Early morning surf conditions were pumping at Surfrider Beach when Darren Keaster, a member of the local nonprofit Malibu Underdogs, grabbed his board and fishing rod to catch some waves with photographer Gordon Yould on Friday, Oct. 9.
Keaster is known around town as a top angler, fishing from the back of the surfline and catching lunch for his friends who have affectionately given him the nickname “Fish Sticks.” Keaster recently caught a 25-lb sea bass from his soft-top longboard, and celebrated the catch by cooking fish tacos for his friends and family at the beach. On this early October Friday, Keaster was in store for something he couldn’t have expected.
Photographer and friend of Keaster, Yould regularly photographs surfers in the water for his company, HappyPics4U.com, and had brought along camera equipment for a swell session with the waves.
“I’m walking down to the beach and he was about to paddle out and I yelled ‘Hey Darren, turn around! The light looks really good right now!’ That’s when he turned around and smiled at me,” Yould said. “Then we both paddled out and got into the lineup.”
“It was a beautiful morning and I had my rod with me because I just wanted to fish,” Keaster said.
Minutes later, Yould was on his board, photographing surfers and waves when he turned to see Keaster struggling.
“I had started taking photos of the next wave and I turn around and look back, and Darren’s lost his hat, sunglasses, his board and fishing rod, and he’s up to his chin in the water. He’s calling for help,” Yould said.
“I went out so quick,” Keaster said. “I didn’t have time to feel anything. It just happened like that.”
Yould dove into action and swam over to help his friend, pulling 6-foot-2, 210-lb Keaster on to his small surfboard, waving to nearby tandem team surfers Charlie Christensen and Myra Burg for help.
“I thought he was just choking on water and I had no idea he was having a heart attack,” Yould said. “I said, ‘Hey man, just hang out on my board for a little bit and get your breath back.’ He passed out and his eyes rolled back into his head. He started foaming at the mouth. It was the scariest thing ever.”
Christensen and Burg paddled over to help lift Keaster on to their bigger tandem board, while Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD) Lifeguards on shore were alerted to what was going on in the water. LACoFD Lifeguard Dusty Wiggins swam out to assist the rescue in the water.
“He was lucky that we were around at the time, and we just took action right away,” Christensen said. “I could see that he was going into shock because his body was starting to vibrate and his body was rolling back and he was foaming at the mouth.”
Christensen performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on Keaster while Burg, Wiggins and Yould braved the swells to bring Keaster to shore.
“Once we got him on to the beach, they defibbed him three times and they got an airway and a pulse back,” Yould said.
Keaster was transported to UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica where he was treated for a heart attack in the intensive care unit for two days, followed by three days of recovery.
“He saved his own life by saying ‘Gordon help,’” Burg said. “Ask for what you want. We just took action.”
“I looked at my photos that had the timestamp on them and I took roughly from the first photo when it happened and he was out of air for eight minutes — from when he got on my board to the beach — I calculated about eight minutes,” Yould said.
On Friday, Oct. 16, Keaster was back at the beach with his family, giving praise and thanks for his life.
“I’ve got a lot more to give and a lot more life to live,” Keaster said. “There’s been a lot more guys out there that have had heart attacks that haven’t made it.
“We were all so worried about how he was doing,” Yould said. “We didn’t have any information about how he was doing. He was probably a vegetable … and then he pops out and he was at the beach that morning, and he goes ‘Dude! You saved my life!’ He looks amazing. He lost like 10 pounds. He has this whole new attitude about life, you know, the stoke in his eye. It’s amazing that he’s OK. I’m so glad that he is OK. He’s back in action.”
