Paul de Gelder survived a shark attack. Now, he's intentionally experiencing it all over again.

This Aussie was attacked by a shark. Now he's recreating it so you can watch

The Age

2 days ago

The Age

This Aussie was attacked by a shark. Now he's recreating it so you can watch

Eight seconds. That's all it took for a shark to tear off Paul de Gelder's right hand and leg. It was 2009, and the Australian Navy bomb disposal diver had been conducting counter-terrorism exercises in Sydney Harbour. While swimming alongside the naval base, de Gelder felt an intense pressure on his leg. When he looked down, he realised a nine-foot bull shark had taken hold of him. 'I was in super murky water with a highly aggressive bull shark,' de Gelder says. 'It probably didn't even see what I was. It tested me out with its teeth, and it turns out I'm a delicious snack.' Thanks to his teammates, who pinched his artery closed with their fingers and used a makeshift life-jacket tourniquet, de Gelder survived the attack, though it left him missing two limbs. For most people, the mere thought of reliving such a traumatic experience would be torturous. Not for de Gelder. He has shared his account of the attack around the globe as a motivational speaker, and also jumped back into the water for another bite – literally. In How to Survive a Shark Attack, a new show released as part of Shark Week on Discovery and HBO Max, de Gelder comes face-to-face with the same creatures that attacked him almost two decades ago, encouraging them to bite him all over again. Not just once, but four times. Loading Using extra-long (and non-toxic) prosthetic limbs, he and a team of safety divers and shark experts provoke the apex predators while scuba-diving, open ocean swimming, kayaking and splashing around the shore. Why on earth would anyone do that? According to de Gelder, it's all in the name of protecting the people who come into contact with sharks and the marine animals themselves. 'There's an immense number of people out there who truly don't know what to do [if attacked] and would go into absolute panic-mode,' he says. 'I'm trying to provide the knowledge to keep people safe.' He hopes the show will remind audiences that sharks have more to fear from us than we have to fear from them. According to The Australian Institute of Marine Science, there are only about 10 deaths attributable to shark attacks worldwide each year. Comparatively, about 150 people die from falling coconuts. Meanwhile, approximately 100 million sharks are killed by humans each year, many of which are targeted for their fins. A survivor's guide to shark attacks Tip one: Try not to panic De Gelder knows how unrealistic this may be to hear – not everyone can stare head-on at a shark and not freak out – but he says remaining as calm as possible can be the difference between life and death. Don't act like prey by splashing and thrashing around your arms and legs. Tip two: Create some distance Use whatever you can – some flippers, a kayak oar – to create distance between yourself and the shark. Tip three: Face the shark head on In a worst-case scenario, show the shark you're a predator by striking out at the last moment with your arm, pushing the top of its head (not its jaw) away as firmly as you can. Remember: don't punch the shark. Tip four: S top any bleeding and get help If you've been bitten, use whatever is at your disposal as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. Make it as tight as possible. This will only be a temporary solution, though, so make sure you seek help as soon as you can. Most shark attacks are what de Gelder classes as 'provoked'. For example, spear fishers are sometimes attacked because they're competing for the shark's food. Most of the time, however, de Gelder says sharks aren't interested in humans. Instead, they're usually intent on mating and eating. 'This is a celebration of all things shark. Yes, we do experiments, we do some stunts. But we celebrate sharks,' de Gelder says. 'That's what it's all about – to try and get people to fall in love with these animals so they'll want to protect them.' Loading De Gelder has been involved in Shark Week – an annual week-long programming block of shark content on the Discovery Channel (and available to stream on HBO Max) – for a decade now, with over 20 shows under his belt. However, he says How to Survive a Shark Attack has been the most confronting yet. Despite the various safety measures in place, including an entire crew of safety divers, there was inevitably going to be a degree of uncontrollability when throwing bait into a shiver of frenzied sharks. At one point, de Gelder was caught off guard by a reef shark, which bit him near the end of a simulation. Thankfully, it only got his prosthetic arm. 'What you didn't see was there was another shark in the fake blood pool that bit me on the leg at the same time. But I was wearing head-to-toe chainmail … There was never a chance the sharks were going to hurt me,' he says. 'But it was still very dangerous ... We've got four separate [scenarios], but then we had to do each one a couple of times. The one where you saw the tiger shark ripping off my arm – we did that four times to get all the shots.' Beginning in 1987, Shark Week has become a major cultural phenomenon. Last year's block – which was hosted by John Cena – attracted 25 million viewers in the US alone. For something centred entirely on educational documentaries and exaggerated marine thrills, its popularity may be surprising. De Gelder, however, says it makes complete sense. 'Sharks are like these mythological beasts. You hear about them, but you never see them,' he says. 'Tens of millions of people in the middle of America rarely travel to the beach, and are even less likely to see a shark if they go. So, there's this real fascination with this living dinosaur, unicorn, mythological beast … This is their only opportunity, not just to see them, but to see us interacting with them.' Loading Though Shark Week hasn't yet taken hold of Australia the way it has the US, de Gelder believes the country is primed for this kind of material given how many deadly creatures reside on this land, as well as the popularity of local shows like Australia's Deadliest. The ability to stream Shark Week on HBO Max at any time will also surely help pull in new audiences, he says. There's plenty of great shark content beyond Discovery too, de Gelder notes, including films like Deep Blue Sea and The Meg, for which he interviewed Jason Statham. (When asked if he would consider himself Australia's Statham, he humbly said he'd 'never be so bold'). Despite his commitment to protecting sharks and their ecosystem, he still can't resist occasionally watching an ocean bloodbath. 'People hate on these scary shark movies, like they're villainising sharks. I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about people who can't separate reality from fiction. It's just a movie, dude.' As for when his own encounters with sharks will come to an end, de Gelder simply says he has come this far, 'why stop now?'

