Stab Magazine | @Shark_Bite_Sophia Tells Her Side Of The Heated Online Debate

Live Now — Episode 3 Of Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico

37 Views

@Shark_Bite_Sophia Tells Her Side Of The Heated Online Debate

The ocean is far less hostile than the internet.

news // May 12, 2017
Words by Stab
Reading Time: 4 minutes

Sophia Raab says she would rather spend all her time in the ocean than look at the internet ever again. In the midst of the manic, shark obsessed state of Southern California, an Instagram post, interview with KTLA news, a GoFundMe account and uncertain information from her doctor has the 18-year-old in the centre of the most heated online debate since “What colour is the dress?”.

Last week, Sophia was surfing her home break of Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles when she experienced the worst pain in her life.

The cause? She wasn’t sure, but as the water receded to reveal a 10 by 10-inch wound, it didn’t matter. All Sophia knew was that she needed help immediately. “I was in shock, I didn’t care how it happened, I just knew that there was a chunk of my leg missing,” she told Stab

The day had started like any other. Sophia woke up early to go to work in Santa Monica, where she manages social media accounts for an online vintage clothing store between classes at the local city college.

As she was walking out the door, Sophia’s mom yelled to her from the kitchen, “Be careful honey, have a good day at work, and look out for sharks.”

At 2:30 pm, Sophia and her friend, Jessica, paddled out just south of Pacific Palisades. She said having her girlfriend in the water made up for the day’s lack of waves.

“We were surfing the beach break away from everyone else and it was pretty much flat so we paddled in. I caught some white wash to go in and when I bailed to get off my board and stood up on my feet, I felt an explosion of pain. I thought I was having a nightmare,” she said struggling to hold back tears. 

ResizedImageWzk0OCw4NzVd Shark

Regardless, that’s one hell of gash. And, GoFundMe has become American’s go-to form of health care.

Sophia was standing in waist deep water when she saw that there was fat hanging from her leg. “I immediately went into fight or flight mode, I started screaming for help.”

Jessica and two surfers close by came to her aid. They helped Sophia up the beach. LA County Lifeguards responded soon after, cloaking Sophia in an aluminium blanket as they waited for help to arrive.

Sophia was rushed in an ambulance to the emergency room of UCLA Medical Center. She waited six hours in her bathing suit, three of which were spent without pain meds, to get her leg sewn shut.

After surgeons prepped her wound, she asked them to take a photo so she had proof of her story. “I knew I was going to have this scar for the rest of my life so I wanted to have a badass photo of the wound.” It took 50 stitches to close the four-inch-deep-incision.

She changed her Instagram handle to @Shark_Bite_Sophia_ and posted the graphic image online. At this point, she didn’t know whether it was a shark that caused her injury or the fin from her surfboard. “ I changed my Instagram name to make light of the situation,” said Sophia, “it sure did look like a shark bite to me.”

Unbeknownst to her at the time, the post would cause a social media shit storm that would hurt Sophia the most. “I’m just trying to recover and need all the positivity I can get.”

The following day, Sophia met with Dr Bert Mandelbaum, a former marine biologist and orthopaedic surgeon. She told him, “It could have been from my surfboard, I don’t know.”

Together, they reenacted the incident, trying to figure out how the position her body was in and how that could have led to the injury.

ResizedImageWzEyNTMsMTI4M10 Bit2

One thing’s certain, this wasn’t pleasant.

After an MRI and further investigation, Dr Mandelbaum came to the conclusion that it was a shark bite. “The doctor told me that he thinks the shark bit the fin as it chomped down on my leg which caused the shape of the wound.”

Sophia thinks the vehement reaction is a knee-jerk response to the latest spike in shark sightings. “I’m not trying to compare my experience to other people or scare people from surfing. That’s the last thing I want to do. There have always been sharks and there always will be, it’s part of being in the ocean.”

She said if there’s anything the experience has taught her, it’s that there is safety in numbers. “I don’ think I’ll be surfing alone by myself for some time.”

After all the drama and assumptions made in Sofia’s direction, we figured it was right to give her a chance to tell her side of the story. The verdict? Still uncertain. However, the facts presented don’t seem to add up to an attack. To her defence, if a doctor told me I had cancer, I’d be inclined to believe him.

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

Correction: J-Bay All Foreplay, No Climax

Slim pickings on Day 1 of the Corona Cero Open J-Bay 2025.

Jul 11, 2025

What Do Hollywood, Surf Lessons, Michael Jackson And Traction Pads Have In Common?

A Stab Interview with Teva Dexter, the man behind surfing's hardest new hardware brand —…

Jul 10, 2025

Surf100 Challenge Series Presented By Pacifico: Episode 3

"The tribe has spoken," Dane Reynolds pronounced, and a surfer's torch was snuffed.

Jul 10, 2025

How Josh Ku Nearly Died Trying To Cross From Ulus to G Land by Hydrofoil

“If someone finds me dead at least they can find my phone and know what…

Jul 10, 2025

Expect No Kiss, All Climax At The “World’s Most Perfect Pointbreak”

A Corona Cero Open J-Bay 2025 preview.

Jul 9, 2025

SEOTY: Liam O’Brien stars in ‘Friction of Perception’

"Hopefully I don’t come across like too much of a peanut."

Jul 8, 2025

10 Shapers To Watch In The Next 10 Years — Part One

“It’s like a drug empire, man. Cut the head off the snakes, and more will…

Jul 7, 2025

Mason Ho Joins Ritual Vision, Releases Remix Of Greatest Hits

Dion Agius riffs on the eyewear brand’s U.S. expansion, Ritualistic Tendencies, and the new stars…

Jul 7, 2025

Is It Time For A New Judging Format?

We have a modest proposal — a WSL head judge disagrees.

Jul 7, 2025

Luke Thompson Turns Last Year’s Priority Disaster Into Ballito Gold

+ earns himself a wildcard into Jbay.

Jul 7, 2025

Fiji Has Its First Professional Surfer, And He’s Unbelievable

16-year-old James Kusitino’s incomprehensible tube lounging leads to a deal with Former.

Jul 6, 2025

Laird Hamilton on The Limitations of Being a Purist, Invention vs. Ownership + Why He Never Had a Sticker Deal 

Untold stories from his How Surfers Get Paid interview.

Jul 4, 2025

When Surfer’s Eye Is Actually Cancer

Erin Campbell's brutal journey from surf camp dreams to chemo drops, cryotherapy, and surgical horror.

Jul 3, 2025

Surfing’s 2025 Q2 Report

An assessment of surfing's vital signs throughout the second quarter of 2025.

Jul 2, 2025

What Actually Happened to Occy’s Mad Max Plunger Pool In Yeppoon?

Surf Lakes’ brass talks: internet hecklers, the unplugging of the plunger, and the Tom Curren…

Jul 2, 2025

Poor Goofy Foots 

Data shows that the world is stacked against goofs — they even make 15% less money than…

Jul 1, 2025

Britain’s First Wavepool Has Closed — What Really Happened?

Bankruptcy, social media hackings, debts unpaid — and yet, reopening looms.

Jul 1, 2025

Watch: Was Matt Meola’s Air Actually Better Than Hughie’s?

Watch the full Swatch Nines highlight reel and decide.

Jun 30, 2025
Advertisement