After surviving a shark attack and losing one of his legs in the process, a young man from Cape Town is setting his eyes on the Paralympics to inspire others.

Caleb Swanepoel from Pinelands, who was attacked by a great white shark at Buffelsbaai June 2015, thought he was going to die, but a new script was being written for the drama and performance student who graduated at UCT last week.

While he is keen to test himself on the Shakespeare circuit in London, there are other opportunities.

Since the shark attack he’s gone back into the water, excelling at surfing and swimming. He won his division in the International Surfing Association (ISA) Adaptive Surfing Championships and is eyeing the world championships in California.

Swanepoel says as a differently-abled swimmer he qualified for Western Province and competed in the national championships for 3 years in a row since 2016.

Now he has his sights set on the 2020 Japan Paralympics.