When he was bitten by a shark over the weekend, surfer Frank O’Rourke’s first reaction wasn’t to go to hospital.
Instead, he hit up a nearby Florida bar to cash in on the type of fame that only comes from walking away from a shark attack with relatively minor injuries, and the free spiked seltzers that come courtesy of fellow bar-goers eager to hear a good shark attack story.
"Once we got to the beach, Frank was waving his arm... so we took him to the lifeguard stand, we cleaned him up, and we went straight to the bar after that," RJ Berger, Mr O'Rourke's friend who was surfing with him at the time, told The Independent.
As it turns out, shark attacks attract more than just the adoration of those at the pub. He soon found himself getting interview requests from national news shows, too.
"He got hammered. He did an interview with the Today Show that night after drinking all day, and in his interview he was wasted," Mr Berger continued. "It was so funny."
Mr O’Rourke’s attack was documented on his Instagram page, where he posted a photo of himself alongside a surfboard in Jacksonville with a bloody elbow from his shark encounter.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Frank O'Rourke (@frankooo_) on
“Wow what a weekend,” he wrote. “I’m thankful to come away with minor injuries from a shark that bit me Saturday!”
In a later interview with ABC News, Mr O’Rourke said he believes he got away so lightly after the 3- to 4-foot blacktip or spinner shark snapped at him because he wasn’t the right flavour.
“Shark comes of the water and grabs onto my arm, right by my elbow. Kinda tugs a little bit and thrashes,” he told the news outlet. “I guess it tasted me and was like, ‘Nope,’” he said.
Shark attacks are relatively rare, with just 66 reported unprovoked instances in 2018 across the globe, according to the International Shark Attack File at the University of Florida.
The United States lead in that category with 32 unprovoked attacks, followed by Australia with 20 attacks. A total of four such attacks were fatal last year.
