Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 1014 is a return conversation with shark-attack survivor Jameson Reeder Jr. and his father, Jameson Reeder Sr. Three and a half years after a nine-foot bull shark took JJ's leg below the knee at Looe Key Reef, JJ is 14, playing baseball on a running blade, and speaking at schools about facing fear. This episode covers how he got back in the water, the GoPro footage that captured the attack, and a long, honest back-and-forth on Florida's shark population.
Listen now: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · Press play in the player above to watch.
Jameson Reeder Jr., known as JJ, is a teenage shark-attack survivor from a South Florida family. At age 10 he lost his leg below the knee to a nine-foot bull shark while snorkeling at Looe Key Reef in the Florida Keys. Now 14, he plays baseball on a running blade, speaks at schools with his father, and co-hosts the Jameson Reeder Culture Cast. His story is told in the book Rescue at the Reef: The Miraculous True Story of a Little Boy with Big Faith.
JJ Reeder was nine miles offshore at Looe Key Reef in the Florida Keys, snorkeling and following a sea turtle, when a nine-foot female bull shark bit him below the knee. His father was in the water with him. They transferred JJ to the fastest boat on the reef, a 36-foot Invincible, which ran him to shore in about ten minutes. He was airlifted to Nicklaus Children's Hospital in Miami and reached care within the golden hour.
The bull shark's bite stripped the tissue and bone from JJ's lower leg between the knee and ankle. The fibula remained intact and the tibia showed teeth marks, but there was no way to save the limb, so doctors amputated below the knee. He spent about three weeks in the hospital and went through four surgeries.
Four days after the attack, while still in the hospital, JJ asked his father to take him back to the reef to face his fear. They returned exactly ten weeks to the day, to the same waters. JJ had a flashback of the attack the moment he went under, then surfaced and spent the day swimming with family and friends. He credits his faith for giving him the courage to get back in.
JJ was filming the turtle with a GoPro when the attack happened and dropped the camera. Days later a friend named Zach recovered it from the reef floor. The footage captured 18 frames of the shark approaching from the edge of visibility and three frames of a tooth ejecting from its mouth, which helped experts including Dr. Neil Hammerschlag confirm an eight-to-ten-foot bull shark. A reel of the recovery has been viewed more than 40 million times.
In the episode, Tom Rowland says there are more sharks and more shark interactions than at any point in his decades on the water, while noting he has no baseline beyond his own career. The Reeders and others they cite, including Manny Puig and Mark the Shark, believe American coastal waters have seen a shark boom. Tom adds that healthy shark numbers can also signal a healthy fishery, and that his bigger concern is preserving public access to fishing and diving areas.
Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 1014 with Jameson Reeder Jr. and Sr. is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and iHeartRadio. The video version is embedded at the top of this page.
JJ and his dad first sat down with me about eight months before this conversation, and JJ has grown up a lot since then. He is 14 now, he just got a new running blade, and his dad sent me a video of him hitting a triple in a baseball game. What pulled me to have them back is that their story did not stop at survival. JJ is speaking at schools, the family started a podcast, and there is a book out about the day his leg was taken. I wanted to hear where all of that has gone.
Press play in the YouTube player at the top of this page to hear the whole conversation in their own words.
Jameson Sr. was in the water when the shark hit, holding his son and certain he was about to watch him die. What JJ said next stopped his father cold and reset the entire moment. JJ also describes what he saw on the boat ride toward shore, why he started praying for the people in the ambulance, and the cross that fell out of a first responder's shirt. I have heard a lot of survival stories. The way this one is told is different. Listen to that stretch of the episode.
JJ was filming the turtle when the shark came, and the camera went to the reef floor nine miles offshore. Trained dive friends searched and could not find it. Then the right person was on the reef at the right time, on his last pass, with the sharks more fired up than he had ever seen. What the recovered footage actually shows — frame by frame — is one of the most remarkable parts of this whole story, and it is why experts could confirm exactly what kind of shark this was. Hear how it was found in the player above.
Four days after the attack, still in a hospital bed, JJ hid under the sheets, borrowed a phone, and called his dad with a whispered request. He wanted to go back to the exact reef where it happened. His reason was simple and it floored his father. They waited for his leg to heal, got medical clearance, and returned ten weeks to the day. What happened in the first second JJ went under the water, and what happened right after, is the heart of this episode. Press play to hear it.
JJ and his dad now speak to audiences about fear, and they are direct about what carried them through. They draw a line most people put on opposite ends of a spectrum: that freedom sits on the far side of your greatest fear, and that facing fear is not the absence of it. They use the story of David and Goliath to make the point, and JJ has a line about the size of the shark versus the strength of his Savior that he comes back to again and again. Listen to how they frame it.
This is where the conversation opens up. The Reeders, along with Manny Puig and Mark the Shark, believe American coastal waters are carrying more sharks than they should. I push on that from the guide's chair: I see more sharks than ever in my own career, but the fishery in the Keys and the Everglades looks healthy to me, and healthy shark numbers can mean healthy fish. We get into access, the closures that never reopen, shark deterrent bands, and what stewardship actually requires. It is a real debate, not a soundbite. Hear the whole exchange in the episode.
Listen to the full conversation: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · or watch in the YouTube player at the top of this page.
What stays with me after talking to JJ again is how little the worst day of his life gets to define him. He is doing harder things at 14 than a lot of grown adults will attempt, and he is doing them on a running blade with a great white shark painted on it.
The attack is the story people will always lead with. The story underneath it — a kid who asked to go back to the water that took his leg, and a dad who said yes — is the one I want listeners to sit with. That is the part about freedom, and it applies to far more than sharks.
Press play in the player above, or grab Episode 1014 on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Jameson Reeder Jr. (JJ) · Jameson Reeder Sr. · Mary Reeder · Looe Key Reef · Nicklaus Children's Hospital · Dr. Neil Hammerschlag (University of Miami) · Manny Puig · Mark the Shark · Mike Coots · Chris Fischer (OCEARCH) · Andy Mill · Lt. Millian (Monroe County Fire Rescue) · Jameson Reeder Culture Cast · Rescue at the Reef · Shark Banz · National Geographic "Shark Attack 360"
Jameson Reeder Jr. is a teenage shark-attack survivor and ocean-safety speaker from a lifelong South Florida water family. At age 10 he was bitten by a nine-foot bull shark while snorkeling at Looe Key Reef and lost his leg below the knee. He returned to the same waters ten weeks later to face his fear, and at 14 he plays baseball on a running blade, swims and fishes regularly, speaks at schools and events about faith and resilience, and co-hosts the Jameson Reeder Culture Cast with his father. His story is told in the book Rescue at the Reef: The Miraculous True Story of a Little Boy with Big Faith.
Subscribe to get the latest episodes, show notes, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.