Her feet were boiled for 10 minutes(Image: Jam Press/@katekomleva)
A woman who suffered devastating burns has shared her next challenge – becoming a pro surfer. Katya Komleva was told her chances of survival were around 50% after a horrifying accident left her legs burnt and most of her toes needing to be amputated.
The 34-year-old spent 47 days in intensive care, and her family were told to prepare for the worst. Her recovery was long and hard, having spent two years in hospitals, confined to a wheelchair, due to her injuries.
Katya had been out partying with three friends at a nightclub when they were told the venue was closing due to “technical reasons” and everyone was told to make their way to the doors.
The first one to the doors, guards let Katya exit the building and she stepped into the foggy night, onto the wet pavement outside. “I kept walking pretty fast toward the main road to get a taxi,” Katya, who is based in Mexico, told NeedToKnow.
She continued: “After a few steps, I suddenly felt extreme pain, unlike anything I had ever experienced in my life. If pain is something we usually describe as a headache or stomach discomfort, what I felt in that moment was something completely different.
“Absolutely wild, overwhelming, and impossible to adapt to. I realised I was walking in water up to my ankles, but I couldn’t tell whether it was extremely hot or extremely cold.
“There was zero visibility because the fog was so thick that I couldn’t even see my own hands or body. Driven by instinct, I kept moving forward, trying to find a way out.”
That night, an underground pipe filled with boiling water had exploded just meters away from where Katya exited the building. She was trapped in the rising 90 C water, screaming for help.
Katya, who was just 20 at the time, was stuck walking through the water, unable to see where she was going, for around 10 minutes before she finally reached a safe spot and emergency services arrived. She added: “During the first week, doctors told my father that my chances of survival were around 50%.
“At that point, they were mostly just watching to see whether my weakened body would survive. I had 8.5 toes amputated and received a lifetime disability status.”
Katya, the former CEO of marketing firm DRIM, has spent years recovering from the 2011 incident, and says she treats her body “with more love” now. Currently on a sabbatical, Katya is devoting the time to her physical recovery, surfing, and building social and charity projects.
Now, Katya is taking on a new challenge and learning to become a professional surfer. “I was supposed to spend my life in a wheelchair,” she said.
Katya said: “So when, after long and difficult training, I managed to learn how to walk again, it was never enough for me. I’ve always loved challenging the idea of physical limitations, especially after the accident.
“I became curious to try other things that seemed impossible for someone with severely damaged feet, like hiking, freediving, skating, snowboarding, wakeboarding, yoga, intensive pilates, and more.” Katya says “something magical clicked” when she first tried surfing in 2024 and she fell in love with “every single part of it”.
Her friends, fellow surfers, encouraged Katya to try it despite her concerns about her disability – and she hasn’t looked back since. Katya added: “They didn’t accept my excuses about not being able to walk or stand barefoot and basically forced me to at least try.
“I was doing really badly with balance; I couldn’t actually ride a wave without the instructor holding the board. But surprisingly, the board itself felt perfectly soft, so I could stand on it barefoot with no problem.
“What were the odds that a surfboard would be the only hard surface in the world that I could stand on barefoot? That moment alone made surfing my dream.
“I took it as a sign.” However, Katya has faced a number of challenges during her surfing journey, with dexterity and balance playing a huge part due to her injuries.
She said: “Popping up is still difficult, even after one and a half months of daily practice, because I can’t do it quickly. I have to move slowly, and waves don’t always give me the time to do it at my own pace.
“Because of limited movement in my ankles, I can’t squat properly. One of the unexpected challenges was having to change my stance.
“For more than 20 years, I snowboarded with my left foot forward, as a regular rider, and naturally, I expected to surf the same way. But because I have fewer toes on my right foot, with only two phalanges of the big toe, while my left foot still has a full big toe, I had to relearn everything and switch to a goofy stance, with my right foot in front.”
Katya also still has a number of open wounds, which she needs to bandage and clean to avoid infections, making exiting the water difficult. She regularly experiences excruciating pain in her feet, leaving her unable to walk and needing painkillers “just to make it to the beach”.
Despite this, Katya trains two to three times a day, with each session lasting around two hours. She says her biggest milestone so far has been going surfing on her own.
Katya added: “I can read the ocean, choose a wave, feel exactly how much paddling speed and power I need to catch it, pop up, ride it, and make turns, sideways and carving. My next goals are to refine these skills, start catching bigger waves, and learn how to do barrels.
“And, of course, I dream of getting my own surfboard.” She plans to continue training daily and to start participating in surfing competitions, hoping to gain sponsorships that will allow her to continue training “all day long”.
She said: “My ultimate goal is to create a charity foundation to support burn survivors, build a rehabilitation center for people with burns and disabilities, and organise charity yoga and surf camps for people with disabilities. I want to challenge the entire idea of what physical limitation really means.
“I also want to help people with scars accept their bodies and spread the concept of scar positivity. I want to help people with disabilities access sports, spiritual centers, and meaningful activities, and live fulfilled lives.”
