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Matt Bromley is famous for chasing some of the world’s biggest waves, but on Friday he went from hunter to hunted. While surfing Puerto Escondido, Mexico, Bromley caught a 15-18-foot bomb that launched his surfboard straight at his head. Bromley has been documenting his recovery on social media, and just showed off the 35 stitches (20 internal and 15 external) he received at the hands of his big-wave gun.
“I’d waited about 2 hours and then this particular wave looked really good,” wrote Bromley on Instagram. “Paddle in and take off we’re [sic] smooth as butter and then as I bottom turned and locked in I realized I was headed for a big frothy close out. I did my normal jump off in the tube but this time unfortunately the board must have been in the perfect place to shoot towards me.”
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“My board speared me in the forehead really hard,” Bromley continued in another post. “Fortunately there was no concussion but the cut was deep and the blood poured over my eyes as I pushed through three waves. I tried to paddle for the shore but the rip took me back out to sea where the whole lineup surrounded me.” The other surfers then helped Bromley paddle out to the safe zone, where he was picked up by a fishing boat and brought to a harbor where there was an ambulance waiting.
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“So grateful to be heading back to my beautiful wife and boys tomorrow, with no pain and no long term consequences except for a big scar to tell the tale,” concluded Bromley. Hopefully he has a speedy recovery, and maybe considers investing in a helmet.
