Surfer’s amazingly relaxed response to being bitten by a shark
A Florida surfer kept his relaxed attitude after being bitten by a shark, and is now surprisingly eager to get back in the water.
Charley Hajek, 62 — also known as “Gnarly Charlie” — was surfing the waves off New Smyrna Beach Sunday morning when a bull shark attacked the unsuspecting pro.
He was on day 148 of his non-stop surfing when he realized a shark was biting his left leg. Hajek reacted quickly and used an innovative technique to prevent himself from bleeding to death – using his surfboard leash as a tourniquet.
He told The Daytona Beach News-Journal: ‘It was so fast and the thrust was so powerful that when I was in his mouth for a split second, he bit me and let me go.
‘I jumped on my board and the shark must have turned around because he was scared.’
Charley Hajek, 62, was bitten by a bull shark Sunday morning on New Smyrna Beach
‘Gnarly Charley’ remained light-hearted after being bitten
His first reaction to the bite was, ‘Oh my god, I’m so lucky, he just bumped into me or something.’ When he stood up, blood started pouring from his leg.
In an animated interview with BEHajek vividly described his reaction: ‘When I even thought twice about it, it was just bam! It bit me.
“Man, it felt like I stepped on a light fixture with my foot,” he added, “It was so annoying.”
He grabbed the leash from the surfboard and wrapped it around his leg as he drove to the hospital, where he received eight stitches.
Hajek smiled for a selfie before heading to the hospital for stitches
Hajek said he didn’t realize how bad the bite was until he got out of the water
He even posted about the attack on his Facebook page before driving himself to the hospital, ridiculing the situation.
Hajek’s light-hearted retelling is misleading, as this shark attack could easily have had a more serious outcome.
The shark missed Hajek’s Achilles tendon by just half a centimeter.
This is the thick tendon that connects the muscles between the calf and the heel. Injuries to the Achilles tendon can be extremely painful and make physical activity – such as surfing – difficult or impossible.
Hajek posted a message on Facebook documenting the incident before driving to the hospital, demonstrating his relaxed demeanor
He told The Daytona Beach News-Journal: “Luckily it didn’t bite my Achilles tendon.”
But there are no hard feelings between Gnarly Charlie and the bull shark, which the surfer named Henry as a gesture of friendship.
At the hospital he was advised to take a break from surfing for six to eight days, but he plans to take only three or four days off, he said WFTV.
According to the biography on the Gnarly Charlie Surf Series website, Hajek began his surfing career in 1970 in Daytona Beach.
The 62-year-old surfing pro was on the 148th day of a surfing series when the bull shark attacked
Hajek plans to wait only three or four days before getting back in the water, even though he has been told to wait six to eight days
The pro surfer teaches and organizes surfing competitions and camps.
He won the championship title at 20 different surfing competitions between 1999 and 2023.
In all his years as a surfer, he has never been bitten by a shark.
He’s seen other surfers get bitten at New Smyrna Beach, which he calls “Shark Park,” but it never occurred to him that he himself could be attacked.
Hajek told WFTV: ‘I’m just surfing my life away. I’m carefree. I don’t have a care in the world. No responsibilities. This is it!’