By Robbie Evans

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Colin Cook, a 25-year-old North Shore resident, was surfing at a popular surfing spot known as Leftovers Beach Park when he had a near-death experience with a 12-foot tiger shark. Doctors had to amputate most of his left leg after the attack, and his hands were also injured when trying to free himself from the shark’s grip. In support of his recovery, the world has come to his aid by starting a website called gofundme.com/surfcolin to collect donations. Wanting to do their part, MHS students from the Surf Club and Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) banded together to raise $250 for the recovering surfer.

“It’s good that he’s come back from something like that and still be motivated because I know some people, when they’re faced with something like that, they might not want to even look at the ocean the same and they can’t even go back in,” said Senior Desta Rudolph, one of the students that helped with the fundraiser.

The fundraiser, led by Surf Club President Senior Brandee Schiller, collected a total of $250 in only two weeks by each student chipping in a little money. “I just wanted to, you know, provide and give him some support because we’re all a part of the surfing community,” said Schiller.

The coach of the surf club and one of Cook’s friends, James Smith, was an adviser for the fundraiser and oversaw the students’ hard work. “That was a great thing to see that students were really willing to help someone who needed one million dollars to cover medical bills and any way people who can help out. It’s a big deal,” said Smith.

Over time, Cook’s medical bills will amount to a very large sum that very few could afford. This fact, along with his motivation to get better, left a very impactful impression on the students. “Over the lifespan of not having a leg, you have to buy all the prosthetics and it’s not just one, it’s one every few years, and overtime it can cost up to $1.5 million,” Schiller elaborated, “That’s a lot of money.”

Cook is well known on the North Shore for helping out where he can, giving advice to young surfers or simply helping out in the shop to shape some surfboards. “He has inspired many young surfers and he goes around and talks with young surfers and helps by helping out young guys in the shop and really showing them how he’s been taught by one of the legends of John Carper,” Smith said. “He teaches students or surfers, young surfers, how to give back to the community.”

With the help and support of family and friends, Cook has started to recover. But what made him even more of an inspiration was his motivation to keep moving towards his dreams.  “You know, when I met him, he had such a great spirit and that’s what kept him alive and keeping him strong and it’s amazing. If he can do it, we shouldn’t have an excuse not to,” expressed Schiller.

Although the fundraiser for Cook has ended at MHS, it is still open for donations on the website. MHS students’ contributions were only one part of the bigger project, which raised a little more than $71,000 to help support the recovering surfer. With the encouragement and support of friends and family, Cook’s story has become an inspiration for all.