California surfer gives harrowing account of Great White shark attack
A California surfer has given a harrowing account of his gruesome Great White shark attack following his brush with death.
Michael 'Jared' Trainor, 33, was catching waves off a remote Ferndale beach in October 2022, when his 'worst nightmare' became a reality.
Trainor was suddenly launched into the air by a massive 16-foot-long great white shark, weighing over 1,000 pounds, that was lurking beneath the surface.
He recounted his near-death experience, which left him severely injured, to Fox News Digital on Monday.
'It's crazy to me that this was a couple of years ago already, but it was midday and I had been surfing this area for some time, and it's pretty rugged and remote,' he told the outlet.
Michael 'Jared' Trainor, 33, was catching waves off a remote Ferndale beach in October 2022, when his 'worst nightmare' became a reality (pictured next to his surf board that the shark took a bite out of)
Trainor was suddenly launched into the air by a massive 16 feet long great white shark, weighing over 1,000 pounds, that was lurking beneath the surface
'And I had a little bit of unease just from thinking about the shark presence in the area,' Trainor added. 'And I paddled out, and it was just an ominous day. I did have this weird and uncomfortable feeling.'
Trainor, a serious and experienced surfer, was dragged underwater by the shark, which began feasting on his right leg.
'As I went onto the board and started paddling, almost instantly, I was hit,' he said. 'It appeared that it [the shark] came up and pushed my left leg up into the air and latch onto my right leg and board.'
'I was lucky that the board was pinned beneath the lower jaw,' he said.
'The last thing I remember was looking back at the beach and seeing where my dogs were and, when I came to, I opened my eyes underwater, and I could see the surface of the water, and I could just see this large black silhouette.'
The then 31-year-old man survived the shark attack by grabbing the shark's body with one hand and kicking the shark with his uninjured leg until the beast let him go and swam away.
'It felt like a dog was trying to get into my wetsuit,' he said. 'And I managed to give it a few firm kicks.'
Trainor, a serious and experienced surfer, was dragged underwater by the shark, which began feasting on his right leg
The then 31-year-old man survived the shark attack by grabbing the shark's body with one hand and kicking the shark with his uninjured leg until the beast let him go and swam away
'I felt the crunching and I did see stars emanating off the silhouette,' he said.
'At that time, I wasn't sure that my wetsuit had even been damaged, it kind of had felt like a large creature just came and jumped on my leg and pulled me down,' he said. 'I had no idea that I was lacerated to the extent that I was.'
Trainor's injuries were gruesome - six deep lacerations across his inner thigh, a torn MCL, and even bone penetration. But against all odds, he survived.
Trainor told the outlet that he 'only felt a sensation on my knee.'
'I was bleeding a lot, but it was not painful at the time,' he said.
He miraculously was able to get to the beach where he was able to call for help from a fellow surfer's cell phone.
Trainor's injuries were gruesome - six deep lacerations across his inner thigh, a torn MCL, and even bone penetration. But against all odds, he survived
Trainor told the outlet that he 'only felt a sensation on my knee'
Now, two years on, the courageous surfer is back riding the waves, after intense physical therapy and an extra level of caution for the ocean's predators
'I could see him running toward me, and I knew whatever had just happened to me was fairly serious,' he said. 'And as I stood on my feet when I got to the sand, I noticed my whole leg was just basically flayed open, and I was shocked that I was still able to walk.'
'I was almost in tears because I was just so beside myself that I had just experienced my worst fear and kind of thought that it was a sea lion,' he said.
Now, two years on, the courageous surfer is back riding the waves, after intense physical therapy and an extra level of caution for the ocean's predators.
'Physical therapy was a hurdle that I had to go through, but I ended up doing well in physical therapy, and I ended up getting into the water to surf about two months after that,' he said.
'It was important to me to kind of overcome whatever sort of PTSD that I was experiencing from the attack,' he said.
Overall, Trainor said he's just thankful to be alive: 'People have died from this thing, and I was pretty close to losing my own life,' he said. 'I feel really grateful that I was able to bounce back from it'
'I still surf that same beach pretty frequently, but now there's a group of guys, and we all communicate with each other when we're going so that we can have a buddy in the water with us,' Trainor said.
Overall, Trainor said he's just thankful to be alive.
'People have died from this thing, and I was pretty close to losing my own life,' he said. 'I feel really grateful that I was able to bounce back from it.'
