Sixteen-year-old Michael Adler was surfing off Melbourne Beach when a bull shark bit through his ankle, ripping through four tendons and creating a wound that required 40 stitches.
A stranger rushed to the Fort Lauderdale boy's aid as he limped out of the sea, helping to save Adler's chewed up foot which will take at least six weeks to recover.
But Adler was even relaxed enough to flash a peace sign and smile through gritted teeth as he was hauled off the beach by paramedics.
Adler told the New York Daily News that it "wasn't too painful at all. I think it was the adrenaline."
The surfer dude added that the scariest part of the experience was getting back to the beach, as he thought the hungry fish would smell the blood and follow him.
Once he got to the beach a man who seemed to have military training wrapped a surf board leash round Adler's leg, creating a tourniquet which stopped the bleeding.
But the teenager has taken the incident in good humor, changing his Twitter name to "Shark Bait" and promising he won't be out of the ocean for long.
Adler and three buds had been in the water for around two hours — in an area known for its dangerous bull shark appearances — when he fell off his surfboard at 11.00 am on Saturday morning. He didn't see the shark that bit him but immediately felt pain in his leg.
"His whole jaw just crammed down on my leg and right from there I kind of knew it was a shark attack," he said. "So then I was paddling in as fast as I could."
He's lucky hanging ten didn't turn into missing five.
He's lucky hanging ten didn't turn into missing five.
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