Watch: Surfer Opens Up About Fighting Off a Tiger Shark in Waikiki

Originally posted on SURFER | By Jade Eckardt | Last updated Mar 6, 2024 10:59 AM ET

An Oahu surfer had a close call on Monday.

A Surfline camera captured an "aggressive eight-foot tiger shark" attacking surfer Matthew White at a Waikiki surf spot called Old Man’s, on Monday, March 4.

The footage shows White fighting the shark before getting back onto his board and paddling in. He wasn't injured, but the shark left a full jaw bite mark on his surfboard. In the video below, White recalls the incident.

KHON2 captioned the video above:

"Surfer recalls 'terrifying' shark encounter near Kaimana Beach."

White says that in 30 years of surfing he'd never encountered a shark, until Monday.

Once it found him, White fought it off.

He explained:

"I was like halfway on the board trying to hold on and it just kept shaking the board. So I fell off the board.

"And then I was laying on the side of the shark. I could see its dorsal fin right by me. I had my hand and my knee on it. I didn't know what to do."

So, White "kneed and shoved" the shark. And it worked.

"It swam off and I jumped on my board and started paddling in as fast as I could," he added.

White continued:

"I was looking at my leg, looking for blood. Just couldn't believe I didn't get bit. I was just in shock and disbelief that I didn't get injured somehow.

"I was terrified. It totally took me by surprise."

Lucky guy.

On Saturday, an 11-year-old girl suffered "lacerations to the top and bottom of her foot" during a suspected shark attack at an East Side surf spot called Rainbows. The girl received stitches and is in stable condition.

This article first appeared on SURFER and was syndicated with permission.

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