Aussie shark attack survivor Brett Connellan launches a Stan documentary about his remarkable recovery

A surfer has revealed how a shark looked him straight in the eye before chewing off three quarters of his thigh in a vicious attack – and remembered how he miraculously survived.

in March 2016, Brett Connellan was 100 yards offshore at Bombo Beach in the tourist town of Kiama on the south coast of NSW when he was mauled by a bull shark.

The then 22-year-old Mr Connellan said he did not see the shark coming and it was only after he was thrown off his board and looked down that he saw the predator bite his leg.

“That first moment when you look down and realize what’s really going on is a surfer’s worst nightmare,” said Mr Connellan.

Seven years later, Mr. Connellan shared his story in a Stan documentary called Attacking Life that details his road to recovery and the long-term effects of his nightmare encounter.

Mr Connellan said the moment in the water felt incredibly slow despite the attack happening so quickly.

He felt like it was an out-of-body experience where he was watching himself trapped in a bubble.

He remembers the shark’s look, the feel of its skin, and the complete lack of sound he experienced during the ordeal.

“The look in the shark’s eyes is one of the most terrifying things you can look at right now, because you can’t reason with it,” said Mr Connellan.

“It’s the realization that my worst nightmare is coming true right in front of me and there’s nothing I can do about it.

“The most vivid thing I can remember is the touch and feel of the shark’s skin as I try to push it away or hold it at arm’s length. It was kind of rough, which was a strange sensation to remember.

“One of the other things that struck me was the lack of sound. It was like someone turned the sound off completely, there wasn’t even the ringing sound in the background, it was just dead silence.

“It’s like your world shrinks into a little bubble and you’re almost looking at it from the outside.”

Mr Connellan said when the shark returned to bite him a second time, it reached out to try and stop it.

The shark propelled him through the water with ‘so much power’ and in a last ditch effort for survival, Mr. Connellan pushed the shark aside and caught a wave ashore.

Mr Connellan told Daily Mail Australia he was delighted that the documentary, which premiered on March 9, is not a ‘Jaws-esque’ story.

“But when you offer your story to someone else to tell, you lose control of the things that mean the most,” he said.

“It could have been a remake of Jaws and I didn’t want that. It was important to me to do it under circumstances where I could really take in my perspective.

“Because I got bit by that shark…it took part of my leg, but it gave me so much more.”

The documentary tells how Mr. Connellan’s life was first saved by his friend Joel Trist, who heard his cries for help and carried him to shore on his surfboard.

Agie, Mr. Trist’s now-wife, who was training to be a nurse at the time, performed first aid on the shore by using the leg rope from Mr. Connellan’s surfboard as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding.

Surgeons feared that Mr. Connellan would never be able to walk again and told the young man there was a possibility his leg might need to be amputated.

However, with innovative medical care, including surgery that attached his lateral muscle of his back to his left quadriceps, the surfer was able to walk and eventually get back on his board.

“I was told I wouldn’t be able to walk and I definitely wouldn’t be able to surf,” said Connellan.

“I remember thinking I wanted to prove the doctors wrong and show them I can walk again and I ended up going so much further than that.”

The documentary follows Mr. Connellan as he tackles the physical and mental aspects of rehabilitation, as well as the ambitious goal of paddling 54 km between the Hawaiian islands of Molokai and Oahu.

Mr Connellan said he doesn’t want to be defined as the man who was attacked by a shark, but wants people to see the attack as a hook for a bigger message.

“I’m just an ordinary person, something extraordinary happened to me,” said Mr. Connellan.

‘WThey all get our version of a shark attack. There will be things that challenge us. They can challenge our personal identity, they can only challenge our physical or mental strength.

“I’d like a lot of people to not watch the shark attack per se, but look at what I’ve been through, my recovery journey, and use it as inspiration.”

The 29-year-old, who dreamed of becoming a professional surfer, now works as a keynote speaker and starts all his presentations by talking about fear.

“I always ask ‘what is your biggest fear?’ and the two most common I get is public speaking or being attacked by an animal,’ Mr Connellan said.

“One I do voluntarily, the other happened by chance, and I think the relationship between the two fears is something that has shaped my life.

“Being on stage is something that terrifies me, but knowing that my story and my experience can have an impact outweighs my fear.”

He explained that getting back in the water isn’t always 100 percent easy, but said acknowledging and understanding sharks, as well as his desire to recapture the euphoric bliss he experiences while surfing, helps.

“For me it was harder to get back in the water an unknown of how I was going to surf,” he said.

“It’s not something you can give up. It’s not so much about chasing the dream of becoming a professional surfer, I’m doing it more because I like it now.’

Mr Connellan has set his sights on another endurance challenge: Red Bull’s ‘Defiance’ event, which includes 150km running, mountain biking and kayaking across North Queensland.

Attack life is now available on Stan.