emphasize about erectile dysfunction is that it’s a two-person condition – it affects you and your spouse. It’s important for your partner to understand that erectile dysfunction is a real condition. It impacts men of all ages.”

Acknowledging that it takes courage to make the first move towards proper treatment, Brian doesn’t want others to suffer in silence like he did. “If you have erectile dysfunction, don’t suffer alone and in silence. Seek help for it. See someone who specializes in erectile dysfunction – and they can provide viable solutions for you.”

Monza, Italy. May 12th 2013. Famous Italian biker, Alessia Polita crashes during the World Superbikes Championships. It leaves her paralyzed.

It takes courage and strength of character to live life in the fast lane of high-stakes motorcycle racing. And today, at the age of 34, Alessia Polita shows that she’s still a force to be reckoned with, even though she is now in a wheelchair.

From living life on the edge to learning to live life with what could feel like insurmountable challenges takes a special kind of willpower. 

The sudden change in life following her crash was difficult to handle at first. After a tough start when her perspective on life took a turn for the worse, Alessia made a conscious decision to embark on a new path and focus on other activities. The choice was a good one and soon she started to regain her positive mindset.

Acknowledging that it hasn’t been an easy journey since the accident, Alessia is now ready to get back on track: “It took a while, but now I’ve taken back control. I’m trying new things, pushing my limits again.” have a normal life too, just with some more expedients.

From a young age, Wanyong had an all-consuming passion for music - and performing at his best always demanded all his focus and attention. But in 2016, after having been diagnosed with colon cancer and undergoing ostomy surgery, Xie Wanyong felt he would never have the confidence to play music again.

Following his surgery, Wanyong struggled to come to terms with his new life. He felt confused and lost hope for the future. It was an extremely low point for him and ultimately, he became very depressed.

But with the attentive care of his wife, he gradually adapted to his new circumstances. “My wife was very supportive, especially at the beginning, and helped me to change my appliance. I simply couldn’t deal with it,” he recalls. His wife’s reassurance also helped to rekindle his confidence – and his love of music. 

Today, Wanyong fills every spare moment of his day with music; practicing at home, playing with friends or performing on stage. He now even has a dream of one day performing for his family and friends at a grand venue. Encore!

“What will my friends think?” This was Keagan’s first thought as an ostomate. Having been diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease at the age of 15, Keagan was admitted to hospital with a perforated colon and quickly underwent ostomy surgery.

Like any teenager, being able to be ‘normal’ and to fit in is really important. Being able to do all the great stuff that life offers – just like everybody else, is also a real concern. Although these thoughts were a real worry at first, and even though it hasn’t been an easy journey for her, circumstances have changed for the better for Keagan. 

Today, Keagan has established a good routine. Importantly, those around her are aware of her condition: "My stoma doesn't define me. My friends know about it and they support me. I feel comfortable when we are hanging out."

Flemming admits he hasn’t been dealt the best hand in life. But with a twinkle in his eye and an ironic sense of humour, this unique character won’t let that stop him enjoying himself and helping others. Flemming has had venous leg ulcers for many years following complications that go all the way back to when he was born pre-maturely (in fact he was technically dead at birth). He has a Factor V Leiden gene mutation, which gives him many complications, including an increased risk of venous thrombosis. 

Many years ago, Flemming burnt his leg on the exhaust pipe of his motorbike. The injury wouldn’t heal properly and developed into a serious wound. In the following years, his other leg also started to give him trouble, as ulcers became complicated due to bad venous circulation. Since then, he’s lived life with both legs heavily ulcerated from knees to ankles.

Flemming is a tough guy: Despite his wounds and a number of thromboses, he’s still a hard-worker, putting in 75 to 80 hours a week as a labourer. He has no formal education, and with typical irony he describes himself as being a ‘self-taught handyman’. He loves life and is generous with his time. As he says himself, “I would like to feature in this campaign – because maybe it can help others.” 

With the help of a Danish hospital and the right products, Flemming’s condition has improved a lot, although he still has wounds. He doesn’t walk too well, but manages to get out and about: "I love taking my boat out and I sail whenever I can. Sometimes the weather stops me, but I’ll never let my condition stop me," he grins.

