Ilya Samoylenko embodies strength and indestructibility, regardless of whether he is in peaceful Kyiv or on the front lines.
28-year-old defender of Azovstal, intelligence officer of the Azov Regiment Ilya Samoylenko became the face of a new campaign of the Ukrainian clothing brand Indposhiv called Indposhiv Bespoke. The corresponding photos and videos created by fashion photographer Lesha Lich appeared on the brand’s page.
“Our new campaign, Indposhiv Bespoke, is about normality – about the importance of living a normal life even under abnormal circumstances. After the start of a full-scale invasion, our customers ordered suits, explaining this with a simple desire to “wear a suit as it was in normal life.” Conditions have changed, our men have changed, their views have also transformed.But our heroes, wherever they are – on the front line or in the rear, remain those who strive for their normal life. Ilya Samoylenko, a military man from the Azov regiment with the call sign “Gandalf”, returned home after captivity and fulfilled his dream – he has an Indposhiv Bespoke suit, in which he can freely walk the streets of Kiev,” the caption to the video says.
In the frame – Ilya in an elegant suit, with a stylish haircut and beard. A sharp and self-confident look and a prosthetic left hand speak of what he experienced in the ATO, Mariupol and in captivity. Neither injury nor captivity could break the spirit of this man.
“Any struggle leads to development, with the goal of victory. Defeating yourself is the most important thing. When you have defeated yourself, everything else will be very simple for you. Everything else simply will not be any obstacle for you, because you have already won the main struggle. The spirit is strength, “measurable. It’s impossible to measure, like willpower. I tend to think that he has binary states: one or zero. Either he is or he is not. A soldier from the battlefield will not go anywhere. He will always be there, and he will always should be there. Yes, everyone has moments of such eclipses, oppression, but this does not affect anything at all. To understand your strength, you need to overcome your fear. The final result is important, who a person becomes after all this, “says the hero.
He then emphasizes that the men’s suit is an extension of the military uniform.
“The stitching, the color, the lining, the fabric, it all matters. Tradition and the fact that this is an unchanging tradition is craftsmanship, this is a craft. The work of a master, the work of a person who is fanatically dedicated to his work, a real artisan – this is a piece of history that you you put on yourself, but which does not age, this is a classic,” emphasizes Ilya.
The advertising campaign with the participation of one of the symbols of Ukrainian invincibility caused a sincere response from users who wrote a lot of kind words.
“You choose just the best of the best for the presentation of your products”, “Wow, super! Ilya is a very worthy person and really a Hero. And also a very handsome man”, “This series of photos of incredible strength and beauty,” they write in the comments.
Previously, Masi Nayem, a well-known lawyer and brother of journalist Mustafa Nayem, who was seriously wounded at the front, participated in the brand’s advertising.
Masi Nayem
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Returning to Ilya Samoylenko, we add that he went to defend Ukraine back in 2015. Despite the fact that the hero was seriously injured, this did not stop him. Instead of a hand, he was fitted with a titanium-steel mechanical prosthesis. Samoylenko quickly learned not only to use it, but also to shoot with it.
Ilya Samoilenko learned to shoot with a prosthesis
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Photo: From open sources
Before the war, Ilya studied at the Faculty of History of the Kiev National University, but did not manage to get a diploma. He is fluent in English and, during the defense of Azovstal, often turned to Western viewers, talking about what was happening.
Ilya Samoylenko was released as a result of an exchange of prisoners in September last year. According to him, he was kept in Russia in solitary confinement for 120 days and he was afraid that he would never return to Ukraine.
Focus wrote that the captured Azovstal defenders were exchanged for Putin’s godfather Viktor Medvedchuk.
