As we’ve seen time and time again, when things go wrong at Pipeline, they go very wrong. Malik Joyeaux, Dusty Payne, Kalani Chapman, Evan Geiselman, Bede Durbidge, Owen Wright, Leo Fioravanti etc. etc.
The latest surfer to suffer a life-threatening beatdown at Pipe is highly regarded Pipe charger Mikey ‘Red’ O’Shaughnessy, who slammed his head on the reef and only lived to tell the tale thanks to his helmet taking the brunt of the impact, and the quick actions of friends in the lineup in getting Mikey to shore and reviving him.
Billy Kemper witnessed the wipeout from the water and told Hawaii News Now, “When I seen him fall, I knew he was in a really critical position. I was talking to Koa Rothman and was like c’mon Mikey, pop up, pop up and after two waves of him not surfacing, I said Koa let’s go and I just started paddling as fast as I could towards him.”
Honolulu Ocean Safety Lifeguard Kyle Foyle was also in the water at the time and managed to help Mikey to shore and begun resuscitation on the unconscious Mikey.
“I did about two compressions on him when he started spitting up and breathing on his own and kind of opening his eyes, but at that time, he was out. Luckily, he was wearing a helmet. If he hadn’t been wearing a helmet, I’m pretty sure it would have been another incident we’ve had in the past where we’re picking up pieces.”
Billy Kemper has possession of Mikey's board and helmet after the incident and told Hawaii News Now, “I have the helmet here and his board and by the looks of that helmet, both sides of his temple, the helmet is blown open and cracked. So if that happens to a helmet, do the math and you can understand what would have happened to his head on the reef.”
The good news is that Mikey is recovering well in hospital and even took to Instagram later that afternoon to give a status update.
We’ve got a feeling the share price of Gath is about to spike.
