When Kody Smith heard thieves kicking in his back door, his first instinct was to grab his cell phone.

"I was about to call 911," said Smith. "Right there, it died on me."

It was 2:30 a.m. CST on Saturday. Two men wearing bandanas burst into the home Smith rents on Avenue B North, demanding cash.

In a news release, Saskatoon police said the first suspect is described as six foot two and 280 pounds. The second man is described as five foot six and 150 pounds.

Smith said the taller robber was carrying a chrome pistol, the shorter one held a machete. Naked, he reached for his wallet and gave them the $400 he was carrying along with his debit card.

'She knew I had money hidden in the basement'

The tall thief pointed a pistol at him, and told him that wasn't enough.

"They were convinced the money was in the house and they were going to get it one way or another," said Smith.

Smith buys cars at auction, fixes them and re-sells them. He suspects his decision to break up with a new girlfriend the day before may have turned him into a target.

"She knew I had money hidden in the basement and was going to an auction," said Smith. "I think that's what triggered the events happening that night."

He said he's certain he knows one of his attackers.

'Don't you run'

Smith said once the robbers broke in, he knew the odds were against him if he didn't get out of bed.

"I needed a fighting chance," he said. "I kept asking just let me put my pants on."

"You can't trust people, even your best friends will turn on you sometimes," said Kody Smith. (CBC\Don Somers)

One man walked to the basement trapdoor, asking Smith where the light switch was.

At that point, Smith took a few steps from his bed, to flick the basement light switch near the back door.

"The bigger guy, he's standing against the door and this guy's huge, holding a machete, he looks at me and says 'don't you run'."

"I grabbed the machete by the blade," said Smith. "It wasn't even like a conscious thought, I just did it."

That's when Smith's adrenaline kicked in.

"If they'd kept me in that house they'd either kill me right then and there, or let me bleed out." - Kody Smith

"I'm holding onto that blade trying to wrestle this guy," said Smith. "I knew I had to grab the machete to stop him from swinging at me.

Then he heard a noise from the basement, and turned just in time for the second assailant to pistol-whip him twice in the forehead.

"When I got hit in the head I was just dazed but my survival instincts said just keep going, don't give up," Smith said. "If they'd kept me in that house they'd either kill me right then and there or let me bleed out."

"I was lucky he didn't cut my wrist off," said Smith. (Submitted by Cody Smith)

As he fought to reach the back door, he said the taller robber sliced at his hand with the machete.

"I was lucky he didn't cut my wrist off, it was so severe," said Smith, who later underwent surgery at St. Paul's Hospital to sew the tendons back together.

"I managed to somehow push my way through these two guys, I get out [into the backyard], I'm butt naked, no socks on, no shoes, I'm freezing, it's cold, it's three in the morning."

Naked, with outdoor temperatures hovering around the freezing mark, Smith ran up Avenue B North, begging anyone he could find for help.

At the fourth house he tried, he found shelter and a neighbour willing to call the police.

"It was traumatic," he said. "I honestly thought I was going to get frostbite and my toes were going to fall off."

He's since posted photos from that night on his Facebook account, and has seen numerous comments about the way he handled the situation.

Smith said a number of people have said he should keep a weapon next to his bed. He disagrees.

"If you were to go grab a weapon when someone's barging in on your house like that, right away they're going to chop you," he said. "I stayed calm and I knew that I needed to make them feel like the bigger guys."

Kody Smith underwent surgery at St. Paul's Hospital following the home invasion. He has not slept at his home since the attack. (Submitted by Kody Smith)

Smith said the same thing could happen to anyone after a relationship sours.

"I don't party, I don't drink, I don't do drugs, I don't smoke" he said, noting he moved to Saskatoon in March and does not know many people.

"You can't trust people, even your best friends will turn on you sometimes," he said. "At the end of the day you don't know what people's motives are."

Police say they are still investigating, and no arrests have been made.

They're asking anyone with information about the home invasion to contact the Saskatoon Police Service at 306-975-8300 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.