Charging slabs, busting airs and attempting spine-bending moves - surely bodyboarding is a deathtrap?
Charging slabs, busting airs and attempting spine-bending moves – surely bodyboarding is a deathtrap? Every member of the Bodyboard Holidays staff team hits the water on a daily basis, so we asked them to recount their most memorable bodyboarding injuries. Prepare for some toe-curling stories!
Jeff Hubbard - Celebrity Coach
2010 – Half Point, windy onshore. Tiny left barrel, one foot spinal crusher!
Back in 2010, I’d just come off an epic session at Honolulu Bay, Maui, and I was still riding that high the next morning. I convinced myself a quick, windy one-foot Half Point session would be a fun warm-down. The swell was tiny – maybe a foot – and I wasn’t even really paying attention as I snuck into a little left-hand barrel. But the lip slammed shut on me, and I wrapped my back right around an unseen rock. The impact felt like getting hit by a Mack truck.
I fractured three ribs and broke two transverse processes in my lower back. I washed up on the sand, gasping for breath, barely able to move. Fortunately, the lifeguards spotted me and helped me to my vehicle. Spencer Skipper was there too; he folded down the seats and let me lie flat in the back as we sped off to the emergency room.
X-rays confirmed the damage: three broken ribs and two fractured vertebrae. There was no brace or quick fix – just six to eight weeks of lying low and letting the bones knit back together. I had to sit out the final tour contest of the year at Confital, which stung. But after my six-week check-up, I felt well enough to paddle back out.
By December I was back in competition at the Wild Wild Wave Invitational in Frontón, Gran Canaria -arguably the most stacked event of the year, with every world champion in attendance. I didn’t know what to expect after my injury, but somehow I paddled through the pain and rode every wave as hard as I could. Against all odds, I won the contest—just two months after nearly wrecking my back.
That victory taught me a lot about resilience. Even when you’re sidelined by injury, you can keep up your fitness – swimming laps, doing gentle rehab exercises – and stay mentally strong. If you focus on the small gains each day, you can surprise yourself with how far you’ll come. And in my case, it paid off in the most amazing way.
Jeff’s back fully healed allowing him to bust out for the crew on our recent Morocco bodyboarding trip.
Iain Campbell - Celebrity Coach
2014 Chilean beat down!
Back in 2014, I was competing in Antofagasta, Chile—a notorious break that breaks over super shallow reef. During my heat, I felt something go wrong, but I shrugged it off and kept surfing for another eight or ten minutes. I even joked with Jared Houston in the water, “Mate, something really feels off,” but he urged me to finish the heat.
When I finally paddled in, I discovered a tiny, four-centimetre triangular cut in the top of my wetsuit. It looked minor—a superficial scratch—so I didn’t think much of it. I’d managed to place second in that heat and was stoked to advance to the next round.
As I ran up the beach, towel wrapped around my waist, I yanked my wetsuit down over my right knee—and suddenly my leg “popped” open. Blood gushed everywhere. Lifeguards and medics rushed over, slashed my wetsuit from groin to ankle to expose the wound, hooked me up to saline, and loaded me into an ambulance.
Arriving at the local hospital was surreal. I spoke almost no Spanish, and there was no translator, so I lay on a gurney in a waiting room flanked by two dozen handcuffed prisoners staring blankly at the walls—part of Chile’s protocol to medically clear detainees.
Eventually, the English-speaking family I’d been staying with arrived, and the doctors stitched me up: twelve internal sutures and fourteen external, a total of twenty-six stitches lining a gash so neat it looked like a knee replacement scar.
Rehab was extensive. A month after the accident, I had daily scar-tissue breakdown sessions—deep massage to keep the fascia supple—followed by two more months of progressive strength and mobility work, as if I’d torn every muscle in my leg. By the end of it, I’d rebuilt my leg from the ground up and regained full strength.
Even now, that scar is a reminder of how quickly things can go south in shallow water, and how lucky I was to walk away with no long-term damage. Almost ten years later, I’m still riding hard—and every time I look at that line of stitches, I’m grateful for that unlikely win over the reef at La Coupala.
Not what you want to see when you pull down your wetsuit!
Iain busting out on one of the playful reefs that Nusa Lembongan has to offer.
