Former World Tour surfer and big-wave pioneer Mike ‘Snips’ Parsons has survived a near death experience surfing the treacherous Ocean Beach in San Francisco.

On the 20th January (while the Mavericks Invitational was on) the rangy natural-footer was held up in the lip of a triple overhead beast that proceeded to pile drive him into the flats below.

The impact broke his neck at the C7 vertebrae and dislocated his shoulder, leaving the Southern Californian local at the mercy of other surfers around him.

Snips, who had driven up to San Fran on with friends Taylor Knox and Garth Tarlow, was one of the first to paddle out in the middle of the beach at 7:00am on the Sunday.

“It was amazing out there, I was having the best time; everyone was getting waves,” Snips told Surfline. “I was having a blast. About four hours into the session, I was looking for one in, and a nice set was coming. I paddled for the third wave, thinking I’d get in a little early with a chip shot out the back.”

Turned out to be not the case. “I thought I was into it, then suddenly realized I wasn’t. I took two more strokes and tried to stand up in what turned out to be the lip. I free fell, and remember my feet hitting my board for a second, then my head hit the water really hard.”

Hard enough to get serious whiplash and crack the C7 vertebrae in his neck. “I thought I was paralyzed under water,” he said. “I had that crazy tingly feeling. My right arm worked a little bit, but it felt like it was dangling; like it had been ripped off my body ‘cause I had no feeling.”

Mike was swiftly rescued and is expected to make a full recovery.

Snip’s is one of the good guys and Tracks wishes him all the best for his recuperation.