My near death experience happened out at Haleiwa, Hawaii. I was 16 years old and it was a 5-6 foot day with some 8 footers coming in as the swell started to increase.

At sunset the waves started to get bigger. I wasn’t too worried about getting pounded because the waves were so inconsistent. I sat deep and a little bit inside.

But then out of nowhere a huge 8 foot set swinging wide starts to break in. The wave broke right in front of me. It took me by surprise and I barely reacted in time to bail my board.

As I dove down all I remember is getting tossed from side to side, doing backflips getting dragged and sucked down. I started to swim back up and I was pretty out of breath.

As soon as I reached the surface another set breaks in front of me. It was like the first wave all over again. I felt like my body was going to give out, I had nothing but water to inhale.

I remember scratching to the surface and I finally made it up. The ocean was calm again and I was just laying on my board choking out water and on the verge of crying my eyes out.

One of the worst moments of my life!