Shark victim chooses pub over hospital
A PROFESSIONAL surfer was bitten by a shark off a beach in Florida - then went to the pub rather than the hospital.
Frank O'Rourke, 23, proudly showed off his bloodied right elbow, where he said a shark attacked him as he surfed off Jacksonville Beach, the New York Post reports.
"Shark comes out of the water and grabs onto my arm, right by my elbow. Kinda tugs a little bit and thrashes," he told ABC News.
"I guess it tasted me and was like, 'Nope,'" he joked.
He stunned friends by refusing to go to the hospital, instead heading to a bar to milk his newfound notoriety.
"He immediately went to a bar 'cause he was like, 'I got bit by a shark,' and people were like, 'I'll buy you drinks!' So he went and hung out at the pier," his friend RJ Berger said.
The friend had grainy footage that appeared to show the surfer struggling as he was attacked by what they believe was a spinner or blacktip shark measuring more than one metre.
"It was kind of panic, like, 'Did that just happen?'" Mr Berger said. "It kind of took him a couple seconds to gather himself and realise, like, 'Wow, I just got bit by a shark.' And then we all went into the beach."
