Longtime local surfer and fixture at Blackies recovering in good spirits after heart attack at beach

Footage monitoring the waves at Blackies just west of Newport Beach Pier caught a surfer collapsing next to his board in ankle deep water as he was returning from the ocean on Thursday, Nov. 12.

A few bystanders either froze or simply failed to acknowledge what was happening. But an off-duty firefighter who happened to be nearby stepped in to begin CPR. Another person called 911.

Newport Beach lifeguards had just finished a training session when the call came in. They were packing up paddle boards and rinsing sand off of themselves only 400 feet away at their headquarters when they heard the words “full arrest” announcing a heart attack over the intercom. Lifeguard Officer Carly Christian was in the middle of a shower at the time, but the first to run out the door and literally dash to the scene.

“I had soap on my face,” she recalled during an interview with the Daily Pilot alongside her colleagues Monday. “Still had my wet suit on though.”

From left, lifeguards Carly Christian, Michael Ure, Natalie May, Andy White and Andy Matsuyama point out where they resuscitated a surfer who had a heart attack in November.

(Eric Licas)

The others on duty with her followed in trucks carrying lifesaving equipment. The man who had collapsed didn’t have a pulse and wasn’t breathing when they arrived.

The team moved him away from the shallow water he was in and onto dry sand. His eyes were open as he laid on his back, but they were dilated and unfocused. For about five glacial minutes, lifeguards worked in concert with one another to get his heart beating again.

“He looked like he was not alive,” Lifeguard Capt. Andy Matsuyama said.

Christian and Capt. Natalie May fitted a mask and oxygen tank onto him then monitored his breathing. Battalion Chief Michael Ure took over chest compression for the bystander who came to help earlier. Lifeguard Capt. Andy White went to fetch additional aid and equipment from paramedics stationed at a nearby parking lot. Matsuyama prepared a defibrillator.

The patient had to be shocked twice before he slowly started coming to. It began with a slight movement of his hand. Some time passed before his eyelids eventually fluttered as he adjusted to the light.

“It was pretty crazy to see someone come back at the scene like that,” White said. “And especially, there was a collective sigh of relief between us because we knew who this person was.”

The man they resuscitated is a well known local surfer who’s become a fixture at Blackies. Most know him only by his first name, Rick, even some who have called him a friend for over 30 years like T.K. Brimer, owner of the Frog House surf shop.

Brimer said “surfer lore and love” flowed through Rick’s veins. For decades, if he wasn’t out in the water on a longboard he could be found in the parking lot at Newport Beach Pier practically every day from sun up to sun down, eager to share his knowledge and experience with anyone he came across.

“So I went to Hoag Hospital, I went ‘Hey, my buddy Rick had a heart attack at the beach down at Blackies, but I don’t know his last name or anything,’” Brimer recalled during an interview at his business Monday. “And they go,’Oh the surfer guy, right? Everybody’s showing up to see that guy.’”

Brimer said Rick was recovering and has been in good spirits since his ordeal. However, it may be at least a week before he can paddle out again.

“He wants to get back in the water horribly, like anyone who makes surfing their life,” Brimer said.

One other was hiccup keeping Rick from getting back to what he loves doing most: Lifeguards had to damage his only wet suit in order to fit defibrillator pads onto him.

“The first thing he said when he gained consciousness was ‘Why’d you have to cut up my wet suit?’”

Lifeguards came into Brimer’s store a few days later with a small amount of money and brought up the idea of getting a replacement for Rick. The shop owner was happy to help and covered the difference between the cash they had on hand the price of a discounted suit. The new gear was presented to the Newport Beach area local during a ceremony at the Beach Ball bar on Thursday, Dec. 12.