As a surfer, your board plays multiple roles. It can be your pride and joy, your savior but it also can be your enemy or the most dangerous thing in the water. South African big wave charger Matt Bromley has experienced all of the above.

In the latest episode of his ‘Worst Wipeouts’ YouTube series, Matt shares his experience of the time his board speared him in the head after he pulled into a heaving closeout drainer at the Mexican Pipeline – Puerto Escondido.

“I paddled in, it was a beautiful smooth drop and I like held the bottom turn, pumped up and as I kind of started getting locked into the wave, I saw the kind of frothy foam in front of me and I was just thinking ‘oh no’ because you don’t want that,” he said.

As he was thrown around violently under water, he was hit in the head by his 9″6 Dave van Ginkel gun.

“It hit me so hard, my immediate thought was to try and stay awake and stay conscious.”

As he came to the surface Matt was forced to scramble out the back to avoid taking a full set on the head. The other surfers in the lineup eventually noticed the blood pouring from his eye and they paddled half a km down the beach in order to try and help find a safe spot for Matt to get in. Bromley wasn’t helped by the fact the local lifeguards tried to launch the jetski to assist, but it wouldn’t start.

Eventually Matt was taken to the hospital and was stitched up. Miraculously Matt escaped with any serious or life threatening injuries, which was surprising given the size of his cut and the damage done to his board.

For the full story, hit the link above to watch.