The North Shore has had more than its fair share of wipeouts this winter.
Koa Rothman, Kai Lenny, and Joao Chianca are just a few of the pros that Pipeline hospitalized this season.
And in the latest episode of the Nate & Koa Podcast, that’s what they talk about.
Related: Watch: How to Extend Your Surfing Life According to Surf Legend Joel Tudor
Opening the episode, Nate Florence says:
“We’re back, and we’re with one of our dearest friends, our international friends. This is Tom Lowe, worldwide acclaimed big wave surfer.
“He is a very well-known big wave surfer from England, known for his exploits in Ireland, Chopes, Hawaii all of it. He’s done the Jaws, the Mavericks, every big wave you can think of.”
At around 35 minutes in, Lowe recalls his near-death experience at Teahupo’o.
On the same trip, Laird Hamilton towed Rothman into a huge bomb, and he emerged unscathed.
Not long after, Lowe almost died from wiping out on a three-footer that punctured his lungs, broke six ribs, and his shoulder.
“Tom nearly perished,” Nate adds.
“I was in the hospital while you guys were living the dream,” Lowe responds.
After a couple of laughs, he continues, saying it was “actually really bad.”
At first, Lowe thought the reef sliced him up, but really, he was bleeding internally. When he couldn’t breathe and it felt different, “he started to figure it out.”
The skis he thought would save him didn’t come. He couldn’t wave, couldn’t talk, and could barely breathe, so he couldn’t signal for help.
He got himself to shore. Then he checked out.
“I just went to a whole other dimension. I went, like, to the moon and back out into the core of the earth and all over the place,” Lowe says.
“Every once in a while I’d come back and be like, ‘I’m grounded, I’m a human, you’re a doctor.’ Then I’d be off in this other dimension for a while thinking I’d never be normal again.
“I saw myself as a person who couldn’t walk, or do anything or talk.”
Press play for the rest of the episode. It’s a good one.
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