Amy Schumer's Life Was Saved By A Stranger After Surfing Accident Left Her Severely Injured

Nov 25, 2021 by apost team

Thanks to her standout performances in “Trainwreck” and on the series “Last Comic Standing,” Amy Schumer is best known for her career as a comedian and actress.

Her life in show business began after she graduated with a theater degree from Towson University and moved to New York City. It was there that she entered the theater scene, taking on the role of a breast cancer patient in an Off-Off-Broadway production of “Keeping Abreast.” At the same time, she also began to establish herself as a comedian, performing at the well-known Gotham Comedy Club, which eventually led to a relationship with Comedy Central. Schumer credits the popular comedy channel for launching her career, though “Trainwreck,” the actress's film debut in a starring role, also put the up-and-coming star in the spotlight. Thanks to her performance in the 2015 film, she received Golden Globe and Writers Guild nominations — not to mention critical praise in the press. 

In a 2016 Vanity Fair interview, Schumer revealed that comedy isn’t her only passion, however. In fact, before her days as one of Hollywood’s most recognizable comedians, Schumer was a “very serious volleyball player” and surfer.

In that same interview, Schumer also recounted a harrowing experience out on the water when she “skegged” herself with her surfboard, which means that she stabbed herself with the surfboard’s bottom fin, also known as a skeg.

Schumer told Vanity Fair that the experience was so terrifying that she thought she was going to die. But luckily, a “beautiful” man came to the rescue.

“My whole fin went into my leg, and I had to yank it out. I was by myself,” Schumer began her story.

“It was just about to be winter and no one was on the beach. But I found like one guy with this other guy. I was like, ‘I need you to hold my leg.’ I was delegating. And he held my leg closed with his bare hands … I wish I knew who that guy was, because he saved my life, for sure. He had blue toenail polish and nail polish; he had long stringy hair. And I remember him being beautiful. Anyway, he held my leg closed,” she added.

Not only was Schumer afraid that she would bleed out or lose her leg, but she also thought of the sharks.

“That was my first thought,” Schumer told the magazine. “That’s why I got right out of there. But my thoughts while I was coming out — I remember them. I thought, Well, I’m going to die. I can’t believe I’m going to die like this. Then I’m like, Oh, no (I’m not going to die) — but I’m going to lose my leg.”

“And now I’m going to have to go and be a speaker at high schools and, like, motivate people,” Schumer joked. “I was so annoyed about my life. I was just like, Ucchh. And then it was fine.”

To make matters worse, Schumer was supposed to go into Manhattan with her dad, who Schumer says was looking for her on the beach.

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“I was terrified,” Schumer told Vanity Fair. “A crowd formed around me and I could see my dad looking for me on the beach. I was like, ‘That’s my dad. But don’t get him. He’s going to freak out. He’s real sensitive. He’s going to cry.’ But they got him. And he just looked at my leg, and he went (makes a sucking sound). Kind of like sucked his teeth in? And the tide was coming in. So he was like, ‘Put her on the board! Carry her in more!’ And people kept putting towels and towels on me. I was like, ‘I’m not cold — there’s a hole in my leg.’ I was making jokes.”

It took 15 minutes for the ambulance to arrive, but apart from “forty-one stitches” and a “bad scar,” Schumer made it out of the ocean without any major injuries.

Shortly thereafter, Schumer’s volleyball and surfing days were over, as she began to focus on acting and comedy.

Today, nearly 16 years since her first appearance on the big screen, Schumer has continued her career as an actress and comedian. Her most recent project is acting in Stephen Karam’s directorial debut “The Humans.” Karam, a celebrated playwright, based the film on his one-act play of the same name.

Gary M. Kramer lauded the film for its “superb acting” in his Salon review, adding that “Amy Schumer is very affecting in her big dramatic scenes.”

The film, which takes place on Thanksgiving, debuted both in theaters and on Showtime on Nov. 24, and most of the reviews have been positive. 

What do you think of Schumer’s surfing story? Do you have a favorite Schumer movie or comedy special? Let us know — and be sure to pass this on to friends and family members.