Bob was an extreme sportsman, professional freestyle snow skier and stunt man. It was more than 30 years ago, when Bob severely injured his spinal cord in an accident. Today, he still pursues hobbies which challenge him physically and he is passionate about off-road hand-cycling, swimming, snorkelling and scuba diving.

But more than anything, Bob loves being a dad. He always wanted to have children, as he thinks that nothing compares to being a parent. He does, however, remember the concerns he had about being spinal cord injured and a parent at the same time: Would he be able to keep up with his daughter? Would he be able to be the dad that he wants to be?

Bob’s bowel program used to be a major concern in life. Today, he regularly uses TAI treatment, which gives him much more control. It also enables him to focus on the person in life that matters most to him: "My daughter is busy with school and friends these days, but we're still close. And when we have time together, we make the most of it," says Bob.

It was a normal day in 2013, when Mesha woke up with severe abdominal pain and bloating. He thought it was just a stomach bug. A few days later in hospital, he was diagnosed with a ruptured appendix and was put into an induced coma for 3 weeks. 

Despite there being only a 20% survival rate, Mesha woke up. But what he saw when he came around was a shock. He had gone from being a muscular 11.5 stone to a frail 6 stone. Over the next few months he started to suffer with symptoms such as severe abdominal pain, frequent toilet use, and swelling of his joints. After around 6 months of testing, He was diagnosed with Acute Ulcerative Colitis and possible Crohn’s Disease. Over the next 4 years, Mesha tried every medication. Unfortunately, none of them really worked as they should.

At the age of 26, Mesha got an ileostomy: His health improved his weight increased and he started to feel he could rebuild his former self with a little effort. Within the space of three months he was back to work, rehabilitating himself in the gym. This is when he really found a passion for helping others with his condition and he launched a blog and website: Mr.ColitisCrohns.com. 

Today, Mesha is 29 years old and works as a personal trainer, approaching the Crohn’s and Colitis world from a physiological perspective, while also being aware of the importance of the psychological impact having such a condition can have. Mesha wants to be a good role model and help others who also struggle with Crohns or Colitis. As he puts it: "I lost 35 kilos when I was ill. But I have put it all back on. I feel determined, I'm training regularly and am happy with the progression of my career.” He now wants to transfer that positive energy to others who might be struggling.

As a young girl, Stina was diagnosed with Morbus Crohn’s disease. It's an auto immune disease that attacks her intestines. Unfortunately, Stina had been dealing with mismedication throughout her childhood, and it wasn’t possible to get her disease under control. 

At the age of 23, after having battled with the disease for most of her life, she became extremely sick. Having just become a mother to her daughter Elle, her intestines were about to rupture, and she ended up having a stoma. Although Stina woke up from the operation with a feeling of happiness, purely because she’d survived - there were other worries she felt. For Stina, a big part of her identity, and who she is, is tied to her clothes. Fashion, style and self-expression were extremely important to her. 

Consequently, her new life with a stoma raised the immediate question about if she’d be able to wear whatever she likes: “Clothes are part of my identity, so I worried about what I could wear after my operation. 

Today, I still dress the way I want,” she says. Today, Stina is an influencer in Sweden and spends a lot of her energy on creating awareness around living with an ostomy. She’s an advocate for speaking freely about it, for eliminating the shame that’s often connected to it, and wants to make others more comfortable with talking about our differences. She has been on several TV shows, done a TEDx talk in Sweden and much more.

Mike was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2008, and after immediate treatment and chemo therapy he had an 11-hour surgery to get two stomas; a colostomy and a urostomy.  

Being diagnosed with cancer and getting the message that you’d soon be having two stomas was quite disrupting for Mike, who worried about smells and odour and whether he would be able to return to his normal life.  

After the surgery, however, Mike quickly realized that his first priority was to get on with his life; back to his family, back to his friends – and back to his career. As he says, it’s a new normal, but the quicker you can get on the right product and the right support, the sooner you get to the point where you can lead a normal life again. 

Today, Mike has found a solution he describes as comfortable, quiet and slim – allowing him to wear what he wants without people noticing that he has two stomas. Discretion is important for Mike who wants to continue to pursue a career without anything stopping him: "I was so glad to get back to work, it meant a lot to me. At first, I worried about my ostomy appliance, but now I'm just focused on the job."