How to save a life
As Bondi Rescue approaches its 13th season, head lifeguard Bruce “Hoppo” Hopkins tells DANIELLE MCGRANE what he hopes to achieve through the popular show.
Bruce “Hoppo” Hopkins has seen some pretty strange things during his time as head lifeguard on Sydney’s Bondi Beach.
One incident in particular from the past few years really sticks out in his mind.
“Bondi is such an amazing place and weird things happen when you least expect it,” Hoppo said.
“We get a lot of resuscitations which is amazing when you can bring someone back to life. But the main incident that stands out is when we were looking down south one day and a car lost control, went down the hill and then launched itself onto the sand. It was like the Dukes of Hazzard, something you don’t expect to see. Luckily it was a rainy day and no one was there, and no one was injured or killed.”
Cameras have been capturing incidents like this, and everything else the team of lifeguards have been getting up to, since 2006 for the show Bondi Rescue, now in its 13th season,
Hoppo has been there from the beginning, when series creator Ben Davies had the idea for the show after spending a summer working as a casual lifeguard on the famous beach.
“At the end of the summer he said to me, ‘There’s a TV show in what we do’. We worked together to nut out a pilot and I think originally it was only ever going to be an hour special, but the footage going backwards was quite good and they ended up with way more than an hour’s worth so they decided to make a series,” Hoppo said.
“After the first two series it just took off.”
The show does a lot to raise awareness and teach people about water safety. Hoppo is hopeful that it will lead by example and save lives.
“Over the years we have had people drown when we weren’t able to advise them and I often get asked, ‘Why did they put that on TV?’, and my opinion is that this is what happens. You need to see what happens if you don’t do the right thing or you’re not confident in the water, and we can’t get to you quick enough, you can die. It’s real-life stuff,” he said.
“We try to educate people. There are so many people now moving to Australia from countries all over the world that haven’t grown up with the ocean, and I think they come here and decide it’s great to go to the beach, but haven’t had that experience or education with the water. They get themselves into a lot of trouble.”
The experienced lifeguard has got particular advice for anyone who gets caught in a rip current, the cause of many drownings.
“It’s the panic that kills them the most. We try to get them to float, not even swim, just try to float and the rip will pull you along and you will potentially be able to stand up and walk back to shore,” he said.
The show airs in about 100 countries around the world, which means Hoppo and the rest of his team have had to get used to being recognised by the public.
“When I was a young kid, I’d go to the football and I always loved getting the autographs of the footy players. And some would give their time to do it and some wouldn’t, and I realise how excited I was when I got the autograph and how disappointed I was when the person didn’t really give me that much time.
“So I think if you’re going to put yourself out there in the public eye you need to give back to the young ones that look up to you, so I always try and get photos with them and give back as much as you can,” he said.
Bondi Rescue Tuesday, 7.30pm on TEN Digital