Upamanyu Biswas
While saving sharks from indiscriminate killing may be essential to protecting the marine ecosystem, their apex predator credentials make it difficult to avoid tragic events from time to time. As explored in Netflix’s ‘Shark Whisperer,’ achieving the right balance between seeing sharks as “monsters” and the dangers they face as a species can be a difficult task because of a general fear associated with shark attacks. One such survivor who was on the wrong side of a brutal shark attack was Colin Cook, a surfboard builder whose life was drastically altered during a surfing session gone awry in the Pacific Ocean. The tragic encounter left a bitter taste in everyone’s mouth. However, Colin managed to escape the situation alive, thanks to the efforts of one brave individual who had risked his own life to save the surfer.
Colin Cook Was Attacked By a Tiger Shark Out at Sea
On October 9, 2015, 25-year-old Colin Cook was out surfing 600 feet away from the shores of Haleiwa, Hawaii, at a spot known as Leftovers Surf Break. When it was late morning, a tiger shark came out of the water and attacked the surfer and surfboard builder, severing his left leg just above the knee. While Cook tried his best to put up some physical resistance, he lost his leg to the shark while narrowly escaping with his life. As he climbed back on top of the board, the water around him grew bloody. Meanwhile, a short distance away, filmmaker Keoni Bowthorpe noticed Cook’s struggles and came over to him on his paddleboard. Any rescue attempts in his mind were thrown off by the shark still prowling the vicinity. As such, Bowthorpe tried to keep the shark from making any more passes, even using the end of his paddle to push it away.
While Bowthorpe was unable to send the shark away permanently, he decided not to fight against it, knowing that such a scenario was likely to result in more tragedy. Therefore, he ushered Cook to his paddleboard, lying down prone on his board while securing the injured surfer to his back on top of him. Cook stated that he was in an incredibly weakened state and resigned to dying. He told Bowthorpe to send his final wishes to his parents, stating, “Tell my family I love them.” However, the filmmaker, who had a wife and three kids of his own, decided not to give up and began waddling towards the shore while trying to stave off any more attacks from the shark. Although the journey back was full of anxiety and fear, the duo made it back to shore alive. Then, a tourniquet was fastened to Cook’s leg to stop it from bleeding out on the way to the hospital.
Post the Attack, Colin Cook Rebuilt His Life Drastically With a Prosthetic Limb
Following his shark attack, doctors assessed Colin Cook’s situation, finding that in addition to his leg being severed, he had also sustained serious injuries to his hand. However, for Cook, nothing was more important than losing his leg because of how important surfing was in his life. “My first concern was, ‘how am I going to surf again?'” he said in an interview. The negative thoughts were exacerbated by the fact that only a handful of people who had lost their leg above the knee were subsequently able to surf while still standing. Still, the surfer tried to make the best of his situation, even finding levity in his circumstance by sharing a picture of himself lying on his bed with a stuffed shark toy seemingly chomping on his bandaged left leg. He also met with Keoni Bowthorpe at the hospital, whom he called his “guardian angel.”
During his recovery, Cook’s family played a huge role in supporting him through the process. In the meantime, he was suffering from pain in his missing limb due to Phantom Limb sensation. Around November 2015, Cook was fitted with his first prosthetic limb, allowing him to take some baby steps back to normalcy. He returned to his family home in Seapowet in Tiverton, Rhode Island, where he continued to adjust to his prosthetic leg and daily activities such as walking. While he tested with different types of prosthetic limbs, it became evident to Cook that if he wished to surf again, he needed something custom-built for his own specific needs. As such, around March 2016, he and a couple of his friends built a prosthetic leg made out of composite materials to mimic the range of motion of a human knee, helping him get back to surfing.
Colin Cook is a World Champion Adaptive Surfer Today
Despite the setback of losing his leg, Colin Cook’s love for surfing never diminished. Instead, he used it as fuel to devise better upgrades to his custom prosthetic limb, allowing him a nearly full range of motion while surfing. He explained that the trauma and fear of the 2015 shark attack did not override his deep passion for surfing. Since the incident, he has gone to new heights, showcasing the resilience and never-say-die attitude imprinted in his psyche. He has won multiple championships over the years, some of which include the 2017 and 2018 USA National Championships, the 2017 Hawaii Adaptive Surfing Championships, the 2019 US Open Adaptive Surfing Championships, and the 2020 ISA AMPSurf Adaptive World Championships (Para Stand 3 division). In 2021, he again competed in the ISA Adaptive World Championships, earning the runners-up position.
Today, Cook remains an active participant in competitive adaptive surfing, surfing more now than he did in the past. In April 2025, he competed in the 2025 Australian Adaptive Championships held in Byron Bay, Australia, earning a victory in the event. A month later, he took part in the Hawai’i Adaptive Surfing Championships presented by Hi AccesSurf, continuing his tour across the globe while showcasing his skills on the highest stage. He will also be competing in the Adaptive World Tour, which will be held in Oceanside, California, in September of this year. Outside his surfing passion, the 35-year-old lives a fulfilling private life alongside his girlfriend, Sydney Corcoran, a survivor of the Boston Marathon bombing incident. The two are incredibly supportive of each other and inspire one another on a daily basis.
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