Liam Hemsworth Almost Died Surfing In Waist-Deep Water

Before he made it big as an actor, Australian hottie and Miley Cyrus’ other half Liam Hemsworth was super into surfing, so much so that he thought he was going to make a career out of it. Liam explains that he even started surfing competitively from age 13, and was learning surf-related things at school (this sounds like the best class to take ever):

“I surfed competitively from age 13 to 18. Every day, before and after school. I wanted to surf for the rest of my life. It’s what all my friends did. I even had it as a subject in school for a number of years. They teach you all parts of the surfing industry: How to judge surf heats, that sort of thing.”

Liam says that although he loves the thrill and fear involved in surfing, he’s had some close calls in the past – he’s previously spotted a shark in the water while trying to catch some waves, and on one occasion he nearly drowned despite only being in waist-deep water:

“The fear of dying? That’s part of the fun of it. The adrenaline you get from surfing big waves. I’ve seen a shark before. You get the worst wipeouts when you’re not expecting it. When I was a kid, one time I got my leg rope wrapped around my whole body like a ball, under water. Couldn’t get up. I was in waist-deep water, but I almost drowned. You know, I’ve had a few times.”