A man who was set alight after being doused with petrol at the age of 10 has said his burns have changed his life for the better.
When he was in fourth grade, Justin Brazil, now 36, had petrol poured onto him by a school bully and was set on fire - leaving him with second and third degree burns on 53 per cent of his body.
After being rushed to hospital, Justin 'died' three times, fell into a coma for three weeks and, upon waking up, started the grueling eight year journey where he had 64 reconstructive surgeries.
Whilst on the road to recovery, Justin, from Memphis, Tennessee, battled with depression and couldn't bear to look at himself as he said he 'looked like a monster'.
But 26 years later, Justin has now turned his agony into motivation and travels around the country as a motivational speaker in hope that his story will help others.
Justin said: "Me and the school bully had been in fights previously, and one day he threw a cup of petrol over me and struck a match.
"I was on fire, started running and my brother and friend put the fire out. I walked back for a quarter of a mile back to my house and when I got there, an ambulance was called.
"The next thing I remember, I was lying in a hospital bed surrounded by 'Get Well Soon' balloons. I grabbed one, looked into it and in the reflection I could see my burns - I looked like a monster.
"When I woke up, I started my extensive reconstructive surgery journey and within eight years I had had 64 surgeries to try and cover my burns.
"I spent years hating my appearance - to the point of being suicidal - so at 31 I decided enough was enough and I needed to turn this into something positive."
After leaving hospital, Justin returned to school where the bullying continued - however as he grew up and had more surgeries his mindset started to change.
He said: "When I first left hospital I couldn't go outside for five years because my skin couldn't be exposed, so I would have to wear a suit and a mask.
"When I eventually went back to school the children would bully me, and when I would go out in public adults would point and laugh at me because of how I looked.
"But as the years went on, things started to get different. I started to read comic books and decided that surviving the fire was my super power.
"With the right attitude, life started to become something that I didn't think it would be - I even went to prom with two girls!"
When he graduated from high school, Justin then joined the military and served for six years before returning to his home town.
Upon his return, Justin decided to take what happened to him and turn it into something positive and in June 2014, he began motivationally speaking to inspire others.
He said: "I decided to forgive my bully for what he did to me because I realised that he helped me to find my purpose in life.
"Since I started to have a better outlook on what happened to me I have helped many people.
"I feel as though sharing my story about how I turned my life around from what happened to me, can inspire others to turn their life around too.
"My friends and family have continued to support me and I have always received great feedback - to the point where I am glad of what happened to me, because if not I may not have been able to change others' lives too."
