The man who spent 17 days on a paddle board to raise awareness for child abuse

THIS guy battled the elements alone in the ocean for 17 days. Some of the things he saw were downright terrifying.

IMAGINE battling the elements alone in the ocean for 17 days straight with nothing but a paddleboard.

It’s a terrifying scenario people would go out of their way to avoid, but Damien Rider did just the opposite in an attempt to raise awareness about child abuse.

For Mr Rider, the record-breaking 800km journey from the Gold Coast to Bondi was a lifetime in the making.

When he was just a child, Mr Rider encountered horrible situations - he was raped and physically abused.

At the tender of age of six when most kids were playing with friends, Mr Rider was seeking refuge from the monsters chipping away his soul.

After spending sleepless nights under jetties or in skate parks, he was left feeling helpless and while he escaped from he abuse, the pain and suffering haunted him well into adulthood.

In an attempt to rid himself of horrific flashbacks, he found himself self-medicating in the worst possible way.

“I spent a lifetime skateboarding, using drugs and alcohol, and pretty much doing anything in attempt to forget my past and find happiness,” he told news.com.au.

Knowing the lifestyle he was living was being detrimental to his mental health in the long term, Mr Rider shifted his focus back to the ocean.

“I used to surf and I realised that was where I was at my happiest and found most peace,” he said.

“It was a no brainer for me to go back to the Gold Coast and start surfing again and once I got back into it, I decided it was time to take things to the next level.

He might be all smiles now, but Damien has had long battles with mental health.

When Mr Rider first got back into the water, he decided to face his inner demons and aimed to inspire those who do the same daily battle.

The initial plan was a 24-hour endurance paddle to raise awareness for his foundation known as Paddle Against Child Abuse.

But after clashing with some of his sponsors, Mr Rider decided to scrap that idea and opted for the gruelling 800km paddle instead.

“I had trained for eight and half months to be in shape for the 24-hour race, so when they fell apart I called my mate in Sydney and said I was going to paddle down there by myself,” he said.

“It made more sense because I was able to get more traction with media and I was able to make more of a meal of why I was doing it.”

While he had been training on a daily basis for the 24-hour event, the new plan brought new challenges.

“The thing was I had been training and my body was conditioned to do long paddles, but I had not expected to be in the water for up to 13 hours a day for 17 days,” he said.

“And regardless of how I felt after the first few days, I knew I had to get up and paddle to the next destination.”

The journey was far from smooth sailing with the athlete claiming to have experienced 11 close calls with sharks, coral reefs and choppy conditions.

“I saw one shark that looked as big as a bus and then another knocked me off my board which was quite alarming,” he said.

“I knew sharks were in the ocean and it was something that I would face, but it’s still frightening at times.

“Then there was the time I got wiped out, lost all my supplies and had to sleep on the beach.”

This is not what you want to see when you are paddling alone in the ocean.

Despite encountering monsters of the deep, Mr Rider said the scariest moment of the journey was when he got lost in his own mind.

“I had to constantly remind myself that I had to finish what I set out to do in order to raise awareness,” he said.

“However, once I made it to day five and the sharks left me alone, I found my groove and started to really enjoy myself.”

As the days progressed, Mr Rider found himself getting closer to his goal, which filled with him positive emotions.

“I realised I was alone and had no scapegoat, so I had to overcome all of the obstacles by myself,” he said.

Once Mr Rider finished his journey and arrived on the beach at Bondi, he felt like he had achieved exactly what he had set out to do.

“I believe I truly found inner peace and no matter what I have done in the past or whatever I have been through, I knew I could hold my head proud,” he said.

“I hope by sharing my experience I can show people they can push themselves to overcome any obstacles that stand in their way.”

A documentary of Mr Rider’s journey will premiere on National Geo on December 19.