“If they take my life, don’t take theirs.” - Mike CootsWords from a man who nearly lost his life to a shark but grew into one of their biggest advocates. As he recounts the details of his attack, he goes on to explain how the day he nearly lost his life to a shark, was the start of his life lived in service to the plight of the species.   A personal hero of mine, Hawaii-born and raised Mike Coots is the definition of inspirational. His story is not only important for surfers around the globe who fear the exact incident Mike lived through, but to shark advocates too. Let Mike explain how he became involved in the first legislation in the USA to make it illegal to ban shark fins and continues to defend sharks. And the journey of buying a foot online as a one-legged surfer.  Mike’s attack itself could also be the key to unlocking so many clues as to why shark attacks happen. Could his attack have been the result of human negligence? Mike will teach us how to turn an enemy into a friend, if sharks have individual personalities and how the need for surfers to connect to sharks is not only relevant but potentially life-saving.  Connect with Mike here ?Mike’s Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mikecoots/Mike’s Website https://sharksbymikecoots.com/Short Film about his story https://sharksbymikecoots.com/pages/about-mike-Get in touch! I’d love to hear you’re feedback on the podcast or any topics ideas you might have for future episodes. Send me a message! ?Follow Me Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sharkgirlmadison/Email: sharkstoriespodcast@gmail.comSupport Project Hiu: https://projecthiu.com/Have a cool sponsorship or collab offer? Send it here: sharkstoriespodcast@gmail.comSupport the show (https://donorbox.org/project-hiu)