People of JAT: The story of Kristijan Tramte

Sometimes life returns in the most unexpected places. After the darkest period of his life — when a suicide attempt in 2019 left him without his right leg, his right hand and his left palm — Kristijan had to rebuild everything from zero. After a long physical and mental recovery, he found something that gave him purpose again: running.

In 2025, he completed his first trail run at the Julian Alps Trail Run by UTMB. With a prosthetic leg. Without one arm and one palm. With a level of discipline and determination you rarely see. Running was never part of the plan. It arrived by accident — in a moment of crisis. When his friend suffered an epileptic seizure, Kristijan ran for help. Several hundred meters. With a body missing two limbs. Instinct, adrenaline, reaction. Something shifted inside him that day. The next morning, he told himself: “There’s something here. I need to try again.”

In the interview, he talks about climbing out of complete darkness, about the slow return from depression, about what kept him standing, and how he found a rhythm that wasn’t based on results — but on brutal honesty with himself. On the desire to push limits, especially the ones in his mind.

His first trail run wasn’t a race. It was a test: run 10 kilometers and cross that finish line. Running with a prosthesis doesn’t forgive mistakes. It demands focus, patience, and stubbornness. His story is a reminder that you can rise from the deepest darkness, face it, and reshape your life. Running became the way he did that.

We invite you to watch the interview.