Eddie Rothman's middle son almost decapitated by a board ditcher!
Surfline is a fine online publication and today its esteemed editor, Marcus Sanders, posted a piece today about Koa Rothman, Eddie’s middle son, getting his head taken off by what appears to be a kook in the southern hemisphere somewhere.
Marcus writes, “Thing is, it’s kind of amazing this is the first serious injury of the year. Rothman and his Shadow Company brethren Nathan Florence, Luke Davis and Billy Kemper (and others) have been on an absolute tube-bender so far this spring/summer.”
I was, first, very surprised to know that Koa Rothman, Nathan Florence, Luke Davis and Billy Kemper had a squad called Shadow Company. Further digging into Surfline‘s archive describes them thusly.
There are the SOLDIERS IN UNIFORM — the GUYS IN JERSEYS, walking in lockstep, following the rules and the contests — and then there are the SELECT FEW guys behind the guys.
Very chic. Like Noa Deane minus an alcohol induced “Fuck the WSL” and now you know about them too. Like the A-Team minus Howling Mad Murdock.
But, more to the point, the kook and Koa Rothman’s near death experience. You can watch the video here and it is deeply disturbing. A clearly not very savvy surfer ditching his board, unnecessarily (doesn’t it totally look like he would have made it over that shoulder?), which proceeds to smash Koa in the head. The young man tells Marcus, “I don’t who he was. I remember he was saying ‘sorry,’ but he had a helmet and booties, so I didn’t really see his face. I’m not mad, I’m just happy I’m not worse. Like blind or dead or something.”
Marcus then asks, “Any lessons from this?” to which Koa answers, “I think there’s so much that everyone can learn,” Rothman says. “You could tell he wasn’t comfortable. And when you’re not comfortable surfing somewhere, you’re probably not only endangering yourself, but absolutely everyone. I’m just surprised it doesn’t happen more often.”
Oh if you are like me then your blood will boil when you watch. Is there any sort of good mob justice surfers can deliver when this sort of thing happens? An act which will scare board ditchers from the water forevermore?
Should board ditchers have to surf with scarlet BDs hanging from their necks? I think this would be appropriate but what do you think?
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What I don’t get is he woulda made it if he’d just kept paddling, but if you’re gonna bail, give your board a shove and the off shore will blow it out the back. I’ll bet this dude is short on experience, long on bank account…
Wait, Chas, who is Eddie’s youngest son? Is he not a ripper/shredder? Wouldn’t that be considered blasphemy?
It appears that Eddie is the only mad cunt in his family. The boys seem pretty humble and subdued.
It seems Koa Rothman is some kind of Bhudda/Jesus-like person. I thought I was enlightened but after watching that video, I felt like tracking down that Kook and making him pay – at the very least – financially, a lot, for what he did. Koa is lucky it wasn’t worse and the Kook is also lucky that he didn’t get instant Karma, and didn’t even pay for the damage he did! That is an injustice! Track that fucker down, and make him pay for Koa’s teeth, the concussion, and the fucked-up experience! Send Michael Caramichella to investigate!
Nothing will be ok until we know exactly who this guy is.
“Is there any sort of good mob justice surfers can deliver when this sort of thing happens?” Deal with it yourself Chas you pussy.
Imagine the waves are much much smaller, but the ditching is worse, and it’s happening much more frequently
Then you have the glory that is Noosa Heads
Such a shame, incredibly beautiful place
So many places around the world. At least* in Noosa, the waves are so small and gutless, the greatest danger is to your groin.
*Worst ‘at least’ ever though.
I never ditch my board Chad, not even at Cloudy!
For me it’s the SUP guys who are getting into waves they don’t deserve thanks to paddle power and then they’re like, “oh, fuck,” so they bail — with a tanker heading your way.
That SUC/Ks
I am not a fan of this kind of thing, no. Not a fan at all.
That clown should be charged with assault. This happens way too much. If you’re inexperienced and you still decide to put others in harms way, you should be responsible for you actions. Fucking donkeys…
you know, there’s no shame in ending one’s commenting career after 9 comments.
Haha, maybe a few more and then I’ll throw in the towel.
you’re a good sport. Don’t throw in the towel. Its all in good fun. Journalistic grenade assaults are fun. Fun, Fun and Funnily anti-depressive fun too! Don’t worry about a charge of assault. Focus. Accept that here at BG, we are charged with the mission to dismantle the depressive aspects of surf journalism. Namely, The Inertia, Stab, JP Currie, over-bearing Brazilian fathers, Zach Weisfucker types that lick the sweat from MC’s big-wave rider balls. Let’s collectively call them the “Undesirables”. A useful point of reference for what an ‘Undesirable’ writes like is Morgan Williamson.
I appreciate the note. I love this site. I usually try to stay out of the comment wars, but I really enjoy reading them haha. I got thick skin and can take a good roust. This is very similar to how me and my friends treat each other. Plus I’m in the surf industry, so this helps keep me in the know of what people are thinking. Happy Aloha Friday Braddah!!
The twat is probably just Toledo. Afraid. Frantically paddling. Hating anything associated with John John’s well more acclaimed fame.
Reno Abellira will surely put him on the North Shore blacklist this winter.
several demerits to the original reporter for lack of key details and to chas smith for tracking down the info:
1) where did this take place? please don’t lets fall back on the desire to not “name spots” while filming with one would assume multiple cameras.
2) whose board was ditched? what do we know about this dude? shouldn’t we assume a level of competence when dealing with waves of this size?
3) who came to the aid of young mr. rothman? surely he’s got a story to tell.
What is this, 60 Minutes or something? BeachGrit trims the fat, not adds it…
Can you send Michael to investigate? Like those “how to catch a predator” shows . . . you ask Koa for 50% of any recovery . . . Michael goes in . . . finds the guy, and then lays it on thick: “oh, hello, you’re ripping! can we shoot you in your booties for a spread we’re doing on successful businessmen who rip (*cough* rich kooks)? . . . got you now fucker! now pay up for the damage you did to Koa!” Beachgrit goes viral!!
“Southern Hemisphere “. …”Bombie”!small town” …..”guy was wearing a helmet”……. smells like Australia to me , but could be chile by default
Geez the guy that ditched the board is lucky to be alive
The only reason I paddle out is to ditch my board.
The bailer really is not safe anywhere near the water anymore. He should consider a change of identity and perhaps gender.
I’m sure the Wolfpack will have no problem preforming a cock chop sesh.
That is horrific. We see more and more of this ineptitude. Koa’s attitude is commendable. That said, the bailer will soon be identified, somebody knows who this guy is. Does he deserve our wrath?
F’kin A he does!!