Florida surfer hailed as hero after saving people and pets from Hurricane Helene’s brutal wrath

"He's an angel walking. He is the hero of Indian Rocks Beach now."

America’s eastern seaboard has had a real doozy of a hurricane season, thus far. Currently Kirk is whipping itself into a Category 3 storm in the Atlantic and though not predicated to make landfall, is sounding alarms for unruly swell and dangerous rip currents. He comes right on the heels of Hurricane Helene who caused widespread damage and death after blasting through Florida’s gulf and drowning the Carolinas.

In the darkness, though, a bright surfer light shone. Marty Thomas, from Indian Rocks, Florida, paddled out into the wrath and rescued 12 people and pets using only his surfboard.

Anne McIntosh, a 27-year resident of Indian Rocks, was in her home when the flood waters came in. “The beds were floating. The couch was floating. My brother and his wife were on the counters,” she says. “I was walking around in the back unit just thinking, ‘what am I going to do?’ And all of a sudden I hear a voice, and he’s saying, ‘We’ll get you. We’ll get you.'”

The voice of Marty Thomas.

The brave surfer pried the doors to McIntosh’s house open and paddled her and her giant St. Bernard to safety before heading right back out into the maelstrom to save many others.

The grateful woman and Thomas reunited, days ago, with McIntosh telling him, “He’s an angel walking. He is the hero of Indian Rocks Beach now. And you do it so gracefully. Thank you. And I love you for it. And you deserve all the good things in life.”

Thomas, ever chill, responded, “Thank you. I appreciate that. You’re pretty awesome yourself.”

The handsome silver-ish fox appeared to do his heroics on a SUP as a high-performance shortboard would not have been up for the task. I trust that you will hold space in your heart for our stand-up brothers and sisters for Marty Thomas’ sake.

At least for five days.