When a tiger shark grabbed hold of Colin Cook’s left leg, he survived by punching the creature in the face until it released him.
Now, the 25-year-old is vowing to surf again despite surgeons being forced to remove most of his limb.
“In Colin's words, the tiger shark came out of nowhere. It grabbed his left leg and pulled him under and he grabbed the board with one hand, but the shark started pulling him backwards in the water,” the song man’s father, Glenn Cook, told HawaiiNewsNow.
“He was able to pop up ... and with his left hand, he pushed back on the shark which gave him tremendous injuries on his hand, but with his right hand he was able to punch the living heck out of the shark's nose."
Mr Cook, who recently opened his own surfboard shop, was attacked by the 10-to-12-foot tiger shark near Ohau’s North Shore last Friday.
The day after the attack, Cook was out of his hospital bed and taking a few steps. His friends are trying to raise $50,000 so Cook won't have to worry about money during his recovery.
His father said his son hoped to be be surfing and running his shop again by the new year.
"People from all over the world now are donating and people have no idea who Colin is. That's why it's important to tell Colin's story, this isn't about a shark attack. This is about a community, a surf community embracing Colin Cook and his passion for the industry