Jacob Waller - Coach
Indo Infected fin cut on the top of my foot
Towards the end of my two-month trip to Indo, I was staying in Lakey Peak and my feet were in terrible shape. I was basically surfing with duct tape wrapped around them each day and also Vaseline over the top of the tape. It didn’t really work and just made it worse. One of the rubs got pretty bad and I ended up getting fairly ill from it. I didn’t bodyboard for about a month after the trip finished as my foot would hurt too much in my fins.
Jacob on one of many mechanical barrels Bali has to offer
James Thorne - Coach
Neck trouble in Cornwall
Nothing serious for me. Mostly small reef cuts. I broke my hand, but that was bodysurfing in one-foot waves. I found the only rock on the whole beach! Bodyboarding, I broke my ribs, mistiming a roll in a shorebreak at Sennen. I landed on the big egg-shaped boulders sideways. Couldn’t lay on a board for a few weeks. So painful!
I forgot one other injury… I ducked out of a shorebreak in Bude around 1990 and planted my head in the sandbank. Crunched my neck and spent two weeks with a collar on. I warn guests about the risk now, and tell them not to get their head in front of the nose of the board when ducking out!
James enjoying the healing properties of warm water barrels in Costa Rica!
Grant Woodhouse - Coach
Air reverse to shoulder explosion – Bali
On landing a very poorly executed air reverse at Canggu in Bali, my shoulder dislocated. Immediately I could not move my entire arm and it felt like my neck was also locked up too. The pain was similar to a bone being broken and I couldn’t imagine anything worse. I raised my good fist in the air, let out a couple of shouts and began to swim backwards towards the shore, got helped out of the water by my mate Rusty and almost passed out on the beach!
After lying around on my back like a fool for 15 minutes, I got up and sat at the restaurant waiting for a car to the hospital. I lied back down as I felt pretty dizzy/sick and after a while I started to try to move it around. I managed to put my dislocated right arm vertically upright, then moved it away from my body to the right and then upwards above my head, and it went back into the socket. Best feeling ever.
Anyway, for myself the pain wasn’t the worst feeling—it was the thoughts going around in my head: will it ever go back into place, how long will that be, will I be able to work next week, how much will it cost, how do I get there, are the doctors good, is it clean etc.
I’m now rehabilitating my shoulder and enjoying more water photography than bodyboarding until it is good enough to ride with again.
Grant lives in Indonesia and his local knowledge is second to none on our Sumatra bodyboard adventure.
Chris Burton - Photographer & Coach
Surfboard to the skull – Cornwall
I was bodyboarding at my local break, Portreath, Cornwall, which is a popular UK spot for bodyboarding. That day, I was out with a couple of surfers who were new to the area. The waves were pretty good with the usual steep take-off. I caught a wave, pulled in but got lipped and wiped out. When I surfaced, I saw one of the surfers paddling for a wave. He bailed at the last moment, but his board kept moving and struck me on the side of the head.
It didn’t really hurt, but it did cause a cut. It bled pretty badly and I still have the scar to this day. Thankfully, I was fine, and it’s now just one of the many memories of surfing my home break and trying to dodge rogue surfers.
Chris slotted at Portreath, one of Cornwalls best bodyboarding destinations.
Alex Clark - Office Team
Moroccan finger bashing!
I’ve been lucky over the years, considering how much time I’ve spent in the ocean. I’ve managed to avoid any serious bodyboarding injuries. That said, there was one. A proper one. It happened many moons ago on a trip to Morocco, and of all things… I broke my little finger.
It was the first full day of the trip and we were surfing Boilers, a pretty famous right-hand point break. I remember pulling into a wave and looking down the line. It looked like it was going to close out on me, so I tried to duck out and go under. Midway through the wave, I lost grip of my board as it was torn away from me by the power of the wave.
When I surfaced, I spotted my board a good distance away with the leash fully stretched out. I started paddling towards it and, just as I reached out to grab it, the leash recoiled and the board came flying back at me—full force—smashing me square on the end of my little finger. The result? A trip to the local medical centre and a displaced fracture for my troubles. Not exactly how you want to start a surf trip.
