The definition of Aussie mateship: Taking on a shark for your friend.
On Sunday night, Australian surfer Julian Wilson did this for his buddy and competitor Mick Fanning. The pair were competing in the final of the J-Bay Open in South Africa when a massive shark lurched at three-time world champion Fanning.
Instead of paddling for his life and without a second thought, Wilson headed into the battleground to try and save Fanning.
"It was pretty spooky ... I literally thought, paddling for him, I wasn't gonna get there in time," Wilson recounted, in an interview with Fox Sports. "I thought: 'I have a board, a weapon, and if I just get there I can just stab it.'"
In the interview, Wilson breaks down and weeps as he describes the moment he thought Fanning was taken under.
"It came up and he was wrestling it," Wilson said. "I saw the whole thing and then I saw he got knocked off his board, and then a little wave popped up and he has gone under. I felt like I couldn't get there quick enough."
Before Wilson could reach the shark and stab it with his board, Fanning had punched it in the head and escaped its grasp. Both men are being hailed as total badasses.
Fanning praised his fellow Aussie for not thinking twice in the water: "What a legend, coming after me," he said.
The guys will split the prize money and competition points for first place -- 'cause they are both absolute winners.
pic.twitter.com/T8iwvnO0JJ— Julian Wilson (@julian_wilson) July 19, 2015