Evan Geiselman was born and raised in Florida where he began competitive surfing at seven years old. Having won 12 East Coast Championship titles, Geiselman is up for any challenge and wave.
On Dec. 6, Geiselman took off on a closeout wave at Pipeline where he hit his head and was held under the water for a three-wave set. Professional body boarder, Andre Botha, who is from South Africa found him unconscious in the water and tried to resuscitate Geiselman while holding him up in the ocean.
“Botha found him floating face down in the water, his eyes closed gasping for air like a fish out of water on the beach,” said the Inertia Associate Editor Dashel Pierson who witnessed the wipeout.
Brenon Dopp, an ICS major sophomore who is from Kailua where surfing was a big part of his life. “Hearing of an incident like this makes me think twice about my life, it reminds me of how quickly a life can be taken. The ocean is alive and extremely powerful. Evan is super blessed to be alive and to have survived. It shows that God does have a hand in our life and hears and answers prayers.”
Mick Fanning, Danny Fuller and the North Shore lifeguards were all there on the shore trying to keep him stable and get all the water out of his lungs before they rushed him to the hospital, said witness photographer Gui Ventura from Brazil.
“It was so surreal to see a good surfer like him be taken to the hospital. I think everyone can say that Andre was the hero and there is so much gratitude,” said Ventura.
On Dec. 9, Geiselman expressed his gratitude on Instagram. Geiselman posted a picture of him laying a hospital bed with his head wrapped up and cords running all over his body, with the caption, “Beyond grateful! It was the most fulfilling feeling being to watch the sunset tonight. I got let out of the hospital today and have just been freaked out on how much of a miracle this has been! There’s been so much love and support for me and I haven’t been able to get back to everyone but I see it and love everyone of you that been praying and pulling for me.”
Geiselman is now home from the hospital and is recovering well. Levi May, a sophomore ICS major from Wyoming, loves surfing and has been surfing the North Shore for the past couple years. May heard about the accident while surfing with a couple of his friends at V Land.
“Its dangerous out there at pipe. I was surfing when I heard it was sad to hear. It’s not safe out there. I wasn’t surprised because pipe was dangerous, but I was concerned because I know how dangerous it can be,” said May.
Pipeline has been ranked year after year as being one of the most deadliest waves to ride in the world says Surf Magazine. Surf Magazine also noted, “The most dangerous days aren’t when the swell is at its biggest, but rather when the swell is on its way up and waves tend to double up upon each other.”
But this doesn’t stop surfers from all over the world to flock to the great waters of the North Shore year after year.