It might not sound like the worst injury, but I can honestly say it was one of the most painful I’ve had—and I’ve broken a fair few bones over the years, including collarbones and even a femur. The rest of the trip was spent on the beach, camera in hand, shooting photos of the crew scoring some of the best Moroccan waves I’ve ever seen. I was gutted not to be in the water, but I made up for it a few months later when I returned for another week of epic surf.
Alex is a veteran of many Bodyboard Holidays but this trip bodyboarding in Morocco was his most memorable.
Matt Hawken - Office Team
Torn ligaments in the Cornish shorebreak
My wife normally works on a Saturday and I have our children, so it’s almost impossible for me to go bodyboarding. This Saturday however, the chart was looking particularly good for a right-hand wedge in Cornwall and I thought I really needed to be there. It was a winter’s day but the sun was shining and I knew everyone was going to be there.
So I managed to arrange childcare with my parents and dump the children and set off to the beach. After about an hour of surfing I wasn’t really getting much joy and for a bit of fun I thought I’d take a small one-foot left-hander for a laugh. I got pitched, landed square on my shoulder and immediately felt shooting pain and could hardly move my arm.
I got out of the water, managed to get back to the car and get my suit off and, assuming that I’d broken my collarbone, I drove to A&E. After having an X-ray they informed me that I hadn’t broken my collarbone but I’d torn my AC ligament in my shoulder, which apparently takes a lot longer to heal than a break—which was great news.
Unable to drive, I then had to phone my wife and tell her to come and pick me up from A&E and then swing by and collect our children from my mother’s place. Needless to say, I didn’t get a lot of sympathy. Two weeks later I could still barely dress myself or wipe my own arse, and it took about three months to fully recover. Still to this day I struggle to sleep on that side of my body and that was about three years ago. Happy days!
Alex Allen - Health and Safety
Canarian catapulting
Several years ago at an undisclosed slab in the Atlantic, I broke two ribs, lost my board and fins and had several deep cuts all over my body due to not sitting deep enough. At this particular spot you need to go against your gut instinct and you must take off as deep as possible.
After a few good waves I decided to paddle in. I saw what I thought was a sweet inside one. I turned around and began to paddle. Almost immediately I knew I wasn’t deep enough and too far on the shoulder. I air-dropped to the bottom, hitting my chest on a shallow inside ledge and then going over the falls again. I was then pinned on the bottom reef, fins and board gone.
As I surfaced I then took two solid sets on the head. I got to the point where I puked underwater and everything started to turn black. Suddenly, after what felt like minutes but was most probably 20 seconds, I managed to stand up. I was stood on a dry inside ledge and my board and fins had been picked up by a local family. Let’s just say I learnt the hard way!
Making sure our trips are as safe as possible, Alex knows what it takes.
Matt 'Mave' Davies - Coach
Portuguese pasting!
I ruptured my medial crucial ligament on a drop knee floater. As I landed, board went one way and knee the other. This happened at Beliche, Portugal three years ago, so I had to hobble up the long set of steps and then drive the hour home. Three months out of the water with physio. But even once back in the water it took some weeks to get confidence back to put weight on it and hit sections.
Mave putting his knee through its paces in El Salvador
João Veiga - Coach
Bodyboarding injury, made worse by a banana, Portugal.
Totally amped, I paddled towards the peak and a perfect wave came exactly in my direction. I got barrelled for four to five seconds and it was so perfect I was aiming for the end bowl the whole time. When I finally hit it, I was projected very strongly towards the beach. The invert was so big that I could hear the fishermen yelling! However, the landing was heavy into the flats and super hard. I think my elbow came off my board a little bit and my arm was extended as a consequence.
Immediately I realised it wasn’t just a small injury—I knew my shoulder wasn’t OK at all. I didn’t even feel the muscle; it was all in my back. So it was the first and the last wave of the session. I got a white wash out of the water and asked the fishermen for help, while trying to put the shoulder in place. Two other guys came and helped me get the wetsuit off and called an ambulance that drove me to the nearest hospital, which was one hour away.
I was in a lot of pain and, predicting it could get worse, I decided to eat a banana just to avoid feeling faint. Already at the hospital, after a lot of attempts to put the shoulder in place, the doctor said I needed to go through anaesthesia and asked me when was the last time I had eaten. So because of that banana I had to wait for five hours.
