Yikes! Max Keliikipi Went Surfing In Hawaii — And A Shark Took A Bite Out Of His Board
Totally harshing his mellow, dude.
getty He was minding his own business, hoping to catch a few tubular waves. That's when a shark came out of nowhere and took a bite out of his board. Fortunately, no one was hurt! Who is Max Keliikipi?
Let's look at what we know about this young man, who has literally survived the impossible.
The attack happened on Makaha Beach.
According to the local NBC affiliate in Hawaii, Keliikipi was surfing on Makaha Beach when the attack happened. Makaha Beach is just outside of Honolulu. The outlet reports that Keliikipi didn't realize what was happening until it was almost too late.
Max Keliikipi initially thought he was surfing with a turtle.
"The 16-year-old grabbed his surfboard and paddled out, as he's done almost every day this summer. About 100 yards away from shore, he saw something sticking out of the water, but "blending in with the reef." Keliikipi thought it was a turtle at first, but soon realized it was a shark. So he jumped up, sitting with his feet on his board, not letting his legs dangle below the surface as easy prey for the aquatic predator," reported CNN.
He went surfing at night.
Experts say that the worst time to go surfing is at night. Not only is there a greater risk of a shark attack, but there's a greater risk that something serious could happen and no one would be able to find you.
Max Keliikipi said that he knew what to do because he's a lifeguard, and his training kicked in.
"It goes underneath the water, [and] I put my feet on top of my board. I’m just sitting there, looking around for it. And then, boom, it comes underneath me, bites my board. There is that fear factor. It was the fight or flight thing, and for me it was just flight. As soon as I hit the water, I just started swimming, and I didn’t think about where the shark was. I just had to get in [to shore]," he said.
He wasn't hurt.
Max Keliikipi was fortunately unharmed by the shark attack and has no intention of stopping his surfing.
"Despite the terrifying experience, Keliikipi said this won’t change his outlook on surfing and being in the water. “I don’t want to go inside. That’s how the sharks win.” He will, however, be a bit more mindful about his surfing decisions in the future. “Next time, I’m just gonna go in the daytime and with my friends. I’m not surfing there alone anymore," he said.
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, and photographer whose work has appeared in People, Teen Vogue, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, and more. She is also the author of The Uprising series. For more information about Bernadette Giacomazzo, click here.