{"id":2270,"date":"2026-06-03T02:55:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T02:55:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edmpackz.com\/?p=2270"},"modified":"2026-06-03T02:55:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T02:55:14","slug":"shark-attack-victim-i-was-staring-at-it-eyeball-to-eyeball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/edmpackz.com\/?p=2270","title":{"rendered":"Shark Attack Victim: ‘I Was Staring at It Eyeball-to-Eyeball’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

<\/h1>\n

Steven Robles tells PEOPLE about surviving a shark attack this weekend<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\"Image\"<\/div>\n<\/div>
Credit : Laura Joyce\/goofyfootphotography.com\/AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\n

Steven Robles got a little more than he bargained for on his usual morning swim this weekend \u2013 a 7-foot great white shark.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

The Keller Williams Palos Verdes Realty broker, 50, was nearing the end of a one-hour swim from Southern California\u2019s Hermosa Beach to Manhattan Beach with a group of 14 friends at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday when the shark \u201ccame from the bottom of the ocean floor, surfaced at the top of the water, made a very sharp left turn and lunged\u201d at the side of his rib cage, he tells PEOPLE.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cHe just swam right at me and when he lunged into my chest, I could feel his whole body vibrating,\u201d says Robles, who is an open-water swimmer and completed a 24-mile swim from Catalina Island to Palos Verdes last year. \u201cIt happened so quick. I was very scared. It was burning pain. \u2026 I was staring at this shark eyeball-to-eyeball with its teeth on the side of my rib cage.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

And though it was \u201cthe most frightening thing\u201d he\u2019s ever experienced, Robles followed \u201cpure instinct\u201d that saved his life.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cI had enough sense to use my right hand to grab its nose and pry the fish\u2019s teeth off my side torso area,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Luckily, the shark \u201clet go and swam away immediately,\u201d and Robles \u2013 who received numerous stitches on his chest and thumb where the shark tore through an artery \u2013 is alive to tell the story.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cI immediately started screaming, and about three swimmers who were five strokes behind me came up and helped me get to shore,\u201d he says. \u201cA paddler showed up and got me on his longboard and paramedics and lifeguards were waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Robles \u2013 who\u2019s been swimming that shoreline \u201chis entire life\u201d \u2013 is now back home recovering and feeling very lucky.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cFortunately, the bite didn\u2019t go into any organs and I didn\u2019t crack any ribs,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m very thankful I\u2019m alive. This absolutely could have been it. I was given a second chance, and this is Day One of a new life.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Want more stories like this?<\/span><\/h2>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Sign up for our newsletter and other special offers:<\/span><\/h2>\n

sign me up<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Thank you for signing up!<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Steven Robles tells PEOPLE about surviving a shark attack this weekend Credit : Laura Joyce\/goofyfootphotography.com\/AP Steven Robles got a little more than he bargained for on his usual morning swim … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2271,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/edmpackz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/edmpackz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/edmpackz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edmpackz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edmpackz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2270"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/edmpackz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2270\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2272,"href":"https:\/\/edmpackz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2270\/revisions\/2272"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edmpackz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/edmpackz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edmpackz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edmpackz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}