I went home in a sling and the MRI confirmed a fractured bone in three places. The doctor said those injuries were equivalent to a motorbike accident. Two weeks later I went through surgery, and after that lots of physiotherapy. I was out of the water for around three to four months and full recovery took six.
So it’s very important to be safe and never go alone in the water—things can shift very quickly!
Your in safe hand on our Portugal bodyboardescape with João
Lisa Cutts - Coach
Foot pain in paradise – Sri Lanka
I haven’t had many injuries. The worst was probably a hideous fin rub that I got one winter in Sri Lanka that turned into a huge hole/ulcer and basically made my whole foot throb. All advice was to keep it dry and allow it to heal, but when there are waves to be had in 30-degree temperatures it was easier said than done.
I took advice from anyone who would listen to me banging on about the big gaping hole… filling it with all different potions and lotions to speed up the healing and bandaging it up so I couldn’t feel the rub as I flipped my way into the tropical waves. I eventually managed a few days of staying out of the water by going off sightseeing and climbing Adam’s Peak, followed by sunbathing to bake the said hole as best as I could. It never properly healed until I returned to the cold.
Lisa is fully recovered and coaching on our ladies only bodyboard holiday.
Damian Prisk - Head Coach
Western Australian foot smash
“Bodyboarding has definitely kept me more injury-free compared to my time on a surfboard! That said, I’ve still picked up a few injuries that have kept me out of the water—and some still nag me to this day (unlike reef rash, which heals and is soon forgotten).
One that stands out is my right foot, which hasn’t been quite right since I pulled into a heavy closeout at Dragyourbagalong beach break in WA. I remember dropping in, the trench just opened up beneath me, and I landed straight onto the sand—my ankle took the full force of the wave. Now it definitely points more to the right!
Another memorable one was at Lev, where I launched an air reverse out of the bowl on a chunky set. I landed in the flats, and the impact went straight through my shoulder. It’s never been the same since. That injury still affects every part of my surfing—and has cost me a small fortune in massage, physio and chiro over the years!”
Damian after an altercation with a surfboard in Indonesia
Rob Barber - Director
Necks, shoulders and hips all over the world
Just to echo the rest of the crew, for the time in the water, I feel exceptionally lucky to have only sustained a few bad injuries. They are in no real order:
Head plant to the ocean floor in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil during the World Surfing Games in ’94. I thought I’d broken my neck but then feeling came back. I couldn’t move my head and was in the quarter-finals of the comp. It was a horrible end to a sick trip.
I surfed a heavy reef in Scotland, got lipped and tore my rotator cuff on my left side. I couldn’t get my wetsuit down, was in agony and the boys that I was surfing with stayed in for another couple of hours. I was on my own in a field trying to work out what to do next.
I hit the reef in Confital, Gran Canaria with my hip. I was running a coaching camp at the time and had to manage for the rest of the trip hobbling along (on land) and not being able to kick (in the water). It was a tough few days.
I’m so grateful that through a combination of stretching, acupuncture and luck, everything has pretty much gone back to normal with my injuries, which speaks volumes about how safe bodyboarding is considering how much I have done of it!
Rob protects his head on a coaching trip to Nusa Lembongan
Getting twisty with a forward spin in Costa Rica
The Verdict
To conclude, considering this crew of riders have averaged 25+ years of bodyboarding each—most spending daily sessions at their local beach and all holidays in tropical locations—it’s pretty amazing to see that the injuries have been pretty mellow. Yes, there are a few that strike fear into the heart of the average booger, but in comparison to the situations that bodyboarders throw themselves into, the stats are good.
Compare our sport to skateboarding, surfing, rugby or even football for example, and we have a pretty amazing ratio of sessions to injuries.
If you want to ride the best waves for your ability in some of the world’s most beautiful destinations, join our insured, qualified coaching team. We’ve hand-picked the best bodyboarding locations and can’t wait to take you on the (safe yet fun!) bodyboarding coaching trip of your dreams.
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Women's Bodyboard Retreat
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Women’s Bodyboard Retreat
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Costa Rica & El Salvador
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Southern Sumatra
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El Salvador Bodyboarding
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Costa Rica Bodyboard Camp
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Secret Morocco Bodyboarding Adventure
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Portugal Bodyboarding Holiday
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Bodyboarding Bali Adventure
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