Eimeo Czermak Needs Help After His Pipe Wipeout - Stab Mag

Live Now: "Horse" — A surf film by James Kates starring Noa Deane — streaming exclusively on Stab Premium.

319 Views

Eimeo Czermak Needs Help After His Pipe Wipeout

Had insurance, still slapped with $55K bill.

elsewhere // Jan 16, 2024
Words by Ethan Davis
Reading Time: 2 minutes

“Right now I’m feeling much better, but for a week and a half I couldn’t move my legs. Now it’s just my concussion that is still pretty bad. Constant brain fog, depression, trouble with lights,” Eimeo Czermak tells me over the phone.

On the final day of the Vans Pipe Masters, the 20-year-old French Polynesian fell on a takeoff with 40 seconds remaining in his heat against the Florence brothers. 

“I fell on the left side of my face, hit the water and blacked out. I don’t really remember what happened next, but I think I got tossed on the bottom, like a scorpion”. 

Eimeo walked up the beach under his own steam, but looked disheveled. 

“I didn’t tell the water patrol I was hurt. It wasn’t until we got to the tent and they put the neck brace on that the adrenaline wore off and the pain started. I didn’t know what was going on.”

The combination of the ambulance ride, an overnight stay in Queens hospital, an MRI plus other tests, ended up costing him $55,000 USD. 

“I had an insurance at Nomad Insurance Safety Wing, but in their policy they don’t cover injuries sustained in competition.” Which means, had his injury occurred 40 seconds later, he’d be in the clear. 

Due to it being a specialty event, there is no event insurance to cover the medical costs for athletes. It’s a similar situation to what happened to Kala Grace in last year’s Da Hui Backdoor Shootout. 

“I want to make it really clear that the Vans Pipe Masters is my favorite contest in the world. I’ve been trying to find a solution to pay the bills myself, but it’s just too expensive, so I’ve resorted to a GoFundme.”

Eimeo is one of Tahiti’s most exciting new faces, a fearless, technical, stylish tuberider, and a very sweet young ripper that Stab’s been following since we first met him six or seven years ago filming one of the first episodes of No Contest.

Notably: He caught the third most spectacular ride of 2023

Wishing Eimeo a fast recovery, and that he get the support he needs to get back on his feet. Donate to his GoFundMe here.

Comments

Comments are a Stab Premium feature. Gotta join to talk shop.

Already a member? Sign In

Want to join? Sign Up

Advertisement

Most Recent

Empty Set: What Defines A ‘Pro’ Surfer?

Nathan Fletcher, Jacob Szekely, and Alex Midler grapple with the blurry line of professional surfing.

Apr 21, 2025

PC, Woke, Or Genuine Connection And Respect?

The intersection of surfing and Indigenous cultures.

Apr 19, 2025

New PerfectSwell Wavepool Announced Outside of Zion National Park, Utah

The tech that fuels Boa Vista Village and São Paulo Surf Club is coming to…

Apr 18, 2025

Gabriela Bryan and Tyler Wright Shape the Narrative on Opening Day at the Rip Curl Pro Bells

Dispatches from an offensively pleasant morning at Bells Beach.

Apr 18, 2025

Why Surf Apparel + Wetsuits Are Bracing for “A Massive Closeout Set” 

Vissla and Sisstr CEO, Paul Naudé + Boardriders’ Wetsuit Czar, Scott Boot talk tariffs. 

Apr 17, 2025

‘Wildcard To Win Bells,’ Says Local CT Veteran 

Tricky Chook, Superman specialist and former Trials winner, pegs Xavier Huxtable for the W.

Apr 17, 2025

For Whom Shall The Bell Toll?

With the cut just one month away, so the Aussie Treble begins.

Apr 16, 2025

Competitive Surfing: A Playground For Billionaires

The WSL and an alt-tour upstart are backed by nine figure net worths. Is there…

Apr 15, 2025

“I Want to See An Ankle-Breaking, Knee-Breaking, Career-Ending Air”

And the first invite to Stab High 2025 goes to...

Apr 15, 2025

Lower Trestles Announced As 2028 Olympic Surfing Venue

“We are honored to share this gem of California’s state park system with the world.”

Apr 15, 2025

Tweed Is Not That Suss, and Other Dispatches from the God Realm

An American’s back-to-the-ocean POV on the Australian Boardriders Battle.

Apr 15, 2025

How Did A Surf-Starved State Produce 22 World Titles?

Red Bull No Contest rockets over Florida.

Apr 15, 2025

Stab High Japan, Presented By Monster Energy, Returns For 2025

36 Pro Men, 10 Ladybirds, 10 Bottle Rockets, the first-ever Pro Women division, and a…

Apr 15, 2025

In Honor of Greg Browning, Watch the Final Season of Drive Thru — For Free

Benji and Donavon recruit Dane Reynolds and Griff Cola for one last trans-USA hurrah.

Apr 14, 2025

Empty Set: Can Baseball’s New “Torpedo Bat” Teach Us Anything About A Surfboard’s Sweet Spot?

We pitched the question to Album's Matt Parker and Channel Islands' Britt Merrick.

Apr 14, 2025

Have We Been Doing Competitive Surfing All Wrong?

The ABB recasts surfing as club warfare.

Apr 14, 2025

Jordy Smith And Gabriela Bryan Prove That Powersurfing Will Never Perish

Some buried rails, an all-Zaffa final, and a triple barrel to conclude our stint in…

Apr 12, 2025

Stab Interview: “I Traded OxyContin for Surfing”

Logan Dulien on addiction, the Irons brothers, crime syndicates, and why Snapt 5 will be…

Apr 12, 2025
Advertisement