From seizures to sourdough: how one man rebuilt his life

Free Malaysia Today

Jonathan Leon Lim, founder and managing director of Bray Bakery, talks about the resilience and belief that helped him overcome life’s many setbacks.   📍Bray Bakery  #G-02, Menara See Hoy Chan,  374, Jalan Tun Razak,  50400 Kuala Lumpur   Operation Hours:  8am - 6pm daily   Story by: Sheela Vijayan  Shot by: Hizami Safri  Presented by: Andrea Edmonds  Edited by: Maheshan Morgan   Read More:  https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/leisure/2026/01/16/from-seizures-to-sourdough-how-one-man-rebuilt-his-life   Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com  Follow FMT on Facebook: https://bit.ly/49JJoo5  Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM  Follow FMT on X: https://bit.ly/48zARSW  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/48Cq76h  Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3uKuQFp  Follow FMT Berita on TikTok: https://bit.ly/48vpnQG  Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/42VyzMX  Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/42YytEb  Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/42WrsUj  Follow FMT on WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/49GMbxW  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Download FMT News App:  Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46  App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ  Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP   #FMTLifestyle

Transcript

00:00On the first day of his SPM examination, teenager Jonathan Leon Lim suffered a seizure.

00:08More followed in the years after.

00:10Then doctors discovered he had a brain tumour.

00:13At 24, he underwent surgery to remove the tumour, but this left him paralysed on one

00:18side.

00:20He also lost the ability to speak.

00:22Yet, while in the hospital, Lim made two observations that stayed with him throughout

00:28the years.

00:29I met this guy who had everything in the world.

00:32He was so successful, but in a few months I was there like no one would see him.

00:37I saw them and then I saw one more, it's like very poor family, got brain cancer, got growth.

00:45And all of them, you know, the children, the wife all love him so much.

00:51Lim also witnessed how doctors worked together, consulting with each other to diagnose and

00:57treat his condition.

00:59Years later, these lessons converged in an unlikely place.

01:04Lim eventually regained his mobility, although his speech took longer to return.

01:10Forced to give up his job in advertising, he began baking sourdough bread at home.

01:16And what began quietly in his kitchen soon grew into a small business, when his mother's

01:22friends began placing orders.

01:23When I gave it to them, and they were so joyful, you know, everything all then, only then I actually

01:33knew like, oh, this is what my passion is about.

01:36It's about serving.

01:37It's about spreading joy, empowering someone.

01:41It's the act behind cooking.

01:44He later partnered with four others to launch Bray Bakery, featuring sourdough bread in its

01:50many forms.

01:53But unresolved business conflicts caused his partners to pull out later.

01:58Drawing on lessons learned from his time in hospital about valuing people and the importance

02:04of teamwork, Lim pressed on with a team of mostly young adults.

02:08Today, Bray Bakery has three outlets, with more in the pipeline.

02:15At its core, Lim wants his bakery to be a place where his team can learn, grow, and create

02:21something meaningful together, focusing on what matters most, their hearts.

02:26Skill is always can be learned, but heart cannot, you cannot teach someone to like, change.

02:33But, if the heart is for the people, that is what I am finding.

02:39As Lim reflects on his journey, he returns to one word, belief.

02:43Without it, you cannot, you need to, every person need to have some sort of belief to break

02:50through the mindset.

02:53Andrea Edmonds and Sheila Vijayan, FMT.

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