Suits & Sneakers presents: "Back from the Dead" with Joe Fleming

Suits & Sneakers hosts several events each month in Joburg, each featuring a different guest and theme. The idea is to create a space for ongoing learning that help you broaden your thinking in a fast changing world. This event will be hosted on the evening of Wednesday, 4 February, at The Tryst in Kramerville, with a livestream available for those not based in Johannesburg.

WHAT IS THIS EVENT ALL ABOUT?

This grounded, live conversation with Joe Fleming is about how people slowly lose their footing in life, often without realising it, and what it actually takes to build and rebuild well over time. Most people don’t wake up one day with everything suddenly falling apart. It usually happens gradually, through small compromises, avoided conversations, unexamined identities, and environments that no longer serve us.

Whether someone is struggling openly or functioning well on the surface, the underlying mechanics are often the same. Joe Fleming’s life offers a rare and honest lens into that process.

From the outside, Joe fits a familiar societal mould. He is tall, tattooed, bearded, physically capable, with a military background and a love of motorcycles and adventure. His life looked full and functional. And yet, just over a year ago, Joe sat alone in his truck with two tanks of propane running, having made the decision to take his own life. In what he describes as a near miracle, he woke up hours later, still alive, faced with a choice, and chose not to follow through.

This interview with Joe is not a dramatic retelling of that night, and it’s not a motivational talk about overcoming adversity. Instead, the conversation uses Joe’s lived experience to explore how identity, environment, responsibility, and avoidance quietly shape all of our lives, whether we’re in crisis or simply drifting on autopilot.

The conversation also touches on perspective. As an American who moved to South Africa for love and chose to stay, Joe brings an outsider’s view of this country. On the night, he’ll share why many of the things locals often experience as limitations or frustrations are, from his perspective, part of what makes South Africa such a unique and valuable place to live.

We’ll talk about mental health honestly, without romanticising it, and about suicide without sensationalism. We’ll explore why vulnerability often fails in the spaces we expect it to work, why insight doesn’t automatically lead to change, and why building the right environments often matters more than saying the right words.

This is the opposite of a polished success story. It’s a raw look at what it actually takes to course correct, take responsibility, and build a life strong enough to carry the weight of real life. This is an event for anyone who wants to think more clearly about how they’re living, not just why.

MORE ABOUT JOE FLEMING

Joe Fleming is a US military veteran who has lived in South Africa for over a decade. After serving in Iraq, he worked in corporate roles in the United States before moving to South Africa for love, a decision that would fundamentally reshape his life. Since settling here, Joe has built multiple businesses, including adventure based motorcycle experiences across Southern Africa, and has become known for his “So here in South Africa” social content, where he shares an outsider’s perspective on the country’s food, landscapes, and way of life.

In recent years, Joe has spoken openly about his mental health journey, including a suicide attempt and his subsequent diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Since then, he has focused on rebuilding his life with honesty and responsibility, and on creating healthier environments for others through initiatives like his men’s walks, which offer space for connection without performance or pressure. Joe is not a professional speaker. He is someone who has lived through collapse, taken responsibility for rebuilding, and is willing to speak honestly about what that process actually looks like.

SPONSORS & PARTNERS

This Suits & Sneakers event is proudly brought to you by EasyEquities, SA Future Trust, and the many small business owners that are Suits & Sneakers members. Together, we have created a support structure for small business owners and our collective goal is to grow the economy, while lowering unemployment. More about that on the night.