The jump was illegal and almost killed him, but he plans to do it again

Shiloh Shahan called his jump from Wailua Falls in Hawaii a “leap of faith” and a “rebirth.” Others are calling it stupid, crazy and illegal.

Shahan stood from a cliff overlooking the falls on Sept. 2, already having crossed fencing and signs cautioning visitors to keep out. He told news outlet Garden Island he did some research beforehand, determining how tall the falls were — between 80 and 173 feet, depending on the website you trust — and that the water below was 33 feet deep. He said he read that pro divers had survived jumps from 190 feet before.

So Shahan decided to jump. His friend recorded the incident and Shahan posted it on YouTube (warning: contains explicit language).

Shahan flails in the air before hitting the water upright and straight. Seconds later, his back surfaces and he’s clearly unconscious in the water.

“I remember in the air, it took a full second to come back and I remembered to point my feet so I didn’t hit the water like concrete, but I forgot to put my hands and neck down so when I hit the water my head snapped back and it knocked me out,” Shahan said.

His friend starts shouting in the video, clearly distressed.

“What? No, no, no, no, no,” he shouts. “Hey, wake up!”

Luckily for Shahan, there were other visitors to the falls below, and one happened to be trained as a lifeguard. David McGrath, who also took a video after he realized two people were standing on top of the falls, says “Oh, he’s knocked out,” ending the video to go help.

McGrath and his daughter Jane, a lifeguard, pulled Shahan out of the water and Jane McGrath stabilized him, while David McGrath’s partner Sharene called an ambulance. Shahan came to and refused to be transported to the hospital, but told the Garden Island that he had to lay in bed for a couple of days because he tore some muscles and had a concussion.

Shahan also said he completely lost his memory for five minutes after he regained consciousness and couldn’t remember who he was or where he was.

“He didn’t make a lot of sense, but he wasn’t all there, either,” McGrath said. “He was concussed.”

And Shahan realizes he’s lucky to be alive, saying in the caption of his YouTube video that he “could have died” if the McGraths didn’t rescue him.

Comments on his video call him “stupid,” “idiot,” “disrespectful,” and “careless.”

“You intentionally went around a fence and ignored warning signs for you own selfish reason, and those actions may cause this entire area to be closed off permanently to everybody,” one person wrote. “Locals don’t jump from the falls, because we know the consequences. Any injuries or death, and the barbed wire fences go up. You claim that ‘it called to you,’ but you refuse to accept the reality of REAL consequences of your actions. You don’t live here, so if it gets closed off, you don’t care.”

Shahan was reportedly visiting Hawaii from California. Apparently, the near-death experience hasn’t deterred him from wanting to return.

“It was amazing,” he told the Garden Island. “Honestly, I plan on doing it again.”

This story was originally published September 15, 2016 at 12:41 PM with the headline "The jump was illegal and almost killed him, but he plans to do it again."