‘Face the Shark!’: Kelly Slater Shares Surprising Survival Tip

“If you find yourself in a situation in the ocean with a shark,” Slater said, “face the shark. I don’t care what your instincts tell you. Face the shark. You have to. It’s predator or prey. And you know, if a lion gets spotted, it changes the game. It’s no different with sharks. If you face a shark, they realize they’ve been seen.”

For more context on how he came to this theory, Slater continued:

“I’ve seen some of these people who swim with sharks in Hawaii, the tiger sharks, and they do these experiments to show this. Maybe they swim away splashing, and the shark comes up at them quick. As soon as they turn around and face the shark, it goes back to half the speed, and slows down. It’s because they’re investigating. Things that are splashing in the ocean look like they’re dying. And they’re the cleaners of the ocean.”

So, what’re your thoughts on the subject? If or when you encounter a shark while surfing next, what’re you going to do? Stand your ground and “face the shark,” or swim to shore as fast as you can? Vote below.