Darryl Flea Virostko: big wave surfer and big life rescuer

A 65-year old female bodyboarder was rescued in Santa Cruz by Darryl "Flea" Virostko and his brother Troy, when they were checking the surf conditions in the Californian region.

"Troy and I were driving in his truck when we rounded the corner by Mitchells Cove and I saw a bodyboarder kind of just floating," Darryl, told Santa Cruz Patch.

"I mentioned to Troy that he get his wetsuit ready as we might have to jump in and grab this person that looked spent."

The Virostko brothers were analyzing the big wave surfing possibilities along West Cliff Drive when they spotted the woman in distress.

Darryl, who had just been granted the Mavericks Legend Award the day before, acted fast and reached the exhausted bodyboarder as waves kept crashing in the surf zone.

"Flea" was also recovering from a recent hip injury, to make things worse.

"I realized that I had just put all of that out of my mind, the pain and my soreness. I knew that if I didn't grab this person, they would probably drown."

As the female bodyboarder grabbed Darryl, a set of waves pushed the group against the coast in very difficult rescue conditions.

Fortunately, she got into a safe area, and the emergency teams appeared to complete the support.

"This is just what surfers do. This is our briar patch. I knew we could get her out of the water. I would like to think almost any true surfer would have done what I did."

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