Sydney Morning Herald

2 days ago

Sydney Morning Herald

This Aussie was attacked by a shark. Now he's recreating it so you can watch

Eight seconds. That's all it took for a shark to tear off Paul de Gelder's right hand and leg. It was 2009, and the Australian Navy bomb disposal diver had been conducting counter-terrorism exercises in Sydney Harbour. While swimming alongside the naval base, de Gelder felt an intense pressure on his leg. When he looked down, he realised a nine-foot bull shark had taken hold of him. 'I was in super murky water with a highly aggressive bull shark,' de Gelder says. 'It probably didn't even see what I was. It tested me out with its teeth, and it turns out I'm a delicious snack.' Thanks to his teammates, who pinched his artery closed with their fingers and used a makeshift life-jacket tourniquet, de Gelder survived the attack, though it left him missing two limbs. For most people, the mere thought of reliving such a traumatic experience would be torturous. Not for de Gelder. He has shared his account of the attack around the globe as a motivational speaker, and also jumped back into the water for another bite – literally. In How to Survive a Shark Attack, a new show released as part of Shark Week on Discovery and HBO Max, de Gelder comes face-to-face with the same creatures that attacked him almost two decades ago, encouraging them to bite him all over again. Not just once, but four times. Loading Using extra-long (and non-toxic) prosthetic limbs, he and a team of safety divers and shark experts provoke the apex predators while scuba-diving, open ocean swimming, kayaking and splashing around the shore. Why on earth would anyone do that? According to de Gelder, it's all in the name of protecting the people who come into contact with sharks and the marine animals themselves. 'There's an immense number of people out there who truly don't know what to do [if attacked] and would go into absolute panic-mode,' he says. 'I'm trying to provide the knowledge to keep people safe.' He hopes the show will remind audiences that sharks have more to fear from us than we have to fear from them. According to The Australian Institute of Marine Science, there are only about 10 deaths attributable to shark attacks worldwide each year. Comparatively, about 150 people die from falling coconuts. Meanwhile, approximately 100 million sharks are killed by humans each year, many of which are targeted for their fins. A survivor's guide to shark attacks Tip one: Try not to panic De Gelder knows how unrealistic this may be to hear – not everyone can stare head-on at a shark and not freak out – but he says remaining as calm as possible can be the difference between life and death. Don't act like prey by splashing and thrashing around your arms and legs. Tip two: Create some distance Use whatever you can – some flippers, a kayak oar – to create distance between yourself and the shark. Tip three: Face the shark head on In a worst-case scenario, show the shark you're a predator by striking out at the last moment with your arm, pushing the top of its head (not its jaw) away as firmly as you can. Remember: don't punch the shark. Tip four: S top any bleeding and get help If you've been bitten, use whatever is at your disposal as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. Make it as tight as possible. This will only be a temporary solution, though, so make sure you seek help as soon as you can. Most shark attacks are what de Gelder classes as 'provoked'. For example, spear fishers are sometimes attacked because they're competing for the shark's food. Most of the time, however, de Gelder says sharks aren't interested in humans. Instead, they're usually intent on mating and eating. 'This is a celebration of all things shark. Yes, we do experiments, we do some stunts. But we celebrate sharks,' de Gelder says. 'That's what it's all about – to try and get people to fall in love with these animals so they'll want to protect them.' Loading De Gelder has been involved in Shark Week – an annual week-long programming block of shark content on the Discovery Channel (and available to stream on HBO Max) – for a decade now, with over 20 shows under his belt. However, he says How to Survive a Shark Attack has been the most confronting yet. Despite the various safety measures in place, including an entire crew of safety divers, there was inevitably going to be a degree of uncontrollability when throwing bait into a shiver of frenzied sharks. At one point, de Gelder was caught off guard by a reef shark, which bit him near the end of a simulation. Thankfully, it only got his prosthetic arm. 'What you didn't see was there was another shark in the fake blood pool that bit me on the leg at the same time. But I was wearing head-to-toe chainmail … There was never a chance the sharks were going to hurt me,' he says. 'But it was still very dangerous ... We've got four separate [scenarios], but then we had to do each one a couple of times. The one where you saw the tiger shark ripping off my arm – we did that four times to get all the shots.' Beginning in 1987, Shark Week has become a major cultural phenomenon. Last year's block – which was hosted by John Cena – attracted 25 million viewers in the US alone. For something centred entirely on educational documentaries and exaggerated marine thrills, its popularity may be surprising. De Gelder, however, says it makes complete sense. 'Sharks are like these mythological beasts. You hear about them, but you never see them,' he says. 'Tens of millions of people in the middle of America rarely travel to the beach, and are even less likely to see a shark if they go. So, there's this real fascination with this living dinosaur, unicorn, mythological beast … This is their only opportunity, not just to see them, but to see us interacting with them.' Loading Though Shark Week hasn't yet taken hold of Australia the way it has the US, de Gelder believes the country is primed for this kind of material given how many deadly creatures reside on this land, as well as the popularity of local shows like Australia's Deadliest. The ability to stream Shark Week on HBO Max at any time will also surely help pull in new audiences, he says. There's plenty of great shark content beyond Discovery too, de Gelder notes, including films like Deep Blue Sea and The Meg, for which he interviewed Jason Statham. (When asked if he would consider himself Australia's Statham, he humbly said he'd 'never be so bold'). Despite his commitment to protecting sharks and their ecosystem, he still can't resist occasionally watching an ocean bloodbath. 'People hate on these scary shark movies, like they're villainising sharks. I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about people who can't separate reality from fiction. It's just a movie, dude.' As for when his own encounters with sharks will come to an end, de Gelder simply says he has come this far, 'why stop now?'

Paul de Gelder survived a shark attack. Now, he's intentionally experiencing it all over again.

Sydney Morning Herald

3 days ago

Sydney Morning Herald