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Koa Rothman knows the wave at Pipeline far better than most. It’s his bread and butter; a wave that served as the biggest canvas of his career. He’s surfed it through all its many moods — small, big, and biggest — but putting in time at a spot like Pipe doesn’t mean you’re not going to pay your pound of flesh every now and again. And recently, that pound of flesh came from Koa’s face. While it’s not exactly clear what happened at the time of this writing, we do know that Koa is okay, despite the fact that he was pulled from the water by lifeguards.
“Just wanted to update everyone, I’m doing really good!” he wrote. “Thank you for all the love and support! And a huge thank you to @casualluke (and I’m not too sure the other person on the Jet Ski) and the @northshorelifeguardassociation for saving me and everyone else who was involved❤️ Sorry I haven’t gotten back to everyone, the doctor said I shouldn’t be on my phone for a couple days so I’m just laying low for now, but just know I feel the love! I’ll be back very soon.”
The Instagram handle @casualluke belongs to none other than recent Eddie champion and lifeguard Luke Shepardson. Eli Olson, another surfer who has first hand knowledge of just how sharp the Pipe reef is, posted a story to his Instagram that shows Koa and Eli’s battered faces. Koa is in a neck brace, but that was likely a precaution. We’re just glad Koa is on the mend.
