Shark Week 2020 | 'I Was Prey': Glenn Dickson and Kawika Matsu survived horrific attacks, where are they now?
Spoilers for 'I Was Prey: Shark Week', part of the Discovery Channel's Shark Week 2020 programming
Having a close encounter with a shark is no laughing matter. It's the sort of experience that most people don't survive but in Shark Week 2020's 'I Was Prey: Shark Week' special, we learn of two brave men who not only survived being attacked by sharks but also picked themselves up and made their lives better.
Both Kawika Matsu and Glenn Dickson had horrific encounters with sharks in the ocean, suffering terrible losses. But neither of them holds any ill will towards the apex predators that scarred them for life, physically and mentally. Dickson, a Muay Thai fighter, was attacked by a nine-foot-long bull shark while spearfishing off the coast of Hinchinbrook Island near Queensland, Australia. The attack cost him a leg and for a while, Dickson believed that his fighting career would be over.
But with the help of his supportive family, Dickson rebuilt his life, using a prosthetic leg and setting up his own gym. He now actively supports the protection of sharks in their natural territory. During an appearance on '60 Minutes Australia', Dickson said, "When you get in the water, when you decide you want to jump in the ocean, you just accept that you're taking that risk." As far as Dickson is concerned, he was just unlucky and the oceans belong to the animals who live in them, sharks included.
Passionate surfer Matsu, who was attacked by three sharks near Ascension Island in the Atlantic Ocean, holds a similar view. He had to undergo multiple surgeries and skin grafts because of the attack, which he barely managed to survive. But six months later, he was back in the water. Neither Matsu nor Dickson believes that just because they were attacked, they need to be vengeful or hold it against the animals who hurt them because after all, they are just animals.
Their lives are proof that one can live to the fullest even after suffering such a horrible mishap. And they're a warning of the risks involved with entering into shark territory because despite how superior humans may feel, the oceans will always belong to the sharks.
'I Was Prey: Shark Week' aired August 14 at 11 pm ET on The Discovery